From time immemorial, the ancient and mysterious Egyptian city of Heliopolis has fuelled the collective imagination of both East and West. But this 4,500-year-old city, located at the head of the Nile Delta, is more than just the stuff of dreams. Port of call for travellers in Antiquity, place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages, and cradle of a complete new town founded at the beginning of the 20th century by captain of industry Edouard Empain, Heliopolis is now part of Cairo. Its present-day originality and dynamism derive from the dialogue between cultures of which it is an expression, making it one of the most remarkable districts of this great metropolis."