Dr. Yasser Mahgoub – Doctoral Dissertaion –University of Michigan - 1990 - 12
busy square of Giza. We never expected to see what was behind the facades of the high rise buildings. As we penetrated through the narrow streets we discovered a completely different life than the one we had assumed from the outside. The wide, asphalt streets became narrow, mud alleys covered by animals' waste and sewage water. The concrete, plastered buildings were hiding mud dwellings occupied by peasants working in nearby farms. The peasants brought their animals from the field everyday at sunset to the houses in the middle of the city. They were living a rural way of life just a few meters away from the modern apartment buildings overlooking the Nile. There was no water or electricity supplied to the houses. The residents were afraid that we were government employees inspecting the area for remodeling and reconstruction. They were very resentful and chased us out of the neighborhood. We reported that all the area was in a worthless condition and should be demolished. Our first design decision was to tear down all the buildings except for a handful of public and new buildings. We based our project on ideal space requirements, walking distances to shopping malls and services, separation of activities, and separation of social classes based on income and economic status. At no point did we interview the people living there or consider their unique living requirements. In history classes, we were taught different styles of architecture: Ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance, etc. We had to memorize these styles and several examples of their buildings, their description, and drawings. These styles represented periods of history and places, some with which we were familiar. A short trip to the sites of these historical buildings was more than enough to create an unresolved puzzlement between the academic world in school and the reality of everyday life. Several of the historical buildings we studied in school were occupied by families who could not find other places to live in the crowded areas of old Cairo. What we