Mosque of Mohammed Ali

The fortress - and indeed, the Cairo skyline - is dominated by the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. Modelled along classic Turkish lines, it took 18 years to build (1830-48) although the domes later had to be rebuilt. Perhaps the most evocative description of it is in Olivia Manning's The Levant Trilogy: 'Above them Mohammed Ali's alabaster mosque, uniquely white in this sand-coloured city, sat with minarets pricked, like a fat, white, watchful cat'.

Manning is not alone in not taking the mosque as seriously as Mohammed Ali intended. It has never found much favour with writers, who have criticised it for being unimaginative, lacking in grace and resembling a great toad. Beyond criticism, the mosque's patron lies in the marble tomb on the right as you enter. Note the chintzy clock in the central courtyard, a gift from King Louis-Philippe of France in thanks for the Pharaonic obelisk that adorns the Place de la Concorde in Paris. It was damaged on delivery and has yet to be repaired.