The number one natural resource in Egypt is history. Unlike its oil-rich neighbors, the Egyptian economy relies on the foreign money of tourists who fly into Cairo from all points of the compass to see colossal monuments, puzzle over cyclopean architecture, and experience walking where the ancients once lived out their days. This has resulted in an organic fusion of the very ancient with the ultra modern. 
For seven centuries the Citadel was the seat of Islamic supremacy in Egypt. Like the pharaohs of old, the sultans built magnificent symbols of power and piety, pushed the boundaries of architecture and engineering, and wrote their history in stone and gold. If the pyramids are the most obvious symbols of ancient royalty, the Citadel of Salah al-Din is clearly the emblem of the Muslim dynasties.
This article will take you around the Citadel, behind its walls, and into the heart of its most sacred space.
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Tags: Burg al-Haddad, Burg al-Ramla, Cairo, Cairo Citadel, Citadel of Salah al-Din, Egyptian Mosques, Egyptian Tourism, Islamic History, Lion's Tower, Minaret, Mosque of Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ali Pasha, Muqattum Hills, Saladin
