When you look at the typically plain and, to some, perhaps even boring facade of Beyt el-Suhaimi, you cannot imagine the architectural treasures that await you inside.

This mansion is Cairo’s finest example of the traditional family residences that were built throughout the city from the Mamluk period to the 19th century. As soon as you enter the house, you enter a beautiful courtyard that takes you back to the time when guests were welcomed in the adjacent impressive reception room, the “Qa’a” The room, arranged around a magnificent marble fountain set into the floor, has a high painted wooden ceiling that you will discover as you follow the delicate green and blue patterned enamel tiles on the walls.

As you go up the stairs, you will discover the family apartments and the wooden lattice windows known as “mashrabiya” that allow the women of the house to observe life on the street without being seen. And take another look at the very high ceilings, through which the warmer air could rise and then be swept away by the north-facing maq’ad (wind catchers) in the upper walls that caught the breeze. A precursor to today’s air conditioners, one might think. And so it was.

This architectural feature really helped to make life easier in Cairo’s dry and hot weather. Ticket price(s): Regular: 30 EGP Student: 15 EGP