LANDMARKLandmark
Al-Moaz Street
29.7910, 31.8438
Al-Moaz Street is the great spine of medieval Cairo, a largely pedestrianised thoroughfare that functions as an open-air museum of Islamic architecture. Along a single walkable stretch you pass mosques, madrasas, fountains, merchant houses and monumental gateways spanning a thousand years of Fatimid, Mamluk and Ottoman building.
By day it's a working street of coppersmiths and shops; after dark the restored facades are floodlit and the atmosphere turns magical. Landmarks like the Qalawun complex, Al-Hakim Mosque and the medieval gates of Bab al-Futuh and Bab Zuweila bookend the route.
It flows straight into the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, making one continuous journey through old Cairo.
Know before you go
Walk it in the cooler early evening when the monuments are beautifully lit, and dress modestly since you'll be entering active mosques along the way.