Cairo has been the largest city in Africa and the Middle East since the 13th century and it's still growing. A thousand settlers arrive daily, and each morning its population of some 18 million is swollen further by a million commuters from the Nile Valley and its delta. Overcrowding, pollution and inequality are off the scale: half a million people even squat in cemeteries, known as Cities of the Dead. If this were Rio or London, there'd be rampant crime and disorder.
But Cairo is a law unto itself. With hundreds of years of evolution behind it, the city's population has developed its own unique solutions to the chaos that surrounds them. One of these is to soften reality with social rituals. The rarity of violence owes less to the armed police on every corner than to the dowshah: when conflicts arise people gather, restraining both parties, encouraging them to rant, sympathising with their grievances before finally urging "Maalesh, maalesh" ("Let it be forgiven"). Everyday life in Cairo is full of flowery gestures and salutations; anyone who suffers a misfortune gives thanks for Allah's dispensation – after all, things could be a lot worse. Even the poorest Cairenes are known for their piety; in the mosque, millionaire and beggar kneel side by side as they have done since Islam was introduced 1,365 years ago.
Cairo really is the sum of cities past – from Memphis, to Babylon-in-Egypt and then Islamic Cairo, which was taken over by a new Parisian style of town planning in the 19th century, the work of Egypt ruler Khedive Ismail. He commissioned what is now downtown Cairo, as well as the Suez Canal, which eventually bankrupted him and laid Egypt open to European rule as he was forced gradually to sign away his country to the British. They made their mark on the city in the form of Garden City, south of Ishmail's city centre, which, with its winding roads and greenery, is a recognisably English contribution.
Since Egypt's independence in 1952, successive presidents have founded their own suburbs causing Cairo to spread further and further into the desert. These areas, marked out by their palm-fringed boulevards, are a world apart from the alleys of Islamic Cairo – but they can still be equally vulnerable to water outages and power cuts.
At the heart of old Islamic Cairo is the labyrinthine bazaar of Khan el-Khalili, which is crammed with jewellery, carpets, brassware and other crafts. Hand-blown Muski glass (made from recycled bottles) is fashioned into lamps painted with arabesque designs, in imitation of the enamelled glassware beloved of the Mamlukes. This caste of slave-warriors from Central Asia and the Balkans ruled Egypt for nearly 270 years. They only finally met their match in 1818 when a wily Albanian, Mohammed Ali, invited 470 emirs to a banquet in the Citadel and massacred them all on the way out.
The Mamlukes were intriguers and sensualists, whose mosques, palazzos, schools, hospitals and bathhouses rivalled the endowments of Renaissance Europe. The best way to discover this legacy is on two walking routes starting from Khan el-Khalili. One takes you past the mausoleum of Sultan Qaitbey – ruler in the 15th century and the last of the great Mamlukes – whose resting place is aglow with stained glass and mother-of-pearl calligraphy. The route also takes you to the palatial mansion of Beit al-Sihaymi, with its leafy courtyard overlooked by a loggia (a raised terrace on the first floor) where men enjoyed the breeze; the section reserved for women is adorned with stained glass, painted ceilings and latticework.
The other trail leads towards the Citadel, via the shadowy Tentmakers' bazaar, or Qasaba. A city landmark, the Citadel has a police museum in cells that once held Anwar Sadat – who was jailed for espionage by the British, but went on 20 years later to become Egypt's president – and Sayed Qutb, spiritual godfather of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda.
Politics of leadership are no less intriguing today. The Muslim Brotherhood is an unwanted guest at Egyptian elections – outlawed but represented by surrogate candidates. In Egypt's first ever multi-candidate presidential election this September, the Brotherhood told its supporters to vote rather than boycott what other parties said was a rigged ballot, raising suspicions of a secret deal made with the government. As expected, 77-year-old President Hosni Mubarak was re-elected for a fifth consecutive term.
No visitor can leave Cairo without viewing the myriad treasures that tell the story of Egypt's ancient history. The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities on Midan Tahrir is the world's greatest storehouse of pharaonic artefacts. Tutankhamun's treasures alone fill a dozen rooms. Another highlight is the Amarna Gallery, with its hermaphrodite colossi of the "heretic" pharaoh Akhenaten.
The other must is a visit to the Pyramids of Giza, just outside the city. Most Egyptologists believe their function was to preserve the pharaoh's ka, or vital force, which emanated from the sun-god to his son, the king, who distributed it within the land of Egypt. But there is a popular thirst for other explanations. Bestselling authors outbid each other with claims that the pyramids are an astronomical map created by a vanished civilisation of Martian origin.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, is forging ahead with the Giza Plateau Conservation Project, restricting access from neighbouring villages and building a museum and an IMAX cinema. Local merchants are aghast and conservationists fear it will be a crass makeover. Most Egyptologists have been too timid to voice their doubts, as within Hawass's remit is also deciding who can – and can't – do fieldwork in Egypt.
Only 150 visitors can enter the Great Pyramid every morning and afternoon; be sure to be at the ticket office when the afternoon tickets go on sale at 1pm. Otherwise, enter Chephren's Pyramid, which looks taller than the Great Pyramid, being on higher ground with steeper sides.
