After the drive from Port Said, you climb to the Citadel of Saladin and into the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, the great Ottoman-style mosque that has crowned Cairo's skyline since the 1840s. Under its vast central dome, your guide explains the ruler who reshaped modern Egypt and built this as his statement. Alabaster lines the walls, and from the Citadel terrace the city stretches to the pyramids on a clear day. Modest dress is needed; shoes come off at the carpet's edge.

You stop next at the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, the first mosque built in Egypt and one of the oldest in the world, founded in 642 AD where the Arab general Amr pitched his camp. Almost nothing of the original survives, rebuilt many times over thirteen centuries, but the open courtyard and forest of columns still carry the weight of that beginning. It sits in Fustat, the original Islamic capital that grew into Cairo. Far fewer tourists reach here than the Citadel.

You finish in Coptic Cairo at the Hanging Church, named for the way its nave is built over the gatehouse of the Roman fortress of Babylon, appearing to hang above the passage. Parts date to the 7th century, and inside are inlaid screens and an ark-shaped wooden roof. Your guide walks you through the narrow lanes nearby, past Abu Serga and other ancient churches tied to the Holy Family's time in Egypt. Calm and shaded, it is a fitting close before the drive back to Port Said.