Egypt: in Heliopolis, near Cairo, a forced modernization

Text by: Alexandre Buccianti

Residents of the residential suburb of Heliopolis, northeast of Cairo, are torn between anger and resignation. The district, yet renowned for its calm, has become hell. For the past six months, Héliopolis has been under assault from excavators and cranes that have exposed its bowels and strangled its arteries.

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From our correspondent in Egypt,

The authorities decided, almost without warning, to build six road interchanges and viaducts simultaneously and to remove the tram rails to widen the avenues. Closed roads and battered streets have transformed Heliopolis into a maze where the cleverest get lost. Google and GPS were unable to keep up with almost daily changes. Taxis and even VTC sought to avoid Heliopolis. Things are better today, with the opening of several highways. It's even going so well that more and more people are being crushed, due to the speed and lack of pedestrian crossings ...

Assault on heritage

Some residents also denounce an attack on the heritage. Heliopolis was indeed the most successful new city in Egypt, even if its construction dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. Its promoter, Baron Empain , had planned wide avenues, a tram and above all a lot of greenery. Gardens, sports clubs and even a racetrack, not to mention the trees to provide shade during a summer that almost never ends. Jacarandas, ficus, sycamores and royal palms, sometimes over 50 years old, have been uprooted and then beheaded with the promise of being replanted, Insh'Allah. For the moment, we have only seen small indoor plants temporarily adorning the new viaducts. For the old Heliopolitans, it is a conspiracy to erase the last traces of the cosmopolitan past of Heliopolis, as was done for Alexandria.

انقطاع الكهرباء والمياه ساعتين يوميا فى هليوبوليس. غير الشجر المزبوح وشوارع دوخينى يا لمونة. الله يرحمك يا بارون. pic.twitter.com/7979V8ECUk

Héliopolis is about to become the link between the old and the new capital

At the origin of this sudden access of government zeal, the new administrative capital wanted by President Abdel Fattah al Sissi . The head of state, but also all the ministries must move there in June. From the neighborhood that has housed the presidential palace for forty years, Héliopolis will become the link between the old and the new capital. The suburbs therefore become the terrain for interchanges and viaducts aimed at smoothing traffic to the new capital located some 40 km away. As for the locals, nostalgic like me, they are described as "old-fashioned" by the media who praise modernity and reinforced concrete. Farewell, memories of a happy childhood.

► Read also: The renovated Alexandria synagogue, a strong signal for the Jews of Egypt

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