Captured Time

[e-ssam]

I'm not good with new titles, this one works fine still

I live in Heliopolis, probably the last urbran remain of "classic cairo" and is in some way the joining place of downtown old cairo, and the more recent, post-english, "modern" cairo, and a walk in the street will let you feel its history.
Great architecture wise, and you can navigate it completely on foot. Recently though, most of the trees got cut down because of, bridges...for the yet to be named New Administrative Capital
(Here's a cruise video in a square for anyone interested)
The uni I'm in is in New Cairo, a more recently built area mostly of villas and compounds and one major street, with every chain restaurant & major brand you can think of.
Very luxurious, but not very "on the foot" friendly nor very... well, alive.

[e-ssam]

I very much understand what this was now

[Roshan]

I'm not good with new titles,

Recaptured Time?

I live in Heliopolis, probably the last urbran remain of "classic cairo" and is in some way the joining place of downtown old cairo, and the more recent, post-english, "modern" cairo, and a walk in the street will let you feel its history.

But this was a suburb, according to wiki-a-gogo, "established in 1905", and is still in the northeast corner?

[e-ssam]

I'm not good with new titles,

Recaptured Time?

I live in Heliopolis, probably the last urbran remain of "classic cairo" and is in some way the joining place of downtown old cairo, and the more recent, post-english, "modern" cairo, and a walk in the street will let you feel its history.

But this was a suburb, according to wiki-a-gogo, "established in 1905", and is still in the northeast corner?

That's when it started getting built but much of the later half of it and the expandments were not done before the 50s.
The square i live in was originally where the area ended and was surrounded by a desert, but other parts got built and reincorporated in it. Before eventually work started on Nasr City
When cairo was only downtown & what constitutes old cairo, it was the corner. But cairo keeps refusing to stop expanding so im not sure if it it works
It is located in a place which makes it pretty easy to get to downtown, nasr, the airport (which pretty much in heliopolis) and the newer urban areas from here.

[Roshan]

Well, first of all, I don't understand how could it be 'classic Cairo' if it was only "established in 1905" since Cairo's so old e-ssam. Does 'classic Cairo' have a particular meaning?

[Roshan]

I don't mean to nitpick. I am genuinely interested. I guess I'm a bit of a geography/history buff. I watched the Cruising video right away and I will watch more. I would have thought 'classic Cairo' meant something older? I also found in wiki that Heliopolis is said to have its own architectural style., so how can that be 'classic Cairo'? Is that an expression used in Egypt (in Arabic, I assume) and to mean what? Is c. 1900 thought of as the classic period in architecture in Cairo? Then what about what came before?

* * *

Here's what jumped out at me about the video: at first it reminded me a lot of Madrid when I was there in 1979, '83, and '92. But that didn't hold up throughout; also most of the buildings are real desert-colored sandstone. I was surprised at how many of the stores had signs in English, but then that seemed to vary depending on the area. Both auto and pedestrian traffic seemed rather sparse but notably absent were bicycles. There was an inordinate number of places of worship, especially churches, and a sign that I expect was leading to the still functioning synagogue as I was to find out. There was one fairly long stretch of high rise upscale residential buildings without any stores; you won't find this 'downtown' or 'midtown' in NYC except along Central Park and this attests to its having been conceived as a 'suburb', but also to the original residents not having to do their own shopping. I liked when it got to the disheveled shopping area and I found it amusing that the French bookstore was in probably the most shabby, delapidated building we got to see, bravely occupying the entire little thing like a colonial outpost under siege.

[e-ssam]

Its design follows not only the model laid by Ismail Pasha reformations of Cairo in the late 1800s, it's also a synthesis of the medieval egyptian designs in Old Cairo, persian and the moorish designs.
In a sense, it's revivalist. And fits very much as a "modern" successor. (Heliopolis is also called New Egypt)
And, maybe not so much after the 1952 revolution but especially more after the allowance of private investments in the 70s, none of the newer urban areas followed.
Colloquially too, that's a term used to refer to Cairo before the revolution.

[e-ssam]

Woop, my reply just got posted and i just noticed your last post

[e-ssam]

Here's what jumped out at me about the video: at first it reminded me a lot of Madrid when I was there in 1979, '83, and '92. But that didn't hold up throughout; also most of the buildings are real desert-colored sandstone. I was surprised at how many of the stores had signs in English, but then that seemed to vary depending on the area. Both auto and pedestrian traffic seemed rather sparse but notably absent were bicycles.
Traffic wise, heliopolis is much much better than most parts in Cairo, yet it remains lively. That's one of the reasons why it's a common for in location shoots (and due to its similarity to downtown and how jammed and expensive permits there are, when a scene takes place there it's usually shot here)
Funny enough, when I left today, there were some production trucks for what I think was an ad, at the place in the 13:25 mark.
I just got home, and they were packing to leave.
Egypt is not very bicycle friendly, do at your own risk :p. Across the other side of the street at 10:13 though, there is a park where you'll find most of the bike riders with a skateboarder here and there.
There was an inordinate number of places of worship, especially churches, and a sign that I expect was leading to the still functioning synagogue as I was to find out.
If you walk in say a circle, where the radius is a 10 minute walk or so, from the basilica catholic church at the 6 min. mark (which, apparently has a tunnel connecting to the Baron Palace) there are at least 4 Coptic, 1 (other) catholic, 1 protestant and 1 greek orthodox off the top of my head in that.
Very inclusive
There was one fairly long stretch of high rise upscale residential buildings without any stores; you won't find this 'downtown' or 'midtown' in NYC except along Central Park and this attests to its having been conceived as a 'suburb', but also to the original residents not having to do their own shopping.
I liked when it got to the disheveled shopping area and I found it amusing that the French bookstore was in probably the most shabby, delapidated building we got to see, bravely occupying the entire little thing like a colonial outpost under siege.
You will love downtown then, it's full of that
My dad told me about how a lot of the old residents in the square we are in were not Egyptian, and were mostly either Greek, Turk or English. Also, Roxy square (at the 8:35 mark if he weren't to take the right turn) has quite a few antique shops that were originally owned by Greek and English people.

[Roshan]

Wow.

I do so wish there were subtitles or the Sudanese guy at my job who was going to give me Arabic leassons ca. 1999 had not quit.