Wirtschaftlicher und sozialer Strukturwandel in der Altstadt von Kairo

Abstract

Due to a rapid improvement of the income situation of large sections of the population during the seventies and eighties, and as a result of a dramatic rise in the number of foreign tourists, the old city of Cairo has recently experienced the following changes: 1. In the central bazaar area an economic revival has taken place. The number of tourist shops, in particular, has grown considerably and retailing with jewelry as well as wholesale trade with golden ornaments and textiles is booming. In the peripheral parts of the bazaar new multi-storied manufacturing centres have been constructed which provide workshops mainly for goldsmiths and artisans making articles for the tourist trade. 2. In the residential quarters the number of small-scale manufacturing enterprises producing simple consumer goods and touristic articles has increased dramatically. This expansionis accompanied by changes concerning the organization of the production process and the composition of the labour force. 3. The residential population in the old city has declined by more than 30% since 1960. Various reasons for this massive migration from the central quarters to the periphery of the Egyptian metropolis are discussed. 4. The construction of high-rise apartment blocks has rapidly spread in the old quarters. More and more new houses are no longer built to serve as dwelling-places for the house owner and his family members, but have become to be regarded as highly profitable objects of investment for former inhabitants of the old city and real estate speculators.