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Qasr Beshtak
The palace is a rare example of 14th-century domestic architecture, originally five floors high, now largely ruined but with splendid rooftop views.
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Roman Towers
The main entrance to the Coptic compound lies between the remains of the two round Roman Towers of Babylon's western gate. Built in AD 98 by Emperor Trajan, these were part of riverfront fortifications: at the time, the Nile would have lapped right up against them. Excavations around the southern tower have revealed part of the ancient quay, several metres below street level.
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Sabil of Muhammed Ali Pasha
The delicate Ottoman-style Sabil of Muhammed Ali Pasha is an 1820 fountain that was the first in Cairo to have gilded window grilles and calligraphic panels in Ottoman Turkish. Although it has been meticulously restored, it was closed to the public at last pass; check if it's open, as there is also access to a cistern below.
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Sabil-Kuttab of Abdel Rahman Katkhuda
One of the iconic structures of Islamic Cairo, depicted in scores of paintings and lithographs. Building this fountain-school combo was an atonement for sins, as it provided two things commended by the Prophet: water for the thirsty and enlightenment for the ignorant. This one was built in 1744 by an emir notorious for his debauchery.
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Shar Hashamaim Synagogue
Shar Hashamaim Synagogue is one of the few remaining testaments to Cairo's once-thriving Jewish community. Resembling a set from Tomb Raider, its ornate Babylonian exterior was being restored at the time of research; when it's done, the place may once again be open on Saturdays, the Jewish holy day.
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Sharia al-Muski
Congested and fabulous, the market street known as Sharia al-Muski begins in the khan (where it's formally called Sharia Gawhar al-Qaid) and runs parallel to Sharia al-Azhar to Midan Ataba. It's the 'real life' counterpoint to Khan al-Khalili's touristy maze, lined with carts selling cheap shoes, plastic toys, bucket-sized bras and some truly shocking lingerie.
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Solar Barque Museum
South of the Great Pyramid is the fascinating Solar Barque Museum. Five long pits near the Great Pyramid of Khufu once contained the pharaoh's solar barques (boats), which may have been used to bring the mummy of the dead pharaoh across the Nile to the valley temple, from where it was brought up the causeway and into the tomb chamber. The barques were then buried around the pyramid to provide transport for the pharaoh in the next world.
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Sound-and-Light Show
The Sphinx narrates the somewhat cheesy Sound-and-Light Show , but it's neat to see the Pyramids so dramatically lit. Though there's officially no student discount, you may be able to negotiate one. Xheck the website for the latest schedules.
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Sphinx
Legends and superstitions abound about the Sphinx, and the mystery surrounding its long-forgotten purpose is almost as intriguing as its appearance. On seeing it for the first time, many visitors agree with the sentiments expressed by English playwright Alan Bennett, who noted in his diary that seeing the Sphinx is like meeting a TV personality in the flesh - always smaller than had been imagined.
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Tomb of Khentkawes
The rarely visited but imposing Tomb of Khentkawes, opposite the Great Pyramid and south of Khafre's causeway, is the tomb of Menkaure's powerful daughter. The tomb is a rectangular building cut into a small hill. A corridor at the back of the chapel room leads down to the burial chambers, but the descent can be hazardous.
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Tomb of Seshemnufer IV
The Tomb of Seshemnufer IV has a burial chamber you can climb down into.
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Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art
Set amid car-repair shops, this is Cairo's most cutting-edge space, with emphasis on video and multimedia installations. It also has a large workshop across the street, for classes and confabs.
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Umm Kolthum Museum
Set in a peaceful Nileside garden, Monastirli Palace was built in 1851 for an Ottoman pasha from Monastir, in northern Greece. The salamlik that he built for public functions is now an elegant venue for concerts, while the other part is now the Umm Kolthum Museum. Dedicated to the most famous Arab diva, the small museum is more like a shrine, given the reverence with which the singer's signature rhinestone-trimmed glasses and glittery gowns are hung under spotlights in display cases.
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Uruba Palace
Once a grand hotel graced by the likes of King Albert I of Belgium and now Mubarak's offices - a short commute, as he lives just up the street.
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Western Cemetery
The Tomb of Iasen, in the Western Cemetery, contains interesting inscriptions and wall paintings that offer a glimpse of daily life during the Old Kingdom.
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Wikala al-Bazara
The fully restored - yet empty - Wikala al-Bazara is one of about 20 remaining wikala s (merchant hostels) in the medieval city, down from about 360 in the 17th century, when this one was built. The Gamaliyya was the medieval warehouse district, with many of these wikalas , all built to the same plan: storerooms and stables surrounding a courtyard, with guestrooms for traders on the upper floors; heavy front gates protected the merchandise at night.
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Wikala of Al-Ghouri
Part of the Mosque and Mausoleum of Al-Ghouri complex, the Wikala of Al-Ghouri, 100m east, is another of the doomed sultan's legacies. Similar to the Wikala Al-Bazara but more sympathetically restored, the upper rooms are artists' ateliers while the former stables are craft shops. The courtyard serves as a theatre for Sufi dance performances.
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Zamalek Art Gallery
A light-filled space showing contemporary Egyptian artists, usually figurative.
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