The idea of a new capital city for Egypt challenged my imagination. I love Cairo - with its built-in chaos, its steamy streets and markets full of people and vehicles, the constant hustle and bustle and traffic, the vast Nile River that crosses it, its mosques, restaurants, clubs, palaces, slams neighborhoods, cinemas and newsstands and books. In my view, there is no substitute for Cairo.
I first visited it in 1986 as Arab affairs correspondent for Army Radio, almost a decade after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's historic arrival in Jerusalem. Cairo in those days was very different from today's: so neglected, dirty, jammed, backward. The level of service and infrastructure was immeasurably low even in the luxury hotel chains. The telephone lines worked with great difficulty, and every call was accompanied by unbearable noise before it was interrupted. Driving through the streets went on for hours.
Since then, I have returned to Cairo many times: in the talks that accompanied the Oslo Accords, during the stages of the popular revolution that led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power, the ouster of the president on their behalf, and the return of control to the army. I've seen Cairo change positively from visit to visit: new bridges have made traffic more fluid and faster, green suburbs have eased population density.
In recent years, I have also witnessed the beginning of the reconstruction of historic Cairo. Armies of beggars and lobbyists, who turned every visit to the city's important sites into a nightmare, were expelled. Under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Cairo has become safer. Under his orders, the horrific slums in the heart of the city began to be evacuated, and business and residential towers began to be built in their place.
Sisi's government has declared all-out war on the "Ashwayat" ("random"), illegal and ugly residential structures that have sprung up not only in the capital, but throughout Egypt. This was mainly during the loss of control that characterized the "Arab Spring"; Over 2 million residential structures built by developers without permits, permits or adherence to standards and rules.
These buildings are well identified due to their red brick façade. Dozens of them have collapsed in recent years, burying their occupants under them. The evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Ashwayat structures necessitated finding a housing alternative. So is Egypt's relentless population growth – an additional million to 2 million people each year for the approximately 113 million Egyptians living in their country. Egypt has the largest population in the Middle East and ranks 14th in the world. All government efforts to implement "family planning," that is, to reduce the birth rate, have so far come to naught.
Towers in the new city in the midst of construction,
Officially, the new administrative capital is intended to help solve the housing shortage. Incidentally, this is just one of 15 new cities planned to be built in Egypt, some of them in advanced stages of construction, in order to significantly expand populated areas in Egypt, such as the initiative taken in various areas of the Sinai Peninsula after its return to Egyptian sovereignty in 1982.
Only about ten percent of the country's land is currently inhabited and exploited in the Nile Valley, the Delta and along the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. In the framework of Egypt's Vision 2030, which is similar in ambition to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030, the government seeks to make the wilderness bloom with advanced technologies and renew Egypt's face.
It's just that Egypt doesn't have the money Saudi Arabia has, and it has to rely on others. However, one of the successes of the vision is the city of "New El Alamein", located near the famous battle site of World War II, where the British stopped the Nazi advance in North Africa towards Palestine and the oil fields in the Arabian Peninsula.
Construction of the new El Alamein began in 2018 to coincide with the start of construction of the new capital. The new El Alamein, on the Mediterranean coast, about 250km northwest of Cairo, is destined to become a new mass tourism magnet. One that would take the pressure off Alexandria, the summer city about 100 kilometers away.
The vision has proven itself: the hotels, which are being built along pristine beaches, have hosted tens of thousands of tourists this summer. Locals and foreigners, especially from around the Arab world, attended the El Alamein Festival, "the largest entertainment event in the Middle East," with the participation of the best Arab artists. Egyptian authorities expected one million visitors to the festival.
In addition to the entertainment events, Sisi put the new El Alamein on the political map when he held a series of important political meetings in his new palace in the city with the president of the UAE, the King of Bahrain, the heads of the Palestinian factions, as well as a tripartite summit between him and Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The palace is supposed to serve as one of the president's summer palaces, and the high cost of its construction was and still is the subject of public criticism. Still, the new capital is the "flagship" of Sisi's ambitious development plans.
