Cairo is a sprawling city of enormous diversity, with flavors of the Orient, Africa, and western Europe. The West Bank is the most modern part of the city, with wealthy suburbs and the site of the University. The poverty can be so intense that some families are resorting to setting up their homes in mausoleums.
Focal points in Cairo are Tehrir (Revolution) Square and the Cairo Museum, where studying the entire collection of artifacts from Pharaonic times can take days.
An interesting tour is through Old Cairo, where there are excellent examples of Islamic art and architecture. There are over 1,000 mosques in Cairo, as well as a small area where the city's Coptic Christians live.
The city suddenly gives way to date palms, fields, and endless desert.
