الجامع الأزهر

Founded in 970 AD, Al-Azhar is both one of the world's oldest universities and the beating spiritual heart of Islamic Cairo. Ten centuries of dynasties have added to it, so its great courtyard is ringed by minarets and facades from different eras, all wrapped around a serene arcaded space where students still gather.

Step in from the noise of the medieval city and the scale is immediate: the vast white marble sahn, the forest of columns in the prayer hall, and light pouring through the arches. As a functioning mosque and centre of Sunni learning, it carries a living gravity that ruined monuments cannot.

It sits within easy walking distance of Khan el-Khalili and Al-Moaz Street, anchoring a day in old Cairo.