Rooftops

Boulak


Birdcages on top of houses


Remnants


Rooftop Living


Garbage Storage

Quite simply put, I was incredibly fascinated with the rooftops in Cairo. Because I was staying in a hotel that overlooked downtown Cairo, I had a great vantage point. This is where the image of the bomb comes into play. While we in the West seem to be more recently discovering the benefits that rooftops can provide, Cairenes have actively using their rooftops in everyway imaginable, except of course, as lush lawns of vegetation. They raise poultry on them. They store garbage. Goats graze. People live.

After a while I began to notice that many of the rooftops were littered with debris. Finally, someone told me that during the avian bird flu, the military destroyed almost all the birdcages on top of buildings. Consequently, this destruction is clearly evident from above. The state can be extremely adept at controlling certain things, and while leaving many other things completely out of control.