16. Cairo

With its early origins not far from the ancient pyramids, Cairo was founded as a fortified camp first known as Al-Fustat.

A new dynasty created a new capital of Al-Qahira, which has evolved as new empires have ebbed and waned and to fall under the Ottoman Turks during the 16th century.

During the 19th century when Egypt was under British occupation, historian George A. Hoskins recorded his observations of visits to the city as follows:

“Cairo has changed little within the last quarter of a century. The mosques are more dilapidated and the colours in them much less bright. One great improvement has been effected. The Uzbekeeh, a large square formerly covered with water and at other times, a cornfield, is now beautifully planted affording delicious shade… Some of the houses which surround it are handsome, especially the Palace of the late Pasha’s sister and Shepheard’s large hotel as well as the Hotel d'Orient on the opposite side of the square… the old houses with their picturesque latticed wood windows, or Mushrebeehs… The mosques are the pride of Cairo. Unwashed, unpainted, unrepaired and even crumbling into dust, their beautiful minarets rival the palms in gracefulness, and combined with the glorious street architecture, the elegant fountains and picturesque costumes are enough to drive an artist crazy… The Citadel, which forms so grand a feature in the views of Cairo, is well worth seeing… The whole of the city is seen, with its innumerable minarets, that of Sultan Hassan being particularly distinguishable. In the distance, the desert, the Nile and the pyramids of Giza and Saqqara.” *

Yet greater change was to follow during the 20th century with the two World Wars across Egypt and the ‘23 July’ Revolution in 1952.

South of the Nile Delta and straddling the River Nile and with Gezira Island, Cairo may have lost some of the mystique of its ‘thousand minarets’, but historic enclaves are still in evidence.

However, the expansion of the city has developed in all directions with rural migration and huge increases in population.

Formally several satellite cities have been planned, connected by new infrastructure, and have grown gradually.

But more radically, it is the informal sector that has necessarily grown in search of its own solutions to shelter and housing.

Such informal housing – ‘ashwa’iyyat’ – has been pursued forcibly on any vacant land plots, essentially unserviced, and lacking basic facilities.

As a result, there are areas of extremely high density where people are entrapped in very poor neighbourhoods.

To the east the ‘New Administrative Capital’ of Cairo is under development for the central Egyptian administration, an enormous centrally planned governmental centre being built in phases outside the Second Ring Road.

Now, Greater Cairo is enormous, sprawling outwards in every direction and requiring constant improvements of infrastructure and services.

Over the period from 1940-2000, whilst the population has increased by a factor of six, Shlomo Angel** has shown in ‘Planet of Cities’ that the size of the urbanised area has increased by a factor of sixteen (16).

Hence this exorbitant increase in urbanised land cover is causing a huge challenge to the management of this north African mega-city as an evolving megalopolitan agglomeration.

*George A. Hoskins – A Winter in Upper and Lower Egypt – London, 1863.

**Shlomo Angel – Planet of Cities – Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2012.