在所有與伊斯蘭文明有關的城市中，開羅也許是最有文化代表性的，而且無疑是建築最多樣化的。

開羅在西元634年建於尼羅河三角洲頂端的戰略重地。它從一座伊斯蘭的軍事前哨逐漸演變為在十世紀到十二世紀盛極一時且野心勃勃的Fatimid王朝首都。然而它最輝煌的年代還是Mamluk時期（1250年-1517年），在這一階段，開羅被公認為復甦的回教正統派的中心，同時產生了大量宏偉且具紀念意義的宗教建築，綜合了先前年代中的成就，並為後世城市形象的象徵。此後，開羅變為土耳其奧托曼帝國一個省的首府，一直持續到十八世紀末。接下來，它目睹了在思想獨立的Muhammad 'Ali Pasha（1805年-1848年）統治下短暫、反復更迭的復興階段，其後是社會思潮在保守和維新之間游移不定的一段時期，這種思潮今天依然伴隨著我們。到二十世紀後期，由於城市的迅速擴展張、人口爆炸和貧窮落後等一系列尖銳的問題導致羅馬的城市化和建築越來越混亂。然而，作為政治、經濟和文化中心，開羅在阿拉伯世界、非洲和伊斯蘭世界依然熠熠生輝。而且，開羅的許多伊斯蘭紀念碑（1951年開羅的回教紀念碑調查中記載了456處）依然佇立著，雖然全球的建築界對於這些紀念碑所知不多，但它們的數量正在以令人擔憂的速度與日遞減。

我們將在這門課程中詳述開羅的故事，將回顧從建城到二十世紀的城市與建築發展，並從國家、地區乃至世界的文化、政治和社會歷史的角度來闡述這些發展。我們將考察開羅的建築類型和城市模式，瞭解它們是如何反應不同的區域性影響，以及在更廣泛的伊斯蘭和地中海地區中找出相似的建築。這門課程同時開給大學部同學和研究生。為了深入討論重要的和舉例說明的建築和城市問題，在整個課程之中將安排數次討論課。鼓勵學生為討論課的結構和主題提出建議，這是課程要求的一部分。課程將指定三篇短文（每篇7-10頁），研究生可以用研究論文代替一篇或多篇短文。

Among the cities associated with the Islamic civilization, Cairo is perhaps the most representative culturally and certainly the richest architecturally.

Founded in 634 at the strategic head of the Nile Delta, the city evolved from a military outpost to the seat of the ambitious and singular Fatimid caliphate between the 10th and 12th century. Its most spectacular age, however, was the Mamluk period (1250-1517), which established it as the uncontested center of a resurgent Sunni Islam and produced a wealth of religious, palatial, and commemorative structures that synthesized the achievements of previous periods and symbolized the image of the city for centuries to come. After that, Cairo was reduced to an Ottoman provincial capital until the end of the eighteenth century. Then, it witnessed a short and capricious renascence under the independent minded Muhammad 'Ali Pasha (1805-48) followed by a period of vacillation between conservatism and modernization that is still with us. The urban and architectural chaos was exacerbated by the late-twentieth-century acute problems of rapid expansion, population explosion, and underdevelopment. Yet, Cairo still shines as a cultural, political, and economic center in its three spheres of influence: the Arab world, Africa, and the Islamic world. Moreover, many of its Islamic monuments (456 registered by the 1951 Survey of the Islamic Monuments of Cairo) still stand, although they remain largely unknown to the world's architectural community and their numbers are dwindling at an exceedingly alarming pace.

In this course we will recount the story of Cairo. We will review its urban and architectural developments from the initial settlement on the site to the twentieth century and interpret them in light of the cultural, political, and social history of the country, the region, and the world. We will examine Cairene architectural types and urban patterns to see how they reflect various regional influences and relate to their counterparts in the wider Islamic and Mediterranean contexts. The course is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. A number of discussion sessions are scheduled throughout the course to further address the critical and paradigmatic architectural and urban issues. Students are encouraged to contribute to the structure and topics of the discussion sessions as part of their course requirements. Three short essays (7-10 pages each) will be assigned. Graduate students may substitute a research paper for one or more of the essays.