Cairo (القاهرة al-Qāhirah) is the capital of Egypt and, with a total population in excess of 16 million people, one of the largest cities in both Africa and the Middle East (the regions which it conveniently straddles). It is also the 13th largest city in the world, and among the world's densest cities.
Situated on the River Nile, Cairo is famous for its own history, preserved in the fabulous medieval Islamic city and Coptic sites in Old Cairo. The Egyptian Museum in the center of town is a must see, with its countless Ancient Egyptian artifacts, as is shopping at the Khan al-Khalili bazaar. No trip to Cairo would be complete, for example, without a visit to the Giza Pyramids, to nearby Saqqara.
Though firmly attached to the past, Cairo is also home to a vibrant modern society. The Midan Tahrir area, built in the 19th century under the rule of Khedive Ismail, has strived to be a "Paris on the Nile". There also are a number of more modern suburbs including Ma'adi and Heliopolis, while Zamalek is a quiet area on Gezira Island, with upscale shopping.

Cairo is best in the fall or spring, when the weather isn't so hot. A felucca ride on the Nile is a good way to escape from the busy city, as is a visit to al-Azhar Park.


Districts
Cairo is vast: with more than 17 million people, it's the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The downtown core consists of the following districts:

Downtown (Midan Tahrir)
Midan Tahrir is the very centre of the modern city: big hotels, transport nexus and the Egyptian Museum, with downtown extending through Midan Talaat Harb up to Midan Ataba.

Midan Ramses
Cairo's main railway station and a burgeoning retail and accommodation zone.

Garden City
An upmarket "garden suburb" close to the city centre and the Corniche el-Nil.

Islamic Cairo
The centre of historic Cairo, located east of downtown; the Citadel, Khan el Khalili (the main Cairo souq / market), historic mosques and medieval architecture.

Old Cairo
Located south of downtown, includes Coptic Cairo, Fustat (Cairo's historical kernel) and Rhoda Island.

Dokki and Mohandeseen
Located on the west bank of the Nile, with upscale restaurants and shopping.

Gezira and Zamalek
Upmarket suburbs on an island in the Nile, with hotels and the Cairo Tower.

Giza
A sprawling western district of the city and the site of the Pyramids.

Heliopolis and Nasr City
An upmarket residential and retail area close to the Airport.

Ma'adi
A suburb catering to many foreign expatriates, accessed by the Ring Road.

Understand
Situated along the Nile, Cairo has ancient origins, located in the vicinity of the Pharaonic city of Memphis. The city started to take its present form in 641, when the Arab general Amr ibn al-As conquered Egypt for Islam and founded a new capital called Misr al-Fustat, "the City of the Tents", in what is now Old Cairo. The Tunisian Fatimid dynasty captured the city in 969 and founded a new city, al-Qahira ("The Victorious") just north of al-Fustat. Al-Qahira gave the city its English name, Cairo, but the locals still call it Maşr (مصر ), the Egyptian dialectal version of Amr's Mişr. Confusingly, this also the Arabic name of the entire country of Egypt!
Climate