Cairo the city full of charm and contradictions. Through its maddening crowd, noise and pollution it calls the senses to explore the fascinating features. Each district in Cairo is a piece of fragmented history that takes you through 7000 years. Walking down the streets of Cairo amuse the senses with fascinating beauty.

Down town Cairo is centered around Midan El Tahrir and stretches east to the Ramses train station and south to Garden City. The architecture of the buildings and shops in down town Cairo gives an atmosphere of elegance. If you walk down Talat Harb street you would feel the air of Paris. Down town Cairo is home for numerous galleries and museums. The Egyptian Museum located in Midan El Tahrir which displays a rare and priceless collection of ancient Egyptian treasures and artifacts. The recently Opened Abdeen Palace Museum which displays collection of the kingdom before the independence. Near the Opera square is the Ezbakia book market for which second hand books and magazines in both Arabic and foreign languages are sold.

The area of old Cairo is also known by Coptic Cairo where the Babylon Fort was erected by Trajan the Roman empror. Along from the towers of the fort is the Coptic Museum which houses an extensive collection of Coptic art and artifacts, as well as secular items, collected from old churches and houses. The heart of the city is the ancient core of the Coptic Christian community and several Coptic churches such as the Hanging church (Al Muallaka) the oldest Christian place of worship in the city dedicated to Virgin Mary, it is called hanging because it is suspended over water gate. Church of Abu Serga (St Sergius) where the Holy Family reputedly sheltered during their flight to Egypt are interesting to visit. In the area as well some other interesting sites to be visited among them is the oldest mosque in Africa called the Mosque of Amr Ibn al-As. As well as some remains of the old Fustat city the first Islamic capital in Egypt which was lately to become modern Cairo Fustat. The area used to house potters and craftsman workshops but lately they were relocated.

This part of Cairo is fascinating to tourists due to its cultural and historical heritage. In the heart of Islamic Cairo lies Khan El Khalili bazaar which dates back to the 14th century and used to provide accommodation for the caravans. The area developed later on to a large bazaar and shopping area which sells many oriental items like jewellery, copper, brass items, woodwork, carpets, fabricks, glassware and spice among other things. You can rest for a cup of tea and shisha during your visit to Khan El Khalili in El Fishawy coffee shop that dates to 200 years. The spice market which has conglomerate of shops selling all kinds of imaginable spices in open colorful sacks and The Tent Maker Bazaar Khaiamia which is a partially-covered street which shops and craftsman workshops producing tapestries and appliqué designs for all kind of items ranging from pillow cases to bedspreads. the Al Azhar Mosque a thousand year old center of Islamic religion and it plays an important role on the political arena. Sheikh El Azhar is the head of Islamic theology in the country. You must abide by the Islamic rules when entering the mosques ladies should cover their heads and for both men and women never to wear shorts. Nearby is located Wikalat El Ghouri which functioned as accommodation for the merchants where they slept upstairs and their animals were kept in stables below. After its restoration Wikalat El Ghouri serves now as a cultural center that hosts events and exhibitions and some of the rooms are converted into studios for the artists. Amongst the main highlight of the district is the Citadel which was a fort built by Salah El Din to repel the crusaders and become residence for the sultans till the 19th century. The enclosure of the fort includes Mohamed Ali Mosque with its central huge dome and four semi domes as well as the Mosque of al Nasir Yusuf’s and a well. Slightly to the north of the Mosque of Mohamed Ali, is the Police Museum, with a variety of odd exhibits including a section devoted to assassins. The Northern Enclosure of the Citadel includes the Military Museum, which is located inside Mohamed Ali's Harim Palace, and covers military history from Pharaonic times to the present. The Carriage Museum has a small collection of horse-drawn carriages. Just beyond, the Stolen Things Museum contains antiquities recovered from smugglers before they left Egypt. An outdoor garden exhibits larger antiquities from around Egypt. At the far end of the Northern Enclosure is the beautiful and intimate Mosque of Suliman Pasha, built in the early 16th Century in the Ottoman style.

