| Page Views: 2,173 Last Visit to Cairo: May, 2007 | The charm is in the chaos by Tijavi - last update: Oct 5, 2008 |
| The Nile's calming effect on chaotic Cairo |
If there is one negative urban trait that Cairo has mastered to use to its advantage, that would be CHAOS. The city thrives on it - and how it does! Cairo wouldn't be Cairo without its hordes of reckless drivers, congested districts, filthy air, crumbling buildings and huge of volume of humanity (about 20 million) all cramped into such a thin stretch of habitable real estate. Even the Egyptian Museum, with thousands of priceless artifacts competing for limited display space, epitomizes the chaos that Cairo is renowned for.
Yet oddly enough, these are the things that make Cairo special and charming - and tick. Imagine Khan el-Khalili without its labyrinthine alleys lined with screaming hawkers or drivers respecting pedestrian lanes - unthinkable! It would be tragic if Cairo evolves into an orderly society ala-Singapore. Cairo would lose its character. It would lose its soul.
Too profound?
Think of Cairo as a thick - a very thick - history book that spans 4,500 years of colorful human events. And think of chaos as the thread that binds together the chapters of this very thick history book. This is not so difficult to imagine in a city where the ancient, the not-so-ancient and the modern are laid over each other - within such limited amount of space. To most outsiders, this is chaos. For Cairenes, this is normal, day-to-day life.
Now imagine the Cairene history book without the thread - without the chaos - Cairo would be reduced into one giant museum city with so many unrelated elements, each one clearly demarcated from others. Likewise, the history book would disintegrate into its various component chapters and would cease to be a fascinating and engrossing page turner that it is today. |
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| Pros: | "An overload of history where the ancient and modern are juxtaposed seamlessly." | | Cons: | "Crossing the street literally means running for your life." | | In A Nutshell: | "A fascinating and engrossing giant history book." |
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 Comments for Tijavi about Cairo | | | | |
om_212 Tue Mar 4, 2008 15:06 UTC
enjoyed a lot your writing style and photos of Cairo. the 'pharaon fatigue' and 'the story of the red jug' are the best. happy travels, Olya | sarrahh Sat Nov 24, 2007 08:38 UTC
very nice photos Cairo is gr8 | TheLongTone Wed Sep 5, 2007 12:19 UTC
Great page! I really like the title, it says it all. If you don't love the chaos, you are going to burst! Crossing the road is an entertainment in itself. | MalenaN Sun Aug 19, 2007 15:52 UTC
Wonderful tips about Cairo TV! Cairo is a great caotic city! |
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