A city pack for the Moonlit Atlas book

Cairo

Two pyramids rise over the dunes at the back of this set, and in front of them the Sphinx looks straight out at you, over the domes and minarets of old Cairo and a lantern-lit market. Put it in your Moonlit Atlas, press the brass button, and Cairo stands up under the desert moon.

The Moonlit Atlas book, closed: 8.1 × 6.7 × 2.5 in. With this pack, Cairo is what folds flat inside it. Scroll to open it as the sun goes down.

Press the brass button. Two torsion springs lift the lid, a gear damper keeps it slow, and three rows of the city stand up with it, upright at 90°, the pyramids highest of all.

The pyramids of Giza: two stepped pyramids in sandstone courses, the tallest piece in the set, rising over the rolling dunes with the moon behind them, and the lattice Cairo Tower standing at the right.

Below them, the Great Sphinx faces you head-on: a carved face under a striped nemes headdress, resting on its paws on a stone plinth. Every other building in the set stands either side of it.

Either side of the Sphinx, the old city's skyline: the Muhammad Ali Mosque on the Citadel walls with its grey-blue dome and two pencil-thin minarets, and a second domed mosque with its own minaret right beside the Sphinx.

Down on the street: red, ochre and sand-coloured houses with wooden balconies, the bazaar under its red-and-white striped awning and hanging lanterns, and two camels in red saddle blankets under the date palms.

At the front, the Nile fills the tray in turquoise: two feluccas under tall white sails, rowboats at a stone dock, and papyrus at both ends of the bank.

Lights out. Windows glow in the old houses, in the mosques and at the top of the Cairo Tower, and the moon and stars come out over the pyramids. They glow in the dark: no batteries, no wires.

Up close

Sandstone, striped awnings and the turquoise Nile

The Sphinx seen head-on: a tan face with open eyes, a straight nose and a short block beard under a ridged headdress, resting on its paws on a sandstone plinth; behind it two golden stepped pyramids, at the right a slim tower with a cream diamond lattice on an ochre core and pale yellow-green windows near its pointed top, at the left a pale sandstone mosque with grey-blue domes, a round minaret and a tall pale yellow-green arched doorway; a crenellated sandstone block with three yellow-green windows at the lower right, a green palm frond, dark red roof tops along the bottom, the navy frame and the dark night panel with cream stars and a magenta band — The Sphinx, face to face: it sits square to the front of the set, with the pyramids behind it and the Cairo Tower at its shoulder.

The whole Cairo set in the open book, seen from the front over the water: two golden stepped pyramids against the dark indigo panel with cream stars and a magenta band, a sandstone sphinx and a slim lattice tower at the right, two pale sandstone mosques with grey-blue domes and slim minarets; in front, a street of red, ochre and sand-coloured houses with pale yellow-green windows, a red-and-white striped awning, a palm and two tan camels with red blankets; in the cream tray, a turquoise river with white wave lines, two boats with white triangular sails on dark brown masts, small rowboats at a stone dock and green papyrus at both ends — The whole set from the water: the feluccas on the Nile, the market street, and the Sphinx and the pyramids standing behind them.

Close on the middle and back rows: a pale sandstone mosque on crenellated walls with a large grey-blue dome, small grey-blue half domes and two slim minarets with grey-blue caps, a second sandstone mosque with grey-blue domes, a round minaret and a tall pale yellow-green arched window, two golden stepped pyramids over the dunes behind them, the edge of the sphinx at the right, red roof tops at the bottom and the dark night panel with cream stars and a magenta band — The Muhammad Ali Mosque's grey-blue domes and pencil-thin minarets, with the pyramids standing behind the Citadel walls.

The four pieces of the Cairo set out of the book, seen from the front right and a little above: in front, the turquoise river plate with white wave dashes, two boats with white triangular sails on dark brown masts, small brown rowboats at a pale stone dock and green papyrus clumps at both ends; behind it the front row with a date palm, a standing tan camel with a red saddle blanket, red, ochre and sand-coloured houses with dark brown window screens, a market stall under a red-and-white striped awning and a resting camel; then the middle row with two pale sandstone mosques under grey-blue domes and slim minarets and a tan sphinx facing front; at the back two golden stepped pyramids over the dunes, a palm and a slim lattice tower — The four pieces of the set out of the book: the Nile nearest you, the pyramids at the back.

From the river to the desert

Cairo stands in layers. The Nile runs through the city; old Cairo's houses and bazaars crowd its east bank; the Citadel's domes and minarets stand above them; and out west, where the city meets the desert, the Sphinx keeps watch at the foot of the pyramids. This set is stacked in that order, from the water in the tray to the pyramids against the moon.

The NileThe turquoise river, two feluccas, rowboats at a stone dock, steps up the bank and papyrus.
The old cityRed, ochre and sand-coloured houses, the bazaar under its striped awning, lanterns, camels and palms.
The Sphinx and the citadelThe Sphinx on its plinth, the Muhammad Ali Mosque on the Citadel walls and a second domed mosque.
The desertTwo stepped pyramids over the dunes, date palms and the lattice Cairo Tower.

Drag to turn the book. Tap a number for its story.

10 landmarks, from the pyramids to the papyrus

Walk the set the way the film did, from the top of the Great Pyramid down to the reeds on the riverbank. Pick a landmark to see where it stands and what the model shows.

Already have the book?

New York off, Cairo on

Say your book holds New York. Each row clicks onto its frame with two magnets and two V-keys. Lift it straight up and it comes free.

Once New York's three rows are off, lift its harbor plate out of the tray.

Drop in the Cairo plate: the turquoise Nile, with its feluccas, rowboats and papyrus.

Set the Cairo rows on, back to front, the pyramids first. The magnets pull each row home. New York goes back on the same way whenever you want it.

What's in the Cairo pack

The set

Three building rows and a Nile plate that drop into your book and click onto its frames with magnets. No batteries: after a lamp has charged them, the windows glow brightest for 30 to 60 minutes.

Weight: about 6.1 oz 173 g
Made from: PLA
Building depth: up to 0.47 in, so the rows fold flat 12 mm

The closed Moonlit Atlas book: navy cover, cream page block and a brass button

Add-on: needs the Moonlit Atlas book

Cairo needs a book to stand in

This pack is the city only. It stands up inside the Moonlit Atlas book, which is sold separately. The rows click onto the book's frames, so Cairo swaps with New York or any other city set in seconds.

See the Moonlit Atlas book