Egyptians wonder how officials will get to offices every morning, Photo: AFP
Unnamed beer
In the days of the ancient Pharaonic kingdom, the Egyptians called their country "Kemet". It was its first name in history, which means "Black Earth". He was referring to the fertile soils along the Nile Valley – the world's largest oasis – created after the annual summer flooding of the Great African River. Lands that were so different from the vast desert around them. Soon this forgotten name may be resurrected.
A few months ago, a poll was held on Egypt's government YouTube channel Panorama. "Wrinkle" starred at the top of the list of names that viewers of the channel were interested in giving to the new capital. It is being built between the almost endless desert sands between the current capital, Cairo, and the port city of Suez.
In July 2019, four years after Sisi announced the future construction of a new capital, the contracting company announced a popular competition to choose its name. It is still referred to as the "new administrative capital". Aqud (short for "urban development of the administrative capital"), 51 percent of whose shares are held by the Egyptian army and the rest by the Ministry of Housing, offered a very respectable sum of 75,4 Egyptian pounds – then $500,2, today only $400,<> – as a reward for whoever chooses his bid.
Despite its popularity, "wrinkle" has little chance of being elected, unless the Arabic verb "wrinkle," which means "to wrap," is dressed on the name. The conditions stipulate that the name of the capital must be in Arabic, give expression to Egyptian identity, be simple, include only two words, and not evoke political or religious associations.
The competition ended on August 17, 2019, a month and a half after it was announced. Four years have passed, and Egyptians still don't know what they'll call the capital, whose official inauguration ceremony has been repeatedly postponed for failing to meet construction schedules.
Other names proposed for the capital included Al Mustaqbal (the future), As Salam (peace), Madinat ash Shams (City of the Sun, a name that also indirectly refers to the pharaonic sun god, Ra) and Al Asima (the capital). The new capital may simply be called "Messer" (Egypt), as quite a few Egyptians already call Cairo, as if it were the embodiment of the entire state.
King Salman with Egyptian President el-Sisi. Riyadh has new demands, photo: AP
The popularity of the name "wrinkle" seems to indicate the desire of many Egyptians to maintain a close connection with the Pharaonic past, and not only with the Islamic heritage, as well as with Egypt's affiliation with Africa, and not only with the Middle East. The brief rule of the Muslim Brotherhood aspired, together with the other radical Islamist streams, to wipe out the pharaonic sites from the face of the earth. Those who represented despicable idolatry for them. One of the ideas at the time was to cover the pyramids with sand. Such crazy initiatives were one of the factors that pushed a decade ago for the uprising of the Egyptian people against the first democratically elected government in the history of the country.
A year ago, the daily Al-Ahram published an article by retired military analyst Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kashkush in which another original proposal was made: to name the capital after its founder, Egypt's current president, i.e., the state of Sisi. In his article, Kashkush mentioned forgotten ones: In the 70s, President Sadat planned to move the capital to the city that bore his name (Madinat al-Sadat), founded in 1978 about 100 kilometers northwest of Cairo.
The body responsible for the construction of the new cities is the Army Engineering Authority. This flows a lot of money into his coffers, in a way that critics say opens the door to corruption. Another income, although quite modest, is the fee that every driver who does not live in the city is obliged to pay at the entrance
After Sadat was assassinated, the plan was shelved by his successor Hosni Mubarak. The latter conceived the idea of establishing the new capital. Still, Kashkush stressed, Washington bears the name of one of America's founding fathers and its first president. Sisi, for his part, intends to declare the establishment of a second republic: a new governance and management framework for a new Egypt. This announcement is also being delayed. Sisi is apparently waiting for the capital's inauguration, but preparations are already underway.
Only 12 countries in the world (including Egypt) have changed their capital in modern times. In some of them, it moved to an existing city, which was developed for its new function (Moscow, for example, took the place of St. Petersburg). The other countries, including Pakistan, Brazil, Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Indonesia, decided to establish new capitals.
Bigger than Singapore
Many question marks surround the ambitious and expensive project of Egypt's administrative capital. The cost of its construction is currently estimated at $60 billion. Opponents of its establishment wonder: Does Egypt, which is mired in a deep economic crisis and huge debts (external debt stood at $165 billion in March), need this financial burden, or would it be better to divert the funds to the welfare of the weaker sectors?
