Cairo's hidden gems
Egypt Daily Star (Nigel J Hetherington)
A lot of us are aware of the magnificently preserved monuments of the pharaohs, the splendours of Islamic Cairo, and the beautiful Red Sea corals, but how many of us are aware that Egypt has one of the largest collections of Art Deco buildings in the world, right in the heart of Cairo?
If you take the time, you will discover that every epoch of history is represented somewhere in Egypt.
It is the rich 20th century architectural heritage of Downtown Cairo that I wish to introduce to you here. The phase Art Deco comes from a design fair named the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs industriels et Modernes” held in Paris in 1925 which, many years later, was to become synonymous with the modern movement. However, the term would eventually be used to describe all things modern of that era, including architecture, fashions, interior design and even automobiles.
- Ashmolean To Open Refurbished Galleries Of Egypt And Nubia
Design Week (Angus Montgomery) The new Galleries of Ancient Egypt and Nubia (modern-day Sudan) will open on 26 November and feature the Ashmolean’s Egyptian collections and objects that have been in storage for decades. Architectural and interior...
- Online: Tarek Waly Centre
Tarek Waly Centre (Journal) Tarek Waly Centre (Articles) Thanks to Geoffrey Tassie for sending me the links to the above site, which has open access publications. PHILOSOPHY Our founding as a heritage planning and architectural practice evolved around...
- Changes To The Downtown Area Of Cairo
The National (Ursula Lindsey) Downtown – Wust al Balad in Arabic – is Cairo’s 150-year-old central district. With its mix of Belle Époque, neo-Islamic and Art Deco apartment buildings, its roundabouts ornamented with statues, its glittering cafes...
- Restoring The Heart Of Cairo
Al Ahram Weekly (Amira El-Noshokaty) You know you are in Downtown Cairo when your eyes fall upon grand boulevards and even grander buildings with late 19th century and 20th century European-style doorways and sculptures, designed in a combination of art...
- Travel: Labyrinthine Magic
Al Ahram Weekly (Taher el-Barbary) I've bookmarked this page so that I can print it off and take it with me next time I visit Cairo. Cairo visitors, either natives or foreigners, may have the same feelings of bewilderment every time they try to go...