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City of the dead, Cairo


City of the dead, Cairo
Photo Information
Copyright: Suchitra Vijayan (La-Moreneta) Silver Note Writer [C: 3 W: 0 N: 22] (460)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-02
Categories: Daily Life
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-03-05 4:37
Viewed: 857
Points: 4
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Egyptians dont call the sprawling cemetery at the eastern edge of Cairo 'City of the Dead.' Only Westerners do. Cairenes prefer to call it simply the arafa, the cemetery,. But what better name than City of the Dead to describe the four-mile-long walled necropolis that now houses thousands of families and countless small businesses. The arafa is a necropolis turned metropolis, where the needs of the living have far outpaced the sanctity of the dead. Here, survival takes precedence over superstition, and the impact of overpopulation and overcrowding wears a human face. The cemetery is filled with refugees from Cairo's housing shortage who became homesteaders in a landscape of tombs and mausoleums.


The Arabic scribble on the window says Alhamdulillah
(الحمد لله), meaning "Praise to God" or "All praise belongs to God. However the word is misspelt here. The single letter on the top is probably "bha", but I could be wrong. The scribble is probably the little girl practising to write her first few words.
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Critiques [Translate]

Howdy Suchitra!
Nice girl. Good point of view. Original light and sharp. Good capture.
TFS!

Thanks for the detailed description. One could make much of the composition. Sensible and sensitive work!

  • Great 
  • jmdias Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1796 W: 179 N: 2393] (9546)
  • [2008-03-05 14:13]

suchitra

wonderful portrait, the beautiful girl in the window is very nice shown, the light and pov are perfect and the damaged window says many thing about her life.

hugs

jorge

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