Other questions concern the enormous capital needed to complete the construction of the capital. The International Monetary Fund is not as generous to Egypt as it was in the past, after the government in Cairo failed to implement all the reforms it had committed to. The Gulf states and Saudi Arabia also set conditions for the continued flow of financial aid to Egypt, including the sale of Egyptian assets.
Many also wonder which civil servants, whose jobs will be relocated from Cairo, will be able to afford to live in the new capital, where a small apartment costs about $80,300 while the average monthly wage is only about $36 and is eroding daily because of soaring inflation (July hit a record high of 5.1958 per cent, the highest figure since inflation began in Egypt in <>).
Buildings of pharaonic proportions, the administrative capital, photo: Eldad Bak
Beyond that, when will the new capital really start functioning, if ordinary officials have to commute about two hours round trip and two hours back every day, while the high-speed rail line, designed to connect the old capital with the new one, is still under construction? What is really behind the transfer of the capital – a desire to ventilate Cairo from its growing population (more than 20 million people) and allow its reconstruction, or a desire to secure the nerve centers of the regime from a new popular uprising, one that shook Egypt at the beginning of the "Arab Spring" and led to the overthrow of President Mubarak?
And what will be the future status of Cairo, "um al-Duniya" (the mother of the world to Egyptians), "the victor" (meaning its name in Arabic), which has served as a capital for more than a thousand years? the city with the pyramids and Al-Azhar University, which is respected in the Muslim world; The city where the seat of the Arab League is located, and which has been a huge source of inspiration for writers, poets and film directors for so long; The city of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, who described the atmosphere in its alleys well, and um Kulthum, "Star of the East" and "Voice of the Nation"?
On the official website of the company "Acod" there are no answers to the many questions. However, under the heading "Welcome to Egypt's Capital, the Smart City of Tomorrow," it explains that "the new capital city will help strengthen and diversify Egypt's economic potential by creating new places to live, work and visit. To attract people to this new capital, a series of key development catalysts will be established in the city's nucleus. They will include a new government-administrative center, a cultural center and a wide range of urban neighborhoods."
The skyscraper, with its 77 floors, was inspired by the pharaonic obelisks and the crown of the Egyptian god Amun. The person in charge is the Chinese state-owned construction engineering company
The official figures provided by the company are as follows: the new capital city will cover 725 square kilometers, meaning it will be larger than Singapore (719 square kilometers), four times larger than Washington, D.C. (177 square kilometers) and six times larger than Greater Jerusalem (125 square kilometers). 490 square kilometers of the city's land will be transferred for development. The city is expected to house 6.5 million people in 21 residential areas. It will create 1,750,000 permanent jobs. It will have 650 kilometers of roads and a state-of-the-art airport.
It will be, as stated, a smart city built on the basis of a strategic vision, with the most advanced technological infrastructures for providing services to the residents who will live there and to the citizens and visitors who will come to it. It will have a smart transportation control system, which will monitor the formation of traffic jams and accidents, traffic lights (workers) and crosswalks. More than 6,000 surveillance cameras will be installed throughout the city, and their footage will be transferred to an inspection center that will be responsible, among other things, for outdoor security and order.
In the capital, smart management of electricity, gas and water supply is also supposed to be carried out, in a way that will make it possible to reduce consumption and costs. Homes and buildings will be equipped with systems that will automatically identify options to save resources and prevent damage to the environment as much as possible. In the future capital, solar energy will play a major role by installing panels in many buildings and 90 square kilometers of "solar energy farm".
The buildings in the city, public and private, will be connected to superfast digital networks. To all this must be added the "Green River Park", a vast green lung that will spread over 35 square kilometers, which will connect all parts of the capital, just as the Nile River connects the parts of Egypt. The waters of the Nile will be replaced by extremely rich vegetation and artificial lakes and streams. Green River Park will be six times the size of New York's Central Park.
הדרך לבירה
יש כמה דרכים להגיע מקהיר לבירה המנהלית החדשה של מצרים. אחת מהן היא הדרך העוברת בגשר "6 באוקטובר", שאורכה 20.5 ק"מ - כמחצית הדרך בין שתי הערים. הכביש עובר במרכז קהיר, בקרבת כיכר תחריר - שבה נערכו הפגנות המיליונים נגד משטרו של מובארק ואחר כך נגד ממשלתו של מורסי. לידו נמצאים גם תחנת הרכבת הראשית בכיכר רעמסס ואוניברסיטת עין שמס.