Giza is technically a separate governorate from Cairo but is inextricably linked to it. It lies on the western bank of the river The Pyramids street leading west to the Great Pyramids of Giza has numerous buildings, nightclubs, restaurants and hotels. The governerate of Giza contains one of the most famous monuments of the world which are The Three Pyramids built by the three kings Cheops, Cgephern and Mykeronis. The pyramids are an engineering miracle and areclassified as one of the seven wonders of ancient world. They are an evolution from the mastabas (single stepped) tombs into this huge site of burial in ancient times. To the east of the Pyramids is a paved road leading to the mortuary temple and a causeway which used to lead to the valley temple. The pyramids of the three Queens are located on the site, besides which is located the solar boat museum which exhibits a wooden boat that was excavated near the pyramids, its pieces were gathered and reconstructed to be displayed in this museum. The boat is a transportation symbolism of the diseased body to the afterlife. Next to the valley temple of Chefern stands the great statue of The Sphinx witnessing the changes of the years as they pass by. The statue is believed to have a face resemblance of king Chefern and a body of a lion to resemble power and strength. Heading south of Giza is the Sakkara complex with its Step Pyramid of Zoser that demonstrates the evolution of the pyramids structure from single stepped mastaba to the smooth sided pyramid. Proceeding further south lies the Dahshur with the red pyramid of Sneferu and the Bent pyramid. Dokki and Agouza A residential area contains some sporting clubs. A few interesting sites to be visited in the area like the Agriculture Museum and Mahmoud Khalil Museum. The National Circus and the Balloon Theatre are located on the Cornich.

A new residential area which was One of Cairo's newer districts, this is a sprawl of residential and office towers, dominated by Arab League Street. The strip is replete with upmarket boutiques and just about every American fast food chain imaginable. It is a veritable parking lot on summer nights as cars cruise up and down the wide avenue. Several cosy restaurants and pubs can be found tucked away in the maze of backstreets.

The two main islands in the Nile are both developed to the point where you might forget you are technically on an island. Gezira, the northern island, can be divided into two separate districts. The southern half, Gezira proper, contains the new Opera House, where cultural performances are presented throughout the year, and the Museum of Modern Art, displaying work of Egyptian artists from the last 100 years. The Cairo Tower sits to the north and provides a spectacular panoramic view of the city from the top - on a clear day you can count pyramids in the distance. The northern tip of the island is the district of Zamalek, once a British neighborhood which miraculously retains a residential feel despite the dense population. Zamalek's multitude of popular Western style bars and nightclubs are a big attraction. Most of the island is dominated by the Gezirah Sporting Club, a private sporting club restricted to those who can afford the pricey membership fees. Roda Island is more densely populated, but is worth visiting for the Manial Palace, built in 1903 by King Farouk's uncle Prince Mohamed Ali Tewfik. Look out for the five buildings in the palace grounds which have an eclectic architectural style. The museum has a lovely collection of old manuscripts. There are no crowds of tourists here, making it a peaceful afternoon.

The area east of the city center started being developed at the end of the 19th century by a Belgian entrepreneur, Baron Empain, whose residence, now unfortunately closed, can be seen on the way to the airport. This upmarket district has numerous Western-style shops and restaurants. The elegant arcaded buildings in the area around Midan Roxy are architecturally appealing. Interesting sites in this area include the October War Panorama and Sadat's Tomb, erected on the site where the late President was assassinated in 1981. Northwest of Heliopolis, and easily reached by Cairo's Metro line, is Matariyya. This contains the site of ancient Heliopolis, the City of the Sun - the earliest settlement in the Cairo area. The granite Obelisk of Senusert I (dating from around 1900 BC) stands at Midan al-Misallah, and 500 metres south stands the Virgin's Tree, which supposedly shaded the Holy Family during their time in Egypt.

To the south of Cairo, the suburb of Maadi is a popular residential area for foreigners, and though it has been subject to rampant development, the tree-lined streets camouflaging private villas in the older sections of the district are a peaceful change to the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. Felucca rides on the Nile departing from the docks along the Corniche in Maadi are a relaxing way to spend an afternoon.