Beit El Suhaymi

Cairo

LoginSave

With its fully restored paving stones and elaborate mashrabiyya (wooden lattice screens), Darb Al Asfar alley conjures up the Middle Ages – if the Middle Ages were clean. The first few buildings you pass are part of Beit El Suhaymi, a family mansion and caravanserai built in the 17th and 18th centuries. After jogging through a narrow hall, you arrive at a peaceful courtyard surrounded by grand reception halls, bedrooms, storerooms and baths.

The house has been thoroughly restored, though barely furnished (the fire extinguishers, a precaution required by the extensive new woodwork, are the most prominent item on display). As a result it can feel a bit ghostly. The changes on Darb Al Asfar have been heavily debated, as they displaced at least 30 families in the name of restoration, but it has brought some peace to this crowded area for the residents who were allowed to stay.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Pyramids of Giza during sunset.

    Pyramids of Giza

    9.3 MILES

    The last remaining wonder of the ancient world; for nearly 4000 years, the extraordinary shape, impeccable geometry and sheer bulk of the Giza Pyramids…

  • A guide briefs tourists before canopic jars which contained the organs of the ancient Egyptian New Kingdom Pharaoh Tutankhamun (1332-1323 BC) at his tomb KV62, displayed with the Tutankhamun collection at the Egyptian Museum in the centre of Egypt's capital Cairo on November 6, 2022. - The resting place of Egypt's pharaoh Tutankhamun has become the world's most famous tomb, its discovery 100 years ago among the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.

    Egyptian Museum

    1.75 MILES

    One of the world’s most important collections of ancient artefacts, the Egyptian Museum takes pride of place in Downtown Cairo, on the north side of Midan…

  • It is the most remarkable construction of the necropolis of Saqqara, south of the city of Memphis. Some tourists walk next to the pyramid..Saqqara, Egypt. March 27, 2008

    Saqqara

    12.82 MILES

    Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…

  • View of the Citadel from Al-Azhar Park

    Al Azhar Park

    0.86 MILES

    With funds from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, what had been a mountain of garbage, amassed over centuries, was in 2005, almost miraculously, transformed…

  • Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo.

    Al Azhar Mosque

    0.43 MILES

    Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…

  • The minaret of Qalawun complex rises over Al-Muizz street.

    Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah

    0.39 MILES

    Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…

  • The Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt.

    Coptic Museum

    3.71 MILES

    This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as…

  • Cairo, Egypt - December 24, 2017: Mihrab of Manial Palace mosque decorated with intricate golden patterns on carved wood, muqarnas in arch, bright blue tiles inside of niche, on December 24 in Cairo

    Manial Palace

    2.5 MILES

    After a years'-long restoration period, this palace complex, built by the uncle of King Farouk, Prince Mohammed Ali, in the early 20th century, has once…

View more attractions

Nearby Cairo attractions

1. Mosque-Sabil of Suleiman Silahdar

0.04 MILES

This 19th-century complex, built by Mohammed Ali's chief of armoury, combines a baroque-styled kuttab (Quranic school) and sabil (public fountain) at…

2. Mosque of Al Aqmar

0.05 MILES

This petite mosque, the oldest in Egypt with a stone facade, was built in 1125 by one of the last Fatimid caliphs. Several features appear here that…

4. Wikala Al Bazara

0.09 MILES

This is one of about 20 remaining wikala (merchants’ inn) in the medieval city, down from about 360 in the 17th century, when this one was built. All were…

5. Mosque of Gamal Ad Din

0.1 MILES

Built in 1408, the facade of the Mosque of Gamal Ad Din has a row of shops below, the rent from which contributed to the mosque’s upkeep.

6. Sabil-Kuttab of Abdel Rahman Katkhuda

0.11 MILES

The Sabil-Kuttab of Abdel Rahman Katkhuda is one of the iconic structures of Islamic Cairo, depicted in scores of paintings and lithographs. Building this…

7. Qasr Beshtak

0.11 MILES

At the Sabil-Kuttab of Kathkuda, take the little alleyway that leads to Qasr Beshtak (Palace of Amir Beshtak), a rare example of 14th-century domestic…

8. Hammam Inal

0.12 MILES

One of the few well restored examples of Cairo's once vibrant hammam (bathhouse) culture, the Hammam Inal dates from 1456. The marble-clad central room is…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "egypt/cairo/attractions/beit-el-suhaymi/a/poi-sig/406184/355225",
  "destination": "Cairo",
  "continent": "Africa",
  "country": "Egypt",
  "city": "Cairo",
  "position": "superzone"
}