Islamic Cairo From being founded in 969 to today, standing near the walled off city in modern day Cairo, Islamic Cairo remains as a reminder of what it used to be. It?s also known as ?Medieval Cairo? or ?Fatimid Cairo?. Islamic Cairo holds many of the greatest and most famous Islamic Monuments such as the Mosque of Ibn Tulun to the al-Hussein Mosque. 1979 UNESCO states it as a World Cultural Heritage Site, as ?one of the world?s oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hamas and fountains? and ?the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century.? Islamic Cairo didn?t start in 969, but dates further back.