The City of the Dead · The People Who Live in the Cemetery

Cairo’s “City of the Dead” is a burial ground that has grown over several centuries: the courtyards and houses left between the graves were meant for people visiting tombs to rest in, and were later moved into by those with nowhere else to go.

There are families, water and electricity, streets and lanes; the living and the relatives buried below share the same courtyard. The government has tried several times to rehouse the residents, and has never managed it.

Those who live here say that by day everything goes on as usual, and that the nights are calm as well — live somewhere long enough and there is nothing left to be afraid of.

Haunted Ruins / Cairo · Egypt / Time immemorial