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Cario Today

Today the modern city of Cairo looks quite different from when it was established some many years ago. The city has since expanded onto valuable agricultuarl land especially in the west and towards the north in the Nile Delta.

Cairo has grown rapidly in the past many years. The rapid growth has been due largley to the rural egypt areas migrating to the city center. The reason for the masses moving in is beasue it is felt that it is easier to get jobs living closer to the center, since transportation is so poor. Also as the rich move out to the suburbs, the poorer move in to take their place.

Today the nile looks very different as well. Luxury apartments line both sides of it, which has caused a major uproar in many of the citizens. The development even spread to a near by island within the nile called el-Gezira. Thanks to many bridges the west side of the nile has now been developed extensivly as well.

There are many different areas. The colonail areas have wide tree-lined avenues, withother european amenities. A great gulf has therefore grown between the colonial suburbs and the traditional quaters of Cairo.

Expansion keeps growing, which will eventually lead to more problems since with every increase in population, there is very little increase in expansion due to natural limits, therefore the density is going to keep rising.

The Basic pattern of the medival city is that it is round with a huge wall around to protect the inhabitants, but becasue of the hectic history, not much of this still remains today. In the center of the Middle Eastern city was a concentration of temples and public buildings, while wide streets ran outward from it.

Within the city there exists many different quarters or "districts" called the medina. Most of the quarters are occupied by ethnic grouping although today with everyone moving into the city they are becoming more mixed. The madina's can be considered an urban slum at best. They are for lower class citizens with substanderad housing and over crowing.

One of Cairo's greatest feature is the Tomb Cities, also know as the "City of the Dead" These are huge massive cemeteries with tombs for former royal and wealthy upperclass as well as common burial houses for one village. An estimated 250,000 live in these cities as squatters.

The wealthy live in Western-Style cities (the Suburbs) with very few foreigners. Other good areas are the older community of Heliopolis to the North East, and near the Pyrimids to the South East. Wealthy elites have become much more segregated from the working class mass from teh past. A good majority though still remain at the lower end of teh economic scale in teh impoverished metropolis. The most expensive property today is probably the property along the east bank. This is where today you will find teh Cairo Hilton, embassies, and exclussive apartment complexes.

Next we will check out the transportation

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