In the late 19th century DownTown Cairo was established, in Arabic it is called Wust El-Balad (which means the centre of the city, funnily enough).
The area, designed by French architects, was once home to the prosperous elite of late 19th and early 20th Century in Cairo.
Decades of neglect by the landlords and tenants, since the exodus of the expatriate community after the revolution of 1952, led to the state of the buildings as they are today. At one time there were regulations (probably are still) for the preservation of the buildings and their usage, but since many commercial establishments see no value to them of maintaining the buildings, they don’t.
The ‘main street’ of this area is known as Talaat Harb Street, named after Mohammed Talaat Harb who was a leading economist –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talaat_Harb
Originally it was called Suleiman Pasha, a French born Egyptian military commander, but renamed in 1954 after the revolution when Nasser wanted to rid the country of reminders of the British occupation and the Muhammed Ali dynasty.
Talaat Harb Street (Sharia Talaat Harb) runs a distance of about a kilometre from Tahrir Square on the east side of the Nile and is close to the Egyptian Museum.
The street is a central hub for backpackers and tourists, it has many budget hotels, some fast food, internet cafes and lots of touts. Anyone who has been to Cairo has no doubt had a walk up and down it, braved the crowds, traffic and hassle, and then run for cover as fast as possible.
It is also the home of a famous(?) place called the Yacoubian Building. A book by Alaa al Aswany released in English in 2004, set around 1990 and describes the comings and goings of the people, the occupants of the building and the area since the 1952 Coup.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yacoubian_Building
One thing to note is that the description of the real life building, placed at number 34 Talaat Harb Street bears little if no relation to the actual building itself.
What follows are a large number (sorry) of photos of the street and the buildings.
Firstly we establish we are on the right street (in other words, as I know exactly where I am, I wanted you to know I’d not cheated and just walked down any old place)
The area, designed by French architects, was once home to the prosperous elite of late 19th and early 20th Century in Cairo.
Decades of neglect by the landlords and tenants, since the exodus of the expatriate community after the revolution of 1952, led to the state of the buildings as they are today. At one time there were regulations (probably are still) for the preservation of the buildings and their usage, but since many commercial establishments see no value to them of maintaining the buildings, they don’t.
The ‘main street’ of this area is known as Talaat Harb Street, named after Mohammed Talaat Harb who was a leading economist –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talaat_Harb
Originally it was called Suleiman Pasha, a French born Egyptian military commander, but renamed in 1954 after the revolution when Nasser wanted to rid the country of reminders of the British occupation and the Muhammed Ali dynasty.
Talaat Harb Street (Sharia Talaat Harb) runs a distance of about a kilometre from Tahrir Square on the east side of the Nile and is close to the Egyptian Museum.
The street is a central hub for backpackers and tourists, it has many budget hotels, some fast food, internet cafes and lots of touts. Anyone who has been to Cairo has no doubt had a walk up and down it, braved the crowds, traffic and hassle, and then run for cover as fast as possible.
It is also the home of a famous(?) place called the Yacoubian Building. A book by Alaa al Aswany released in English in 2004, set around 1990 and describes the comings and goings of the people, the occupants of the building and the area since the 1952 Coup.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yacoubian_Building
One thing to note is that the description of the real life building, placed at number 34 Talaat Harb Street bears little if no relation to the actual building itself.
What follows are a large number (sorry) of photos of the street and the buildings.
Firstly we establish we are on the right street (in other words, as I know exactly where I am, I wanted you to know I’d not cheated and just walked down any old place)
I’ve walked down one side, starting at the top and then returned across the street. Near the top is the Yacoubian building, at the bottom is Tahrir Square.
We start with and look down the street –
We start with and look down the street –
Looks quite deserted doesn’t it?
The reason is that your intrepid reporter, knowing how busy it gets, arrived at 7am to give him half an hour or so until it became near impassable before 8am. That’s also why the sun is low.
Right at the end of the street in the distance the sun is shining on the Mogamma. A building constructed with Russian money by the government to house virtually all the admin side as regards the bureaucracy involved by the common man with living in the country. We’ll see more of it later.
To continue –
The reason is that your intrepid reporter, knowing how busy it gets, arrived at 7am to give him half an hour or so until it became near impassable before 8am. That’s also why the sun is low.
