The City of the Dead, or Cairo Necropolis (Qarafa, el-Arafa), is an Islamic necropolis and cemetery below the Mokattam Hills in southeastern Cairo, Egypt. The people of Cairo, the Cairenes, and most Egyptians, call it el'arafa (trans. 'the cemetery'). It is a 4 miles (6.4 km) long (north-south) dense grid of tomb and mausoleum structures, where some people live and work amongst the dead. Some reside here to be near ancestors, of recent to ancient lineage. Some live here after being forced from central Cairo due to urban renewal demolitions and urbanization pressures, that increased from the Gamal Abdel Nasser era in the 1950s and forward. Cairo, Egypt, 2010
View of Cairo as seen from the Al-Azhar park, Cairo, Egypt 2010.
The city of Cairo is slowly encroaching the pyramids of Giza. The city's pollution is taking its toll on this ancient site, but with a population of 6.8 million people Cairo needs to expand. Some housing estates can be found barely a stones through away from the pyramids themselves. Giza, Cairo, 2010.
