Cairo Inside Out: Expanded Edition
J. Trevor Williams
Trevor Naylor. Doriana Dimitrova, ph.
2019, AUC Press, 978-9-77416-922-9, $24.95 pb.
In Cairo Inside Out, author Trevor Naylor offers respite in the Egyptian capital’s architectural past, evoking the in-between places that anchor experiences in a metropolis marked by frenetic development and overlapping historical identities. It’s part coffee-table book and part city guide, with vivid color photos capturing light-filled foyers, Nile houseboats, elevated vistas, grand hotels and storied cafes. The “inside-out” framing situates the reader within the walls of landmarks like the Cafe Riche, Hotel Windsor and Ibn Tulun Mosque. Naylor’s historical commentary and practical advice on how to sail on a felucca or haggle in the alleyways of Khan al-Khalili complement the experiential quality in Doriana Dimitrova’s photography, captured over a year. Even the most cursory read inspires and equips prospective visitors. For Naylor, Cairo is a city not to be explored only for its current charms, but to be experienced by way of time travel to earlier points in its 1,000-year history, with buildings rather than people serving as his main cultural touchstones.
You may also be interested in...
Celebrate Women's History Month With These Reads on Women Throughout History
To help honor Women’s History Month, AramcoWorld brings you a list of 10 female-focused reads that celebrate women throughout history.
In the Aftermath of Rome's Collapse, These Communities Shaped the Mediterranean
Three regions of the post-Roman Mediterranean, from 400 CE to 1000 CE—the Latin West, Byzantium and the early Islamic world—are the focus of this work.
The Great British Bake Off Winner Nadiya Hussain Gathers Global Recipes in Culinary Celebration of Ramadan
Nadiya Hussain's diverse recipes highlight the global unity of Muslim cultures and cuisines.