On the east bank of the Nile, between Tahrir and Ataba Squares and Ramesses Station lies the centre of modern-day Cairo. Europeanised since the mid nineteenth century, this quarter was built along the same lines as Haussmann’s Paris: the streets are broad and meet at right angles and rococo apartment buildings with stucco mouldings were considered the height of modernity. This area also conceals some architectural gems dating from the early nineteenth century.
Along Talaat Harb Street, Qasr el-Nil Street and the Avenue of the 26 July, enormous painted posters advertise films currently showing in the cinemas. On Thursday evenings, the citizens of Cairo crowd the pavements of this window-shopper’s paradise. There are fabric remnant shops, clothes and shoe shops as well as major department stores, such as City Star, excellent pastry shops, fashionable fast-food outlets and belly-dancing cabaret clubs. The crowds are a mix of tourists and students from the American university. On leaving the main thoroughfares and entering the amazing alleyways of Khan El Khalili, the visitor can discover small restaurants and workaday cafes where men in suits and ties come to smoke their nargileh and drink their extra sweet tea away from the bustle. Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) in the heart of the city represents Cairo as a whole. An oriental-style building houses the American University. An enormous, semi-circular building, the Mogamma, houses several government departments. A visa extension might require a visit to this building in which case a cold beer to follow on the terrace of the Nile Hilton is sure to be appreciated.
Along Talaat Harb Street, Qasr el-Nil Street and the Avenue of the 26 July, enormous painted posters advertise films currently showing in the cinemas. On Thursday evenings, the citizens of Cairo crowd the pavements of this window-shopper’s paradise. There are fabric remnant shops, clothes and shoe shops as well as major department stores, such as City Star, excellent pastry shops, fashionable fast-food outlets and belly-dancing cabaret clubs. The crowds are a mix of tourists and students from the American university. On leaving the main thoroughfares and entering the amazing alleyways of Khan El Khalili, the visitor can discover small restaurants and workaday cafes where men in suits and ties come to smoke their nargileh and drink their extra sweet tea away from the bustle. Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) in the heart of the city represents Cairo as a whole. An oriental-style building houses the American University. An enormous, semi-circular building, the Mogamma, houses several government departments. A visa extension might require a visit to this building in which case a cold beer to follow on the terrace of the Nile Hilton is sure to be appreciated.
No comments:
Post a Comment