Cairo sheesha cafe : NPR

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Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly sequence through which NPR's worldwide staff shares moments from their lives and work around the globe.

Downtown Cairo, or Wust el-Balad because it's recognized domestically, is a treasure trove of hidden gems. Imprinted on each high-ceilinged constructing, arched balcony and iconic roundabout are relics that really feel like love letters from the previous. Relics just like the greater than century-old Greek Membership's veranda that overlooks a roundabout with a bronze statue of Talaat Harb, who championed Egyptian financial independence from international affect. The neighborhood's outdated cinemas and teahouses nonetheless stand the place Cairo's elites and British officers as soon as sat.

Wust el-Balad was designed when automobiles have been nonetheless a luxurious, and life moved extra slowly. Solely by strolling its broad pedestrian streets can the dimensions and element of its neoclassical, Artwork Deco and Baroque-inspired structure be totally witnessed.

Wust el-Balad's attraction unfolds in layers, a few of it discreet and tucked down facet streets just like the one on this image I took on a go to this winter.

Right here, at this no-frills sheesha (hookah) café, all are welcome. And it is right here, on plastic chairs, with out trending hashtags and filters, that connection and dialog stay timeless. It is right here the place downtown Cairo's truest treasure — pleasure — is unlocked.