אני חולף על פני כמה משרדי ממשלה מפוארים שנבנו לפני זמן לא רב בעלות גבוהה ביותר, כמו משרד החוץ על גדת הנילוס, שנחנך באמצע שנות ה־90, שעדיין נחשב, על 43 קומותיו, לבניין המתפקד הגבוה ביותר במצרים, או משרד האוצר המודרני.
למה יהפכו הבניינים המפוארים האלו, כשתתחיל פעילותה של הבירה החדשה? יש האומרים ש־30 המשרדים הממשלתיים, שיעברו לעיר, אמורים להתחיל לתפקד משם בסוף הקיץ. דיפלומטים זרים, שמוזמנים לפגישות במשרד החוץ, כבר נשלחים לבירה החדשה. עשרות מדינות רכשו קרקע ברובע השגרירויות העתידי, שיהיה בבירה העתידית, אם כי אין עדיין שגרירות אחת שעברה לשם. מה יהיה על השגרירויות הקיימות? חלקן שוכנות בווילות מהודרות, שרובן עבר לאחרונה שיפוץ יסודי במסגרת שיקום פניה של קהיר ההיסטורית - כמו שגרירויות רבות הממוקמות בשכנות זמאלק הבורגנית על אחד האיים בלב הנילוס.
כבר במעבר בשערי הכניסה לבירה ניכרת תנופת הבנייה, צילום: אלדד בק
מגשר 6 באוקטובר, שנבנה לזכר ה"ניצחון" המצרי במלחמת יום הכיפורים, נמשכת הדרך בערי הפרוורים שנבנו גם הן החל משנות ה־70 לצורך פתרון מצוקת הדיור בקהיר, בעיקר לשכבות המבוססות יותר. בין היתר, מדובר במשפחות של אנשי הצבא הבכירים ואצולת ההון של המגזר העסקי הפרטי.
החדישה שבהן היא "קהיר החדשה", שתחומה נושק לבירה המנהלית. רמת החיים של שכבות אלו השתפרה עם הזמן ומצריכה שדרוג תמידי. אם בעבר מגדלי הדיור בשכונת הליופוליס, לא הרחק מנמל התעופה הבינלאומי של קהיר, נחשבו מודרניים ונוחים, הרי היום הם סובלים מבעיות תחזוקה ובלאי. דייריהם העדיפו מזמן לעבור לווילות ולבניינים חדישים ונוחים יותר, כאלה שמציעות ערי הפרוורים החדשות והבירה העתידית.
הרעיון הכלכלי שמאחורי ערים אלו, ובכלל זה הבירה המנהלית, הוא פשוט: הממשלה מוכרת למשקיעים חולות, ומקבלת כסף עבור חול, שהיא משקיעה בפרויקטים לרווחת הציבור, בכלל זה בניית המשרדים הממשלתיים בבירה החדשה. הגוף האחראי לבניית הערים החדשות והבירה הוא רשות ההנדסה של הצבא. כך זורם גם כסף רב לקופות הצבא, באופן שלטענת מבקרי הממשלה וגם משקיעים זרים, אינו מבוסס על שקיפות מלאה ופותח דלתות לשחיתות ענפה.
הכנסה נוספת, אם כי צנועה למדי, לכיסוי הוצאות הבירה החדשה היא התשלום שכל מבקר בעיר, שאינו גר בה, מחויב לשלם בכניסה אליה וביציאה ממנה. התשלום עדיין מבוצע בשטרות, אך בעתיד ניתן יהיה לשלם בבירה המצרית החדשה רק באמצעות כרטיסים בנקאיים אלקטרוניים. אגב, באחדים מהאתרים בקהיר כבר אי אפשר לשלם במזומן.
