Nasr City

Nasr City مدينة نصـر
Coordinates: 30°03′N 31°22′E / 30.05°N 31.367°E / 30.05; 31.367Coordinates: 30°03′N 31°22′E / 30.05°N 31.367°E / 30.05; 31.367
Government
- City Leader	Major General. Mohamed El-Sheikh
Area
- Total	250 km2 (96.5 sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)

Nasr City (Arabic: مدينة نصر‎) is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominiums. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring suburb of Heliopolis. The establishment of the district was part of the Egyptian Government's plan to modernise and expand Cairo following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian President at the time, was involved personally in the design process, and was the one who chose the name Nasr for the new district ("nasr" being the Arabic word for "victory").

It is the largest district in Cairo, occupying nearly 250 km² of the capital's total area of 1,445 km². For this reason, it is divided into 10 sub-districts, of which numbers 6-10 are called by their respective numbers and the first 5 are called by their names. It is known for its well designed modern road system, and grid street system, which stands in contrast to the narrow winding streets of much of Old Cairo. Many forms of transportation exist in Nasr City, including minibuses, microbuses,and tock-tocks (in the 10th district of Nasr City). When catching a microbus, there are specific hand signs that may be used. These signs include putting the index and middle fingers in an upwards "V", which is the Arabic numeral 7, for the 7th district, placing those fingers upside down in a downwards "V", which is the Arabic number 8, for the 8th district, or putting out a hand and slowly opening and closing the fingers slightly above the start of the palm for the 10th district. The district is home to many socioeconomic strata. During Ramadan, the comparative wealth of districts can be determined by whether there are electric lights or simply colored flags. The 10th district of Nasr City is home to many Sudanese refugees who sometimes continue to wear traditional attire and speak a slightly different dialect of Arabic than the typical Cairene dialect.

Nasr City is home to the new premises of Al-Azhar University, the Cairo International Conference Center, Cairo International Stadium, a branch of the Ahly Club and several government buildings. Among its major landmarks is the pyramid-like Unknown Soldier Memorial honoring the Egyptian and other Arab servicemen killed in the October War of 1973. The Memorial is opposite the grandstand at which President Sadat was assassinated, and is where Sadat himself is buried. The Revolution has led to the presence of colorful graffiti on the road from Masjid al Salaam in the 8th subdistrict to the Ahly branch in Nasr City. This branch has 2 swimming pools, a large soccer field, a track where members can exercise, a gym, and many stores and restaurants. Members can enter for free, but non-members must pay 20 Egyptian pounds for a ticket. Nasr City also has many mosques, and during the times of prayer, one may hear multiple live adhans preceded and followed by Quranic recitation. Sometimes, the prayers themselves are broadcast through the loudspeakers.

Shopping and Mall Culture

Nasr City has a large concentration of shopping malls (Genena Mall, Tiba Mall, City Center, Serag Mall, and City Stars - the biggest mall in Egypt to date). There are eight shopping malls in the area, most of which were opened in the late 1990s. There was a dramatic growth of shopping malls in the neighborhood, and they were generally more successful than similar enterprises in other parts of Cairo. One of the main reasons for the success of these commercial centers is the simple grid environment of Nasr City. The district has no town/city center and consists of long, wide streets, with roundabouts, and perpendicular streets. This allows residents and visitors to move around the area easily and conveniently.

Nasr City is renowned for its huge variety of shops and leisure spaces including restaurants, coffee shops, and cinemas. The malls attract a lot of shoppers and visitors, and are usually very crowded during holidays and summer nights, while the fast-food restaurants and coffee shops remain open and busy until late at night. The cinemas and children's arcades are also very popular, especially on the weekends. Late night shopping is popular in Cairo, especially in summer, and thus the malls do not open until around 11am, and peak hours begin around 10pm. Also, each sub-district has its own market, or souq, where one can buy fresh fruit, vegetables, and slaughtered meat. The 10th district of Cairo has the biggest market, with at least 3 butchers, 5-6 large fruit and vegetable stands, multiple clothing stores, and slightly crowded streets.

The architecture and decoration of the newly built shopping malls of Nasr City are influenced greatly by building designs in the Gulf and Southeast Asia. The architecture of the Wonderland Mall is marked by its Oriental aspects while the design of the Geneina Mall, with its transparent glass elevators, resembles the design of Southeast Asian malls in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Some of the malls in Nasr City, like the Sirag, and Geneina malls, have associate housing and apartments above the shopping spaces. Although these malls are in close proximity with to another, there is no strict competition between them as most cater to different types of customers. The Tiba Mall, for instance, is regarded as a family mall, while the Geneina Mall is popular among teenagers and youngsters due to its bowling alley, billiard centre, and discothèque.

City Stars shopping mall.

These contemporary malls are exclusive and closely monitored spaces with tight security surveillance. They often demand specific behaviour and dress code from the visitors. In 1999, some malls like the World Trade Center and the as-Hurriya Mall, put restrictions on visitors wearing gallabiyas, traditional long robes that are often worn by males of the lower classes. These measures were taken by shopping mall managers in order to filter the public and stop people of lower classes from intruding the commercial space. The restriction on people wearing gallabiyas was later lifted due the influx of Gulf visitors who also commonly wear such garments.

For many, Nasr City symbolizes Cairo’s nouveau-riche suburban culture that has been influenced greatly by the lifestyles of the Gulf region. This is because an influx of middle class professionals and returning migrant workers from the Gulf countries purchased property in Nasr City and settled there.

^[1][2]

References

1. ^ Singerman, Diane, and Paul Amar, eds. Cairo Cosmopolitan. Cairo, New York: The American University in Cairo P, 2006.
2. ^ Mona, Abaza. Changing consumer cultures of modern Egypt : Cairo's urban reshaping. Brill Academic Pub, 2006.

See also

• Heliopolis (Cairo suburb)