A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Video: Nostalgia for Old Heliopolis

Though this is in Arabic, you don't really need a lot of Arabic to get the gist. Heliopolis (Misr al-Gadida) is the suburb of Cairo founded in the early 20th century at the edge of the desert, with its own distinctive architectural style, and this nostalgic piece includes old pictures and videos as well as reminiscences by older residents of what a "paradise" the place was. Notes on the narratives: rhe "Metro" everybody talks about is the tramline (shown early in the video) from Cairo to Heliopolis, decades before the subway.  Qasr al-Baron, the pseudo-Cambodian home of Baron Empain, founder of Heliopolis, has been celebrated previously on this blog. as has the Heliopolis Palace Hotel, also mentioned here, which became Mubarak's Uruba Presidential Palace.

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