מעטים המצרים שאינם מעורבים בבניית העיר ומגיעים הנה. אלו שהתלוו אלי, נדהמו למראה עיניהם: מיזם פרעוני בהיקפו. לא רק מבחינת הגודל, אלא גם בסגנון הבנייה עוצר הנשימה, שבחלקו מזכיר את ימי העידן העתיק
"City gates" is not a literary expression: the roads leading to it, the main ones with 12 travel routes, pass through gates, the most luxurious of which are at the entrance to the government-business-cultural complex. It will be the bustling heart of the new capital: a pair of arched gates, made of marble in Islamic architectural style, and fountains and an ornate marble plaza surround them.
A verdant square separates the two gates, which are built in a semicircle. The outer gate faces outward and the inner gate faces inward. Around some of the residential neighborhoods being built in the other part of the city, in the area of the Military Compound, a wall is erected between the entrance gates two or three stories high and ten kilometers long.
Already from the impressive entrance gates you can notice the momentum of intensive construction throughout the intended capital: trucks, bulldozers, cranes, pipes, beams, construction workers, gardeners. Here and there transport stations for workers were also established, reminiscent of Cairo in their chaotic nature.
Few Egyptians, who are not involved in the construction of the capital, come here. Those who accompanied me were also amazed at their eyes: Egypt's future capital is a pharaonic project in scope and character. This is not only in terms of the vast area – most of which is not yet built-up – but also because of the bold and farsighted urban planning and breathtaking building style. In part, it deliberately mentions the magnificent structures of the pharaohs - temples, pyramids, obelisks. Egypt's new capital, if and when it is completed, will radiate the power of a country that wants to be seen as big, strong and prosperous, just as Pharaonic Egypt was.
In the Guinness Book of World Records
The first enormous structure visible upon entering the city is the Al Fattah al Alim Mosque ("the one who opens from his treasures and mercy and the omniscient," from the 99 names of Allah), Egypt's second largest mosque, with an area of 450,15 square meters, a third of which is planned to be turned into flowering gardens. The mosque, completed in just 2019 months and inaugurated by President al-Sisi in January 17, has a maximum capacity of <>,<> worshippers.
The military engineering authority insisted that the large structure, surrounded by four tall muezzin towers (95 meters each) in the best tradition of Fatimid construction (a Shiite dynasty that ruled Egypt between the 10th and 12th centuries and made Cairo the capital of Egypt), be built exclusively of Egyptian marble by Egyptian workers. In the center of the mosque was built a large dome - the largest in all of Africa, 44 meters high and weighing 5,000 tons. 20 smaller domes are located around it.
Africa's largest mosque erected in the new city, photo: Reuters
An enormous crystal chandelier descends from the dome to the interior of the mosque. According to the information I was given, this mosque is now opened to the general public only three times a year. Like the Great Mosque of Egypt, the largest mosque in Egypt, located in the heart of the new capital overlooking it over a hill.
The Great Mosque of Egypt, also known as the Islamic Cultural Centre of Egypt, is now the largest of Egypt's mosques, where 130,<> men and women can pray. "The biggest" is, as you've probably already noticed, a very common adjective for buildings in the new capital.
It is also the largest mosque in Africa and one of the largest in the Middle East and the entire Islamic world. This mosque was built in Mamluk style, a sultanate that ruled Egypt between the 13th and early 16th centuries. Hundreds of marble steps lead to the top of the hill on which the mosque plaza is located, which combines different Islamic building styles as a symbol of Islamic unity.
There are also lifts to the top of the hill, but I preferred to walk up so I could see from above the expanses of the new capital, especially the new parliament building, located at the foot of the Great Mosque of Egypt. Allah is above, the country below, and the higher you climb the wide staircase, the more the magnificent mosque structure is revealed, whose two muezzin towers are supposed to be seen from anywhere in the new capital.
Under the dome of the "Great Mosque of Egypt" is installed the heaviest (50 tons) chandelier (22 meters) in the world, which is already included in the Guinness Book of World Records. This mosque, with Qur'anic chapters engraved on the walls of its elaborate halls, was inaugurated on the first day of Ramadan by Sisi and a long list of dignitaries.
There are lifts to the top of the hill, but I preferred to walk up so I could get a high view of the expanse of the new administrative capital, especially the new parliament building, which lies at the foot of the Great Mosque of Egypt. Allah above, the country below
Officially, the construction cost of the mosque was 800 million Egyptian pounds ($26 million in current revaluation). This magnificent creation, intended to project Egypt's status as an Islamic religious center to the world, also drew fierce criticism. "We don't need fancy mosques when ordinary people don't have money to buy food," the president's critics say.
