Amir Taz Palace

Amir Taz Palace is one of Cairo's grandest surviving Mamluk residences, set on the historic Saliba Street between the Ibn Tulun Mosque and the Citadel. It was built in 1352 for Prince Sayf al-Din Taz, a son-in-law of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, at the height of the fourteenth-century Mamluk court.

The palace centres on a spectacular reception hall. Its great qa'a rises through two storeys to a lofty timber ceiling, painted and gilded, with a marble floor and screened galleries where musicians once played. Around it spread courtyards, stables and service rooms that once housed a princely household of hundreds. Much of what stands today reflects a careful modern restoration after long decades of neglect and earthquake damage.

Now the building works as a public cultural centre, hosting exhibitions, concerts and craft workshops in its restored halls and shaded courtyard. That gives visitors a chance to see a Mamluk palace in living use rather than as an empty shell, and the calm interior offers relief from the busy street outside.

Saliba Street itself is a rewarding walk, lined with sabils, mosques and madrasas, so the palace slots naturally into a route linking Ibn Tulun, the Gayer-Anderson house and the great Sultan Hassan mosque near the Citadel. Entry is modest, hours are daytime, and the courtyard is a fine spot to sit between sights. Look for the carved stone portal and the reused ancient columns in the lower halls, and time a visit to coincide with one of the regular evening events, when the painted ceiling of the main hall is lit and the space returns to something like its original purpose as a stage for hospitality and display.