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URBAN CONSERVATION :

CITY OF CAIRO

INTRODUCTION

CAIRO IS THE CURRENT CAPITAL OF EGYPT

ONE OF THE LARGEST CITY IN MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

175 SQ.MILE. ON BOTH SIDES OF THE NILE RIVER

SERVED AS A MAJOR TRADE PASSAGEWAY FOR WATER & LAND

TRADE FOR 5000 YEARS

HISTORY OF CAIRO

SOME 5,000 YEARS AGOMEMPIS (TODAY

LYING MAINLY IN RUINS APPROXIMATELY 15
MILES (24 KM) SOUTHWEST OF CAIRO) WAS
A THRIVING METROPOLIS

ABOUT 2,000 YEARS AGO THE ROMANS

OCCUPIED A TOWN ON THE SITE OF
PRESENT-DAY CAIRO CALLED BABYLON

FROM 641 BC ONWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT

OF THE CITY TOOK PLACE TILL 1798 AD

DEVELOPMENTS LIKE COMMERCIAL &

INDUSTRIAL PORTS, ESTABLISHMENT OF A
NEW, RECTANGULAR, WALLED CITY TO THE
NORTHEAST OF THE EXISTING
SETTLEMENTS, CONSTRUCTION OF
GATEWAYS, EAST-WEST SPICE TRADE.

PEOPLE OF CAIRO

CAIROS POPULATION, ONCE BOTH ETHNICALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY

DIVERSE, IS NOW PREDOMINANTLY MUSLIM.

A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS, CONTINUE TO

DOMINATE CERTAIN DISTRICTS IN THE CITY.

THE OLD ITALIAN, GREEK, SYRIAN, AND SUDANESE COMMUNITIES

ARE STILL FOUND IN SOME LOCATIONS.

DIFFERENCES OF STATUS WITHIN THE EGYPTIAN POPULATION

DEPEND LARGELY ON ONES PLACE OF ORIGIN (MANY RESIDENTS
OF CAIRO WERE BORN IN RURAL EGYPT), CLASS, AND DEGREE OF
MODERNITY.

ABOUT HALF OF THE CITYS POPULATION LIVE IN THE CITY

PROPER, WHILE HALF LIVE IN THE SUBURBS

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CHARACTER

PLACE OF PHYSICAL CONTRAST

LOCATED ALONG THE WELL IRRIGATED SHORELINE, LUSH

VEGETATION SHARES THE LANDSCAPE WITH TALL SKYSCRAPERS

DENSELY POPULATED CITY OF EGYPTS CULTURE & POLITICS

LOCATED NEAR SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS REMAINS OF

ANCIENT EGYPT LIKE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA

THEREARE ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS, DATING FROM

ROMAN, ARAB, AND TURKISH TIMES

IN ADDITION TO DEPARTMENT STORES, CINEMAS, HOTELS, AND

TOWN HOUSES, CAIRO CONTAINS A LARGE FUNCTIONING
BAZAAR AND AN EXTENSIVE, SEMI-WALLED MEDIEVAL CITY
ENDOWED WITH MORE THAN 400 REGISTERED HISTORIC
MONUMENTS (INCLUDING MOSQUES, MAUSOLEUMS, AND
MASSIVE STONE GATES)

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CULTURE OF CITY OF CAIRO

CULTURAL CAPITAL OF THE MIDDLE EAST, AS WELL AS THE

REGIONS CHIEF MASS MEDIA CENTRE.

KNOWN FOR ITS MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC TALENT AND AS THE

SITE OF A RENAISSANCE IN ARAB THEATRE.

THE MOSQUES OF CAIRO THEMSELVES OFTEN OFFER AS RICH A

HISTORICAL STORE AS THE CITYS MUSEUMS.

THE CAIRO ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, IN AL-JZAH, CONTAIN

EXTENSIVE COLLECTIONS OF RARE TROPICAL ANIMALS IN A
GARDEN SETTING.

