The best (if not only) way to explore Islamic Cairo is by walking. Basically, you decide on a starting point that's readily accessible from downtown Cairo, and then follow an itinerary on foot from there. The most obvious starting points are Khan el-Khalili, the Bab Zwayla and the Citadel; see the beginning of each of these sections for details on getting there by public transport. If you want to walk from the downtown area, there are four approaches to Islamic Cairo from Midan Ataba , using the Ataba post office and fire station for orientation:

 

THE MUSKI is the classic approach to Khan el-Khalili : a narrow bazaar, identifiable by the crowds passing between the El-Mousky hotel and a clump of luggage stalls. For more details, see "Around Khan el-Khalili and Al-Azhar".

SHARIA AL-AZHAR . Overshadowed by a flyover running from Midan Ataba to the heart of Islamic Cairo, Sharia al-Azhar - which runs parallel to the Muski - buzzes with traffic and cottage industries. Buses and minibuses push their way through the crowds and traffic, past Al-Azhar bus terminal (for the Western Desert Oases) and across one of Cairo's few remaining tram routes at the Bur Said overpass, taking you on to the Al-Azhar Mosque , just south of Midan el-Hussein . By walking back from the square along the Muski to the junction with Sharia al-Muizz, you can go south to Bab Zwayla .

SHARIA QALAA (formerly Boulevard Mohammed Ali), across from the fire station. This street runs directly to the Citadel (2km). When Ismail's Minister of Public Works ordered the thoroughfare ploughed through the old quarter, he asked rhetorically: "Do we need so many monuments? Isn't it enough to preserve a sample?" The stretch down to Midan Ahmed Maher - where the Islamic Arts Museum is located - features musical instrument shops, all-night stalls and cafés. In pre-revolutionary times, brothels and hashish dens infested the stepped lanes that rise between its tenements.

SHARIA EL-GEISH . Also topped by a flyover, "Army Street" runs out towards Abbassiya and Heliopolis. The main reason for venturing beyond the Paper Market is to visit the Mosque of Beybars the Crossbowman on Midan Zahir and the Sakakini Palace beyond.

Many of the itineraries we suggest can be linked up or truncated; the main limitations on how much you can see are time and your own stamina. It makes sense to read up on an area before striking out on foot. The streets of Islamic Cairo are labyrinthine and, while getting lost among them can result in the richest experiences, some visitors prefer to be shown round by a guide . The tourist office can put you in touch with authorized guides, and unofficial ones may accost you on the street. If you are in an official or student group you could try the Tourist Friends Association (9th floor, 33 Sharia Qasr el-Nil; tel 392-2036); its tours are free, as the main motive of its members - all students - is to practise their English.

Most of Islamic Cairo's monuments are self-evident and often identified by little green plaques with Arabic numbers; these correspond to the numbers on Lehnert & Landrock's map of Cairo and the listings in the exhaustive Islamic Monuments in Cairo: A Practical Guide, published by the AUC. The AUC book and three fold-out maps published by SPARE (Society for the Preservation of the Architectural Resources of Egypt) are very detailed.

Likewise, we can't hope to match the wealth of detail or evocations of time and place in certain books . Edward Lane's The Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians illuminates life during Mohammed Ali's time. The changes wrought last century underlie Naguib Mahfouz's Midaq Alley and Cairo Trilogy. Mamluke Cairo is the setting for Robert Irwin's surreal The Arabian Nightmare, whereas its fevered demise haunts Zayni Barakat by Gamal al-Ghitani. Life in the Cities of the Dead is captured in Down to the Sea by Gamil Attiyah Ibrahim. For straight - but never dull - history, try James Aldridge's Cairo or, if you can get your hands on a copy, Desmond Stewart's Great Cairo, Mother of the World. A selection of books is available at bookstores such as Al-Shourouk on Midan Talaat Harb, the Anglo-Egyptian Bookshop at 169 Sharia Mohammed Farid and the AUC bookstore at the back of the main campus.

The more commonly visited mosques and madrassas charge an entry fee , usually £E6 (students pay half). Opening hours are roughly 9am to 7pm daily, though they may well open up later, depending on when the guardian turns up, and will probably close an hour or two earlier in winter. During Ramadan, when everybody wants to be at home by sunset in order to eat, you will not be able to visit after about 4pm. Entry charges and opening hours are only given in the text when they differ significantly from the above. You will also not be welcome during prayer times and the Friday noon assembly, which lasts over an hour. A couple of mosques are permanently closed to non-Muslims (as indicated in the text). Apart from an admission charge, and especially when there isn't one, guardians generally expect baksheesh : the footwear custodian merits 50pt, while someone who takes you into a tomb or up a minaret rates £E1-2 (which you should pay after your visit). Excessive demands should be politely resisted, and asking for change is awkward, so bring lots of small bills. Old mansions charge along similar lines and in theory have set opening hours, but in practice are often closed after 3pm, and all day Friday, whatever the official schedule.

How you dress is important. Wearing shorts automatically diminishes prestige in Egyptian eyes, and women wearing halter-necks, skimpy T-shirts, miniskirts, etc, will attract gropers and the disapproval of both sexes. Mosques baulk at admitting the "immodestly" dressed, and for Muslims and unbelievers alike it's obligatory to remove shoes (or don overshoes) to avoid sullying the sacred precincts. Comfortable, easy to slip off footwear is recommended; sandals offer scant protection against manure and leaking drains. Women may feel more comfortable with a male companion, and covering their hair and shoulders with a shawl or headscarf.

It shouldn't need saying that intimate behaviour in public is a definite no-no. By remaining courteous and alert, you minimize the risk of hassles on the crowded streets. An effective yet graceful way of brushing off hustlers is to intone la shukran (no thank you) while smiling, touching your heart (a gesture of sincerity) and hurrying on. But never begrudge the effort of politeness, nor mistake every approach for a sales ploy. Ordinary Egyptians enjoy welcoming khawagas with the right attitude as much as they like watching arrogant tourists get misdirected and cheated.