Cairo: City of the Dead; Topographic Views
Gilchrist, Scott
Download1A2-EG-C-CD-A1_cp.jpg (580.9Kb)
Date
2003Description
General view looking south over the City of the Dead; City of the Dead (Qarafa, Arafa) is a group of cemeteries in Cairo, Egypt. It is a four mile long cemetery area located on the eastern side of Cairo. Traditionally, Egyptians buried their dead in room-like "burial sites" so they could live in them during the long mourning period of forty days. The poor have adapted the rooms to meet their needs and although this is technically illegal, it is tolerated. It is home to nearly a million people, many of whom were forced from crowded ghettos in Cairo. Others came from the villages simply looking for work - a good example of rural to urban migration in a developing country. To the people of Cairo, and other Egyptians, it is simply "the cemetery". It is a bustling grid of tombs and mausoleums where people live and work amongst their dead ancestors. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 1/18/2008)
Type of Work
photographSubject
architectural exteriors, cityscapes, contemporary (1960 to present), death or burial, domestic life, genre, Cemeteries, City planning, Housing, Twenty-first century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only