I live in an average sort of apartment building in what was once considered the one of the most upscale neighborhoods in Cairo. Once upon a time, the housing primarily consisted of single family “villas” and everyone had yards.
Those days are all but gone. Today, land is at a premium and landowners would rather knock down the old homes to put up ugly apartment buildings (like the one pictured below) where they can charge rent to as many families as they can fit into the space. Few have any yard space to speak of. Some buildings are nicer than others of course, but there are a whole lot that look like this on the outside.
(click any image to enlarge)
There are still a few of the lovely old villas left here and there, like this one
or this one, which was recently restored
or this one, which isn’t looking as carefully maintained but is still pretty
There are even more magnificent examples downtown where the French influence is quite obvious. But many of the villas are just falling down. From what I understand, it costs a fortune to maintain them (and to rent them) and many landowners would prefer to tear down the existing building and build something cheaper, collecting rent from many families rather than try to rent a single space for more.
It seems a shame to tear down these lovely old buildings, some of which must be close to 200 years old, to put up an ugly concrete apartment building. But I suppose that in a place where their own history is so rich, a couple hundred years just doesn’t really signify when other historical sites are thousands of years old.
I was out walking the other day when I saw a new apartment building being constructed, overshadowing the villa standing next to it. The buildings here are often built very close together, but this seemed ridiculous.
Not sure I’d like being overlooked that way myself.
But wait - it sure would be handy if you needed to borrow some sugar or your TV was on the fritz. Just lean step out onto your balcony and lean across!
I can’t help but wonder what they were thinking when they started this project. Does the same guy own all the land and this is his idea of a compromise? Or are there two different land owners? Is the owner of the apartment building simply trying to force the villa owner to back down by making living in / renting out the villa totally impossible? It doesn’t look as if anyone is living in either place at present, but I’m going to keep my eye on this one.
Just fascinating!
Loved your pictures showing the lovely homes and the ugly apartment buildings. We have many gorgeous old homes in Victoria that have been turned into apartments. At least the facade is saved. Some of the exquisite interior woodwork shows up as well.
I can understand the need for living space in crowded Cairo. Do you have homeless people living on the streets? We have problems in Victoria. Lots of layabouts move here for the moderate climate and are fighting right now to build tent cities in our parks!!! We taxpayers are up in arms. House the truly homeless and attend to the mentally ill. Beggars on Canadian streets makes no sense to me. Stop right there, Anita! You are ranting on about something that has nothing to do with the topic.
by Anita Birt October 30th, 2008 at 6:03 pmAnita,
Making the villas into multi-unit apartments is a great idea but somehow that’s just not how they do it here for some reason. They’d rather knock them down and start over.
There are many many many people without proper housing in Cairo - though they aren’t necessarily visible on the street. Generations of families have taken up residence in the mausoleums in the City of the Dead, and I read an article recently about families who live on the rooftops of apartment buildings and rent bathroom time from the residents inside. I’ve seen a few ramshackle shacks constructed on vacant lots or in between apartment buildings. It’s fairly appalling to think that people live in such dwellings long term.
by Jenyfer October 31st, 2008 at 3:12 am