Right at the end of the street in the distance the sun is shining on the Mogamma. A building constructed with Russian money by the government to house virtually all the admin side as regards the bureaucracy involved by the common man with living in the country. We’ll see more of it later.
To continue –
Then we come to this building –
Not very dramatic or original is it?
Then we check the house number –
Then we check the house number –
Number 34, Talaat Harb Street. The Yacoubian Building.
Just down the street is one that looks a little more like it should be the place, but it’s not –
Just down the street is one that looks a little more like it should be the place, but it’s not –
Have a look back the way I’ve just come to see the Yacoubian again, it’s the next one along from the one with the pillars –
So we'll go for a walk further down the street -
Then we come to Talaat Harb Square with a statue in the middle of the great man himself –
Note the modern technology of the traffic light, the sign for the cctv camera which is supposed to catch you driving through a red light, and the countdown numbers to when the light will change. All this has happened in the last year. Some of the buildings around the square (or rather, circle) –
Midan Talaat Harb is the location of Groppi’s, a famous cafe and meeting place with an interesting history –
Then the Sun Hotel. This is where I stayed on my first ever arrival in Cairo in 1994. It’s within a stone’s throw of Tahrir Square, ideally located but somewhat run down –
Then we come to Tahrir Square, the Mogamma in all its glory, and far right is a glimpse of the Egyptian museum –
Maybe you can see it a little in this photo, the small red building –
The square is also the home to one of the metro/underground stations, with a convenient information board and map –
We’ve reached the end of the street and we’ll make our way back up the other side –
But first we have to cross the street. Easier said than done, but at this time of the morning it’s not too bad.
But we’ve recently had these pedestrian lights installed with the green man saying when it is safe to walk. But note this short video of mine showing the Egyptian version.
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
But we’ve recently had these pedestrian lights installed with the green man saying when it is safe to walk. But note this short video of mine showing the Egyptian version.
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
This is Felfela restaurant. A 'must eat at' place for tourists. But don't bother, it's gone downhill over recent years and I'd take you to better and more authentic places –
Moving back up the street -
Dotted around the country are these government run shops. They are the Duty Free shops selling what you’d find at the airport, alcohol, electrical items, cigarettes etc. If you arrive and realise you’ve forgotten something – like your alcohol allowance – you can present your passport and boarding card stub here and get it within 48 hours of arrival.
One thing that happens regularly is that local touts will approach you, ask if you’ve used up your allowance and persuade you to go for them to the shop. They’ll give you the money, no problem about that, you’ll buy whatever for them, give it to them and they’ll sell it on for a profit.
Technically illegal, but I’ve done it a few times when I was a guide -
One thing that happens regularly is that local touts will approach you, ask if you’ve used up your allowance and persuade you to go for them to the shop. They’ll give you the money, no problem about that, you’ll buy whatever for them, give it to them and they’ll sell it on for a profit.
Technically illegal, but I’ve done it a few times when I was a guide -
Each building has a ‘Bowaba’. This is a caretaker. The word is actually meaning also a gate/entranceway. The caretaker acts as the entrance to the building. To go in you usually have to go past him. He also has many other duties, he will go shopping for you, take out your rubbish, and they are a mine of information as to what is happening in the building and in the area.
If you are looking for an apartment, don’t look in the papers (especially if you can’t read Arabic), but cruise round the areas you want to live in and approach the Bowabas, they‘ll know what is vacant. Best learn a few words of Arabic first though, but you can get away with very few just to get the message across.
Here two from adjacent buildings have had their morning tea and gone off to do something. Probably just sit down on the steps though –
If you are looking for an apartment, don’t look in the papers (especially if you can’t read Arabic), but cruise round the areas you want to live in and approach the Bowabas, they‘ll know what is vacant. Best learn a few words of Arabic first though, but you can get away with very few just to get the message across.
Here two from adjacent buildings have had their morning tea and gone off to do something. Probably just sit down on the steps though –
One of the small markets. I bet that bread (called baladi bread) has a bit of grit with it –
Just as I head back to my car I slip into a small courtyard as the sun comes out -
So that's it, a look along Talaat Harb Street.