Cairo Inside Out

Great condition as described!

I learned about this book from a review in Aramco World magazine which I have found to be a reliable source of information on interesting books about the Middle East. As reviewed, the book provides an entirely engaging narrative about places in Cairo which are, while not entirely off the beaten path, not all the typical guidebook attractions. At once informative, charming, intriguing, the book places the reader in various locales near the Nile which have historical significance and offer unique architectural and cultural character and feeling. The photographs are complimentary to the text and also have a refreshing "you are there" quality which is different from photos in a coffee table book. All in all, a great read and experience (which I couldn't put down and read in a single day). The only thing that might have enhanced the presentation is a diagrammatic map showing the general locations of the various places visited.

Having been a resident of Cairo in my youth, I'm a sucker for anything about the city. This book is well presented with colorful images and interesting text. It's one part travelogue, one part memoir, and frequently give behind the scenes looks at what makes this old tick. Great book for anyone considering a trip there or for Cairo aficionados.

I really expected more information on the Cairo of today and more relevant pictures. Information was very minor and pictures were of very few areas. The presentation on Amazon makes it look different than what it is. I expected more depth and a little more variety.

As an Egyptian AND a Cairean I found this book to be great in many ways. Photographs, sequence and narrative; honest, but not mawdling and beautiful.

Prepare to wander boldly. Trevor Naylor has written and produced an exquisite gem of a book. Complementing the labyrinthine journey are visually poetic photos taken by the talented Doriana Dimitrova. The author’s flowing narrative and the photographer’s eye for detail have masterfully captured a transient serenity in a city that has witnessed glory, a belle epoch, wars, military coups, revolutions and historic moments. Turning the glossy pages of this square-shaped album, you will find the Nile, Zamalek, the City Gates and the Muqattam Hills, Khan al-Khalili where the writer Naguib Mahfouz found inspiration, and the modern grandeur of Downtown Cairo and the affluent, leafy suburb of Maadi. Readers will be lured to the dark interiors and an outside world of decaying majesty, broad avenues, public squares and royal monuments. As one who has visited Cairo many times, I found myself swept away to haunted palaces, mansions and former princely clubs. Brilliantly painted rooms graced by wooden furniture, chandeliers, winding stairwells and portraits, all evoke sacred spaces filling with ancestral whispers. One of my favourite pictures is that of Café Groppi at Talaat Harb Square, where British aristocrats and the French bourgeoisie once rubbed elbows with Cairene dissidents and politicians. Whether standing on the steps of the Ibn Tulun Mosque or admiring the church dome of Saint George; or viewing the distant pyramid through a bead-curtain at the bar inside the Mena House - this enchanting book is a feast for the eyes and a delight for inquisitive minds. It is also an eloquent reminder that beyond the dusty veil, squalor and traffic chaos, political uncertainty, hopes and broken dreams, and social disequilibrium, stands a timeless city that has seen it all before, continually living and breathing with a worldly insouciance.

The book, with its fabulous pictures, invokes many happy memories of times spent in Cairo. I don't know of any other publication that so accurately captures the feel of the real Cairo. It is a "must" for those who love Cairo and for those who are planning a visit to the city. I was luckily enough (and privileged) to be present when some of the stunning photographs were taken.The author and the photographer have combined brilliantly in this book, the second collaboration between the two. Even if you have never been to Cairo, or even don't intend to go, I would still strongly recommend the publication.

Beautiful book with informative text accompanied by stunning photography