Cairo - the Left Bank off the 00's?
0 Comments Published by Tom Gara on Friday, March 4 at Friday, March 04, 2005.
So I am back home in Cairo, and realising how attached I have become to this city. I really missed the place while I was away - especially at night times, when the silence outside at 1 am was unthinkable by Cairo standards. I have also condolidated my opinions on how great Central and Eastern Europe really is. Arthur says it very well in his posting but basically, I would take any one of Prague / Budapest /Vienna/ Bucharest / Bratislava over Dublin / London / Paris / Brussels in a second. More dynamism, better food, cheaper, more different and the unescapable energy of growth.
In the 50's and 60's, the young counterculture types made their way to Paris. In the early 90's, the hotspot was Prague, which was soon dubbed "the Left Bank of the 90's". I wonder where the next hotspot will be? What will be the next treasure city of the world which has remained closed, introverted and poor - but will soon be filled with young optimists, moving to find a wild west of energetic living culture, low prices and growing opportunities?
My hope is Cairo, and the Middle East as a whole. Geographically, it is a fairly easy region for Europeans and North Americans to travel to. Economically, these countries have impressive potential growth to clock up if they turn towards open markets and good governance. And there is the Gulf right next door, the vast sea of potential investment dollars just looking for a decent workforce and resources to invest in.
We already have Dubai showing potential to be the worlds most cosmopolitan, multicultural city within the next decade, with a massive, rich expat population and the worlds best business enviroment. Other states in the Gulf, especially Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar are also getting there. If this region opens up and becomes a focus in the way Central and Eastern Europe did in the 90's, then Cairo will clearly be the big-daddy of all the Middle East capitals. Key cities will probably be Cairo - Tel Aviv - Baghdad - Beirut, and don't be surprised seeing Tehran in there as well. Damn smart people them Iranians.
Anyhow, I can only hope. I really do see some similarities between the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe. Historic, beautiful old cities in superifical disrepair, but still throbbing with the energy of a brilliant people. A diverse region of unique nations and cultures being thrown together into under one generalist title and image - "Eastern Europe" being a grey land of misery and Soviet uniformity, or "The Middle East" or "Th Arab World" being a desert land of ignorant religious fundamentalists and repressed invisible women living in squalid poor cities. Neither images are, or ever have been, true - but way way too many people believe(d) one or the other.
So enough of that. Bring on the Cairo / Middle East renaissance.
In the 50's and 60's, the young counterculture types made their way to Paris. In the early 90's, the hotspot was Prague, which was soon dubbed "the Left Bank of the 90's". I wonder where the next hotspot will be? What will be the next treasure city of the world which has remained closed, introverted and poor - but will soon be filled with young optimists, moving to find a wild west of energetic living culture, low prices and growing opportunities?
My hope is Cairo, and the Middle East as a whole. Geographically, it is a fairly easy region for Europeans and North Americans to travel to. Economically, these countries have impressive potential growth to clock up if they turn towards open markets and good governance. And there is the Gulf right next door, the vast sea of potential investment dollars just looking for a decent workforce and resources to invest in.
We already have Dubai showing potential to be the worlds most cosmopolitan, multicultural city within the next decade, with a massive, rich expat population and the worlds best business enviroment. Other states in the Gulf, especially Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar are also getting there. If this region opens up and becomes a focus in the way Central and Eastern Europe did in the 90's, then Cairo will clearly be the big-daddy of all the Middle East capitals. Key cities will probably be Cairo - Tel Aviv - Baghdad - Beirut, and don't be surprised seeing Tehran in there as well. Damn smart people them Iranians.
Anyhow, I can only hope. I really do see some similarities between the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe. Historic, beautiful old cities in superifical disrepair, but still throbbing with the energy of a brilliant people. A diverse region of unique nations and cultures being thrown together into under one generalist title and image - "Eastern Europe" being a grey land of misery and Soviet uniformity, or "The Middle East" or "Th Arab World" being a desert land of ignorant religious fundamentalists and repressed invisible women living in squalid poor cities. Neither images are, or ever have been, true - but way way too many people believe(d) one or the other.
So enough of that. Bring on the Cairo / Middle East renaissance.
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