Most people prefer to get accustomed to central Cairo before tackling the older, Islamic quarters, for even in this Westernized downtown area known as wust al-Balad, the culture shock can be profound. Beyond the sanctuary of the luxury hotels beside the Nile, crowds and traffic jostle for space in the fume-laden air; whistling cops direct weaving taxis and limousines, donkey carts and buses; office workers rub shoulders with baladi folk, Nubians and soldiers. The pavements and shadowy lobbies of cavernous Art Deco or Empire-style apartment buildings are a lifetime's world for many vendors and doormen - both major contributors to Cairo's grapevine. Above the crumbling pediments and hoardings, pigeon lofts and extra rooms spread across the rooftops - a spacious alternative to the streets below, forming a city above the city centre.

 

The area is essentially a lopsided triangle, bounded by Ramses Station , Midan Ataba and Garden City , and for the most part it's compact enough to explore on foot. Only the Ramses quarter and the further reaches of Garden City are sufficiently distant to justify using transport. At the heart of central Cairo is the broad, bustling expanse of Midan Tahrir ; aside from being the city's main transport terminal, Tahrir's most famous landmark is the domed Museum of Egyptian Antiquities , which houses the finest collection of its kind in the world.