Cairo Without a Map

 President Obama and host President Hosni Mubarak deserve credit for making Egypt the venue for Obama's address to the Muslim world today. It is a fitting choice, considering Egypt's pivotal geographical and cultural position and the close relationship the two countries have enjoyed since the Camp David peace accords in 1978.

 Sentiment against U.S. policies runs high in Egypt, however, so Obama could have found a friendlier setting. Mubarak is taking a risk, too. Egyptians are taken with Obama's charm and by his example of a politician who fought hard electoral battles to win office. Thus, Obama will stand in sharp contrast with Egypt's aging president, who has been routinely re-elected every five years since taking office in 1981 and whose son appears to be getting groomed to take over.

 Speaking as a long-time American resident of Egypt, here are my Top Ten tips so Obama gets the most out of his visit:

 1. Thank goodness you are not giving your speech in Sharm el-Sheikh, Mubarak's "Camp David" where he hosts many of Egypt's official visitors. It's a beautiful resort 300 miles from Cairo on the Red Sea, renowned for its coral reefs. Catering largely to foreign tourists, though, it's hardly representative of Egypt much less the wider Islamic world. Egyptian writer Mohammed Hassanein Heikel famously criticized Mubarak for living "in a world of fantasy" in Sharm.

 2. The place to be is Cairo, one of Islam's greatest cities and the undisputed mother of the Arab world. The apparent choice of Cairo University for the venue is a good one: it is the most prestigious, secular Arab center of higher learning, whose alumni include two Nobel Prize laureates, nuclear watchdog Mohammed Elbaradei and the late novelist Naguib Mahfouz.

 3. Alternatively, you could have followed your recent example in Turkey and spoken to Egypt's parliament, the Majlis al-Sha'ab (People's Assembly). Here you could formally meet members of Mubarak's main political opposition, the outlawed but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, which captured 20% of the seats running candidates as independents.

 4. For a deeper appreciation of the sweep of Islamic history, you must visit one of the mosques in old Cairo. If you go during the call to prayer, you'll hear the phrase "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") chanted not as a militant slogan to bring angry people to their feet, but as a melodic call by the muezzin to bring the faithful to their knees in prayer. One of the world's finest masterpieces of Islamic architecture is the Sultan Hassan mosque and madrassa, constructed in the heart of Islamic Cairo in the 14th century. Or down the road is al-Hussein, so called after your own namesake, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, and built in 1154. Meet some locals (and some foreign tourists-though there aren't many American visitors) by having a class of mint tea at el-Fishawy, a landmark café at the entrance to the old bazaar, the Khan el-Khalili.

 5. While you're in the neighborhood, take a stroll through al-Azhar Park, a beautiful green space with magnificent views of Cairo that was created from a reclaimed 500-year-old garbage dump in 2005 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

 6. If you visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, try to avoid a goofy, attention-diverting photo op. Whatever you do, don't get on a camel if the photographers are around! By all means, come back for a wonderful family vacation that takes in all the spectacular monuments and artifacts of Egypt's ancient civilization. But on this visit, keep the focus on today's Egyptians, not yesterday's.

 7. Ditto the Egyptian Museum; save it for your next trip, the treasures of Tutankhamen aren't going anywhere. Instead, visit the Umm Kalthoum Museum, a small palace on the Nile devoted to the memory of the diva who captivated Egypt and the entire Arab world for decades.

 8. Since your recent excursion to Ray's Hell-Burger and Five Guys Burgers and Fries shows your penchant for fast-food hangouts, go have lunch at Abou Tarek's in downtown Cairo. Here, the Egyptian fare is kushari, a mix of macaroni, rice, lentils and chick peas topped by spicy tomato sauce and grilled onions.

 9. Pick up a nice souvenir of your trip for the First Lady at a jewelry boutique owned by the Egyptian designer, Azza Fahmy. Her work, recently celebrated at the Kennedy Center exhibition, Arabesque, takes its inspiration from a variety of Islamic, Arab and Egyptian themes; her latest Symbols collection includes talismans, like wolf fangs and chili peppers, from Middle East folklore.

 10. Wind up the day with a stroll through downtown Cairo and a sunset Nile River ride on a felucca, an Egyptian sailboat. Here you will see some of the real Cairo, the multitude of Egyptians going about their daily life, and the flow of an ancient river that gave life to thousands of years of Egyptian civilization.

 --By Scott MacLeod/Cairo