More than a mere exhibition, “Something else” is a kind of investment in the historical Salaheddine Al-Ayubi Citadel, which goes back to the medieval Islamic era. Through it more than 135 artists and curators from 35 countries have gathered to revitalise the art scene in Egypt. In its third round this year, the biannual event is riveting.

The first two pieces I encountered — at the Royal Carriages Museum — were by two Egyptians, Vahan Telpian and Ahmed Bassiouny, and they both change somewhat depending on the time of day. It took some time to grow used to the unusual exhibition space as I made sense of the shiny objects dominating the scene. Telpian, a sculptor and painter who graduated from the Faculty of Art Education in 1988, had covered parts of the space in aluminium foil to create his art. Using a similar technique, he also created an imaginary lake down below.

“For me,” he told me, “reflecting the past onto the present produces the future. I used aluminium foil to reflect any natural or artificial light. My aim is to turn parts of the space into contemporary art pieces distinct from their original form, in which they have existed all through history.” In the past, Telpian says, he functions as a memory; in the future, an expectation; “and in the present I function as an encounter that represents the human being I am. What you can see here is an indication of this concept.”

As for Bassiouny, an Abu Dhabi-based physical education graduate of 2016 who has practised sculpture for ten years, he attached rockets made of paper, wood and metal to the walls, which appear variously as though they go through or break on contact: an act of penetration, as he calls it, which demonstrates the need for defence: “We should be prepared for any attacks. Every period has its own weapons, and in time everything needs to be updated, including this citadel here.” It took him six months to prepare for “Something else”.

Next, I was in the red palace, and a banner in Arabic reads “I exist here” while an audio presentation is playing at the back. This is the work of the Lisbon-based Brazilian artist Vincius Couto, whose work raises awareness  for HIV patients. “My work is about my existence,” he told me, having appeared wearing silver. “I am trying to speak openly about HIV, which I myself have been suffering from for seven years. It was very important for me to be here with my work, which is about peace for 14 million HIV patients and for myself. It is also about gender, sexuality, race, you name it.” When I asked him why he was wearing silver, he replied, “I want my body to be a reflective surface.”

I thought I could step on the rugs when suddenly they looked like Muslim prayer rugs, then I noticed the whole space was surrounded by a fence. This is architect-photographer Karim Al-Hayawan’s conceptual sacred entrance. “At the Al-Ghouri Mosque five years ago, I found the mosque guard arranging some donated prayer rugs on the floor. My eyes saw an artist making a collage. In an indirect way I not only felt the beauty but  also saw it. I saw this man’s intention to make something beautiful before I left.”

Eventually the installation became a sacred space at prayers time, a spot which was once a British residence, a barrack and later a school. “It was more like an experiment in fact, when Farida organised ordinary rugs and prayer rugs together on the floor in a certain way, anticipating people’s reactions.”

That was on my way into artist Amina Kadous’ room, if I can call it that. Inside I found images of Cairo landmarks printed on red bricks, a kind of miniature assemblage of the city scattered all over the place. “My work is a metaphor for the crumbling city,” Kadous told me, “a city that has always been dismantled and rebuilt over the centuries. Always undergoing changes. Replacing the old with the new. My work draws on my mental and physical feelings for the city and my connection to it. Trying to physically portray it through an installation.”

I told her I was reminded of putting together Lego structures with my children. “That is exactly it. Through this interactive installation I want the visitors to rethink their relationship with the city and remember their history. From afar you can see the bigger picture of Cairo but as you move closer you see the building blocks that make the city come together in one big picture and bring buildings back to life.”