City of the Dead (Cairo)

City of the dead in 1904.

City of the Dead , or Cairo Necropolis ( Arabic: القرافة ) is an Islamic cemetery in southeast Cairo , Egypt . Most Egyptians call this place El-Qaraf (Cemetery) . The city is a 6-kilometer system of tombs and mausoleums , stretching from north to south, where a large number of people live and work.

In the Cairo City of the Dead, several great Mamluk sultans were buried, in particular Kite Bay , whose mausoleum , built in 1474 , is considered a wonderful example of Islamic architecture .

In the City of the Dead, a peculiar life rages: often mausoleums and crypts (abandoned and not visited by relatives of the deceased for a long time) are used as temporary (or permanent) dwellings - mainly marginal elements of society that once arrived in Cairo in search of a better life and settle in them poor. Sometimes for a short time in the City of the Dead people settle in who find it very difficult to come to terms with the death of a loved one. It was the living inhabitants of the City of the Dead that created the cemetery’s unkind glory, although among the Cairo people themselves, Shubra is undoubtedly considered the most criminal. Also in the city of the Dead there is its own infrastructure . The surroundings of the City of the Dead are slums , and the current population may exceed half a million people ^{[1] [2]} .

On weekends and holidays, the City of the Dead is visited by relatives of the deceased buried here, often memorial meals are often arranged.