PLANNING OF CAIRO

CAIRO IS FAN-SHAPED CITY

NARROWEST IN THE SOUTH, WHERE THE RIVER VALLEY IS WEDGED

BETWEEN DESERT ESCARPMENTS,

WIDEST IN THE NORTH, WHERE THE VALLEY BLENDS INTO THE

DELTA.

OVER THE CENTURIES THE CITY EXPANDED WESTWARD

THE CITY ALSO HAS BEEN ELONGATED TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH
AND HAS DEVELOPED AN EXPANDING ANNEX ON THE NILES
WESTERN SHORE.

MOST OTHER STREETS ARE NARROW, TWISTING, AND OFTEN DEADENDED

THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, REFERRED TO AS THEWAST ALBALAD (CITY CENTRE, OR DOWNTOWN)

ALONG THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE METROPOLIS STANDS THE

DISTRICT OF AL-QARFAH (CITY OF THE DEAD), A UNIQUE ZONE
MADE UP OF AN EXTENSIVE SERIES OF CEMETERIES.

PRESENT CITY OF CAIRO

BY 21ST CENTURY, CAIRO HAD BECOME AN INCREASINGLY

STRATIFIED CITY, WITH LARGE AREAS OF INFORMAL HOUSING
OCCUPIED BY THE LOWER AND MIDDLE CLASSES AND GATED
COMMUNITIES SERVING THE UPPER CLASSES.

ALTHOUGH CAIRO CONTINUES TO BE FACED WITH MANY OF THE

SAME PROBLEMS AFFLICTING OTHER LARGE METROPOLISES IN
THE DEVELOPING WORLD

PARTICULARLY THE PROBLEM OF PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION

AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURAL SERVICES TO ITS GREATLY
EXPANDED POPULATION

PARTS OF CAIRO BUILT IN THE 19TH

CENTURY REVEAL EXAGGERATED
EUROPEAN INFLUENCESHIGHLY
ORNATE STONE EXTERIORS,
CUPOLAS, AND ROMANESQUE
DOORWAYS.

IN THE EARLY MODERN QUARTERS, BUILT IN THE 20TH CENTURY,

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THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLE IS PARTLY PARISIAN, WITH MOST OF
THE MODERATELY TALL BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED OF CONCRETE
SLABS.

ARCHITECTURE CLOSER TO THE NILE IS MARKED BY A MIXTURE

OF STYLES, THOUGH CONCRETE STRUCTURES WITH BALCONIES
AND GLASS CURTAIN WALLS PREDOMINATE THERE.

PARTS OF CAIRO BUILT IN THE 19TH

CENTURY REVEAL EXAGGERATED
EUROPEAN INFLUENCESHIGHLY
ORNATE STONE EXTERIORS,
CUPOLAS, AND ROMANESQUE
DOORWAYS.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN CITY OF CAIRO

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NEW INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES HAVE INVADED THE

OLD CITY CHANGING ITS CHARACTER.

THE TRADITIONAL PATTERN OF CRAFTSMEN, MERCHANTS AND

WORKERS, IS BEING RAPIDLY REPLACED BY A NEW PATTERN OF
BULK STORAGE AND MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS THAT
ACTUALLY DOES NOT FIT WELL INTO THE OLD URBAN FABRIC.

THE RISING WATER TABLE, COMBINED WITH THE SERIOUS LACK

OF MAINTENANCE, PARTICULARLY OF THE ROOFS, HAS LED TO
RAPID DETERIORATION OF THE MASONRY AND WOODEN ROOFS
LEADING IN SOME CASES TO THE TOTAL COLLAPSE OF
BUILDINGS.

THE SCALE OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY ENCOURAGES LARGE

VEHICLES FOR DELIVERY PURPOSES AND HAS A NEGATIVE
IMPACT ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE MONUMENTS. THE NUMBER
OF VEHICLES, COUPLED WITH HEAVY PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT,
PRODUCES ACUTE CONGESTION AT A NUMBER OF POINTS.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

HTTP://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/PLACE/CAIRO

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