In the mid-nineteenth century, Egypt's Khedive Ismail dreamed of building a "Paris along the Nile." Thankfully he did not demolish the existing city, as was largely the case in Haussmann's Paris. Instead, he commissioned the finest architects of the age to erect a new city adjacent to the ancient city of a thousand minarets. Cairo's new European quarter boasted elegant buildings, vast, open squares, parks and broad, tree-lined avenues. For many years the district was named "Ismailia" in honor of the Khedive. Today it defines the center of modern downtown Cairo. And while in the subsequent years, the architectural masterpieces of the belle époque have been joined by creations in concrete, glass and steel, the captivating atmosphere of Ismail's Cairo remains intact.