In the Islamic quarters of Old Cairo there are mosques, palaces, caravanserais and Koranic schools. In this area little visited by tourists there is however evidence of life as it is lived by the ordinary people of Cairo – the tradesmen, street sellers and craftsmen.The two monumental gateways, Bab el-Futuh (Gate of Conquests) and Bab el-Nasr (Gate of Victory), mark the northern edge of Fatimid Cairo. Between the two lie the remains of the fortified wall which once encircled the city and which still gives the impression of invulnerability. Beside the Gate of Victory stands the El-Hakim Mosque, built during the first years following 1,000 AD. A place of worship for a mainly Indian Shiite sect, it was extensively restored with concrete and marble in 1980 losing much of its restrained beauty in the process.
Leading away from the front of the mosque is Mouizz el-Din Allah Street, lined with magnificent Islamic monuments. On Dahab Street, one of the first streets on the right, stands Beit el-Souhaymi, former residence of a seventeenth-century El-Azhar sheik, which gives an idea of the splendour of dignitaries’ houses in the Mameluk period. Mouizz el-Din Allah Street leads to the El-Aqmar Mosque (1125) and the fourteenth-century madrasa (mosque school) of Sultan Barkuk.
Leading away from the front of the mosque is Mouizz el-Din Allah Street, lined with magnificent Islamic monuments. On Dahab Street, one of the first streets on the right, stands Beit el-Souhaymi, former residence of a seventeenth-century El-Azhar sheik, which gives an idea of the splendour of dignitaries’ houses in the Mameluk period. Mouizz el-Din Allah Street leads to the El-Aqmar Mosque (1125) and the fourteenth-century madrasa (mosque school) of Sultan Barkuk.
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