Tribute to Copts
The mosque also overlooks the Cathedral of the Nativity, the largest church building in the Middle East, designed to serve members of the Coptic Orthodox community, the largest Christian community in Egypt. About ten percent of Egypt's population, i.e., more than 10 million people, are Christians. After the December 2016 terror attacks on churches in Cairo that killed 27 Christians, Sisi decided to simultaneously build the Fatah Mosque and the cathedral to create a symbol of religious coexistence and national unity in Egypt.
The magnificent interior of the cathedral, reminiscent of Noah's Ark and seating 8,000 people, is still being completed. One of the workers tells me that this Coptic Christmas, in January, work on the enormous structure will be completed. 1,600 mosques and churches will be built in Egypt's new capital. A synagogue, by the way, is not yet in the plans, since in Egypt there are almost no Jews left.
Next to the cathedral I notice the concrete pillars carrying the "Monorail" – the high-speed train that will connect Cairo with the new capital. It will be the longest driverless train line, you guessed it, in the world: 56.5 kilometers, 22 stops and an hour's journey will separate east Cairo from the new capital. In the distance, I notice the monorail conducting a test drive between two stations, the construction of which has not been completed. The line is scheduled to be ready for operation in 2024. Inshallah, as the locals say.
Spectacular. The New Cathedral, Photo: Eldad Beck
The most impressive part of the new capital is the government office district with its buildings, reminiscent of pharaonic temples, some of which bear features from ancient Egypt. Next to them is the "People's Square", in the center of which will fly the tallest flag in the world (201.95 meters). The fact that it was not flying during my visit to the city indicated that the capital was not yet operational.
Then there's the imperfect avenue of military parades at the entrance to the vast presidential palace, to which there is no access. At the heart of the business complex is the "iconic tower," with its 77 floors and 393.8 meters, the tallest building in Africa. The modern hieroglyphic structure was inspired by pharaonic obelisks and the crown of the Egyptian god was entrusted by the Chinese state-owned construction engineering company. China also funded the project.
The cathedral was meant to resemble Noah's Ark, with seating for 8,000 people. One of the workers there tells me that by Coptic Christmas in January 2024, work on the enormous structure will be completed. A total of 1,600 mosques and churches will be built in the capital
Like in the bay
In contrast to the urban area of the new capital, the banking complex where the headquarters of all Egyptian banks are located appears ready for immediate operation. An education complex will also be built with branches of well-known universities, a technology and innovation complex, and a sports complex with a 93,440-seat stadium, which is supposed – together with the planned "Olympic City" – to allow Egypt to compete for hosting the Olympics or the World Cup.
In addition, a communications, arts and entertainment complex, an amusement park four times larger than Disneyland, and of course the octagon, the octagon, which will house the new Defense Ministry and Egypt's Strategic Command Center – the largest security command complex in the Middle East – will also be built.
40,160 hotel rooms will be built in the capital. So far, only the San Regis Hotel, owned by the Marriott chain, is operational. The grandeur of its halls and rooms is reminiscent of that of the most prestigious hotels in the Gulf Emirates. Its occupancy is very low, and therefore the prices are affordable: $450 a night, compared to $<> at the San Regis Hotel in Cairo, which is packed with tourists, mainly from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, as it is every summer.
The hotel has three deluxe restaurants, three pools, artificial lakes, a conference hall, a cinema and a commercial centre, part of which is built like the alleys of Khan al Khalili market. Occasionally, weddings fill the space a bit, but tourists rarely come to the new capital, which is still a ghost town. One can only hope that the hotel will manage to maintain its splendor, until Egypt's new capital really begins to function and attracts businessmen, investors, bankers, diplomats, statesmen and artists.
Despite all this, and also in light of the breathtaking neo-Pharaonic splendor and the innovative and futuristic vision of Egypt's new capital, after two days spent in the nascent capital, I have no doubt that it will not take Cairo's place. Cairo will remain the mother of the world, in the minds and hearts of all those who love it.
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