The entrance of Modernization in Cairo

Located at the Giza pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the biggest museums in the world. Its design consists of triangular geometry, which mimics the pyramids, and an exterior of stone represents Egypt's architectural style.

Before the modern era, Cairo was a thriving Islamic capital that flourished under the Fatimids and Mamluks (10th–15th centuries) as a hub for study (Al-Azhar University), trade (spice routes), and magnificent architecture, earning it the nickname "The City of a Thousand Minarets".

Cairo’s urban landscape has undergone dramatic transformations since the end of the nineteenth century until the present. The exhibition demonstrates how Cairo's architecture reflects changes in modernization and in urban planning policies and shifts in social and economic conditions. Cairo’s transition to modern city planning took its first major steps when European influences entered the city; new districts were developed with wide boulevards, straight streets and grid systems (similar to those of European capitals). The new planning approaches provided a base for developing new building types such as apartments, administrative buildings, and shopping areas which represented drastic contrasts to Cairo’s earlier organic street street.

While European models had a great deal of influence on the development of Cairo, the city did not simply adopt foreign design concepts. Cairo’s architects and planners combined foreign influences with their own cultural influences to produce hybrid forms that continued to evolve over time. As the city grew, traditional social and cultural practices such as social gathering places, neighborhood rhythms and patterns of daily activity continued to shape how modern spaces operated.

The ten selected buildings featured in this exhibition highlight important periods in Cairo’s evolution of modernism, from mid-20th Century governmental complexes to contemporary cultural institutions and to the latest mega-development projects in Egypt’s new cities.Overall, the selected buildings are representative of how policy, political will and urban expansion have altered the form, size, and nature of the city for over one hundred years.