Classical writers believed it had no entrance, but when Belzoni located and blasted open the portal in 1818, he found that robbers had broken in nearly 1,000 years earlier. Two shafts slope down and then upwards into a horizontal passage to the burial chamber, where Belzoni celebrated his discovery by writing his name, visible today. The Solar Boat Museum is a deliciously cool, humidity-controlled pavilion housing a 43-metre-long craft found in a pit near the Great Pyramid in 1954.
Another haven from the heat is the Nile, which provides refuge from the noise and madness of traffic and loudspeakers on every street corner; throughout the city's history the river has brought cool breezes to a city on the verge of asphyxiation. It brings space and greenery to what has become a tangled mass of skyscrapers, rooftop shacks and minarets. The islands of Gezira and Roda look like giant stepping stones between Cairo and Giza, across the river. The largest, Gezira, boasts sports clubs, an opera house and an elite high-rise, Manhattan-style residential zone called Zamalek: if you have an address here you have definitely made it.
The islands have several high points where you can enjoy fantastic views and absorb Cairo's immensity. The most exclusive is the Revolving Restaurant on the 41st floor
of the Grand Hyatt on Roda Island, with a view encompassing the Pyramids, the Citadel and most of central Cairo. Their set lunch or cocktails in the lounge easily beat what's on offer at the Cairo Tower, a Soviet-built edifice on Gezira whose revolving restaurant seldom revolves – though the view is still impressive, especially if you come before sunset to hear the call to prayer echo across the city. Alternatively, visit the Hilltop Restaurant in Al-Azhar Park, overlooking the domes and minarets of Islamic Cairo, which are dramatically illuminated by spotlight at night.
Evening in Cairo, and the streets are thronged with families snacking and window-shopping till 1am – during Ramadan, people party at night and sleep by day. Nightlife in the Western sense is restrained; there is no drinking outdoors, let alone public drunkenness. Discos restrict entry to mixed-sex couples, to keep out gays or prostitutes whose presence would draw the Vice Squad. An alternative rave scene exists, but outsiders never hear about events.
Where Cairo rocks is belly dancing: it's the worldwide navel of the art, extending back to the court dancers of pharaonic times but undergoing an image change when the British latched onto it, the costumes shrank and it became an art mingled with prostitution. Now they dance with their navels covered and dancers converge here to make their fortune, study or buy their costumes. Yet there is a growing social stigma attached to the profession in Egypt, which is deterring Egyptian women from pursuing it. The current queen of belly dancing, Dina, famously only won her father's consent after she gained her PhD – and all her main rivals are foreigners. It's not the first time that home-grown tradition is under threat from outsiders here, but you can't escape progress – even in historically proud Cairo.
Fact box
At current exchange rates, 1 GBP = 10.58 Egyptian pounds (EGP); 1USD = 5.76EGP.
Egypt is good value if not downright cheap for business travellers. A taxi across the centre, or to the pyramids, costs only EGP 10-20. Visas are available on arrival at Cairo Airport.
Getting there
London-Cairo Served by British Airways and Egyptair from Heathrow.
Return fares with BA first class £2,713, Club World (business class) £1,752, World Traveller Plus (premium economy class) £794, World Traveller (economy class) £450.
To fly with Egyptair, tickets are best bought from travel agents.
Where to stay
CairoMarriott
tel +20 2735 8888, marriott.com
A Moorish-Baroque palace built by Khedive Ismail for Empress Eugénie, the hotel is in Zamalek, near the 26th July Bridge to central Cairo. It has 1,010 rooms and 109 suites, and sumptuous conference halls. Restaurants include Tori for sushi, Ristorante Tuscany for Italian, Egyptian Nights for local cuisine, and the opulent Soraya Café for pizzas and pasta.
Harry's Pub is an upscale watering hole, or there's the refined Piano Bar in the khedival billiards room. Garden-facing doubles cost from US$130, including breakfast.
Four Seasons Nile Plaza
tel +20 2791 7000, fourseasons.com
Sleek, modern and luxurious with a tip-top health club and a rooftop pool. Located in Garden City, Cairo's financial district, with 365 rooms and 77 suites. Restaurants include Zitouni (Lebanese), Spice (Chinese), Aqua (seafood) and Steaks are all popular for business entertaining. Visit the Bar for Nile views, Lobby Lounge for cocktails or afternoon tea. Costs from US$258, including breakfast (but not taxes at 22 per cent).
Grand Hyatt Cairo
tel +20 2365 1234, cairo.grand.hyatt.com
A deluxe skyscraper with good views, 1km upriver from central Cairo. Located on Roda Island with a private bridge to Garden City, the hotel has 426 rooms, plus 204 club rooms and 81 suites. Restaurants include Okashi for sushi, La Dorada for al fresco seafood, and Revolving Restaurant for French cuisine. Visit Lobby Lounge or Revolving Restaurant for cocktails, Duke's Pub for imported beers and spirits. Rooms costs from US$185, including breakfast.
Mena House Oberoi
tel +20 2383 3222, oberoihotels.com
A historic hotel in lush grounds located near the pyramids, it has good views and an 18-hole golf course but is distant from the rest of Cairo. The hotel has 523 rooms and suites, plus 12 poolside cabanas. It's worth paying the US$50 extra for a room in the palace wing facing the pyramids; the modern garden annexe is less romantic. Restaurants include The Moghul Room, Egypt's finest Indian restaurant and a poolside buffet facing the Great Pyramid. Doubles cost from US$180 in the garden annexe, US$300 in the palace wing, including breakfast (but not taxes at 22 per cent).
