Downtown - Cairo
Downtown Cairo (Arabic: وسط البلد wasaṭ al-balad / wesṭ el-balad, "middle of town"), has been the urban center of Cairo, Egypt since the late 19th century, when the district was designed and built.
The area, designed by prestigious French architects was commissioned by Khedive Ismail. It was he who stressed the importance of urban planning for the first time in Cairo, to include broad, linear gridded streets, geometric harmony and modern European architectural style.
It was once home to the prosperous elite of late 19th and early 20th century Cairo. It is a relic of a bygone era — Egypt's Belle epoque — and demonstrates the Khedive's vision for developing Egypt. Yet decades of neglect by the neighbourhood's landlords and tenants, precipitated by the exodus of the expatriate community after the 1952 Revolution led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the ensuing departure of the upper classes, have left the ornate splendor of its ornate edifices mired in decay. Lax enforcement of laws and regulations gave way to the entry of commercial establishments into the neighbourhood, mostly with no regard to maintaining aesthetic harmony or preserving the historic buildings
The area, designed by prestigious French architects was commissioned by Khedive Ismail. It was he who stressed the importance of urban planning for the first time in Cairo, to include broad, linear gridded streets, geometric harmony and modern European architectural style.
It was once home to the prosperous elite of late 19th and early 20th century Cairo. It is a relic of a bygone era — Egypt's Belle epoque — and demonstrates the Khedive's vision for developing Egypt. Yet decades of neglect by the neighbourhood's landlords and tenants, precipitated by the exodus of the expatriate community after the 1952 Revolution led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the ensuing departure of the upper classes, have left the ornate splendor of its ornate edifices mired in decay. Lax enforcement of laws and regulations gave way to the entry of commercial establishments into the neighbourhood, mostly with no regard to maintaining aesthetic harmony or preserving the historic buildings
