Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Street art in Cartagena.
Colombia • 10 days, 9 nights
Colombia Discovery: Coffee, Art & Music
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
USDA and Washington State agriculture officials tagged this Asian giant hornet. Sept. 10, 2021.
What Ever Happened to the Murder Hornets?
about 3 hours ago
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
2 days ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
3 days ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Egypt Cairo Cairo's City of the Dead

Cairo's City of the Dead

In Egypt's expanding metro area, many of the neighbors are dead.

Cairo, Egypt

Added By
John Bromley Hewlett
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  Wikimedia
  Wikimedia
  User submitted
  User submitted
Le Caire - la Cité des Morts   philoursmars / Atlas Obscura User
Le Caire - la Cité des Morts   philoursmars / Atlas Obscura User
Le Caire - la Cité des Morts   philoursmars / Atlas Obscura User
  User submitted
  User submitted
  User submitted
Le Caire - la Cité des Morts   philoursmars / Atlas Obscura User
Le Caire - la Cité des Morts   philoursmars / Atlas Obscura User
Le Caire - la Cité des Morts   philoursmars / Atlas Obscura User
  Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
  User submitted
  Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Le Caire - la Cité des Morts   philoursmars / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Just outside of Cairo, this City of the Dead used to house only corpses dating back to the 7th century. Created as an Arabic cemetery during the conquest of Egypt, the necropolis has developed into one of Egypt's worst slums where the dead and living coexist in morbid neighborliness.

20 million people live in Cairo's metro area, making it one of the largest cities in the entire world. It also has a massive population living in abject poverty, which has forced many people into the City of the Dead. Stretching for four miles on the outskirts of Cairo, the row housing for the deceased has evolved into a deathly slum.

As people moved out of agricultural centers, or were displaced by natural disasters, they took up residences in old mausoleums, and around the tombs of the necropolis. In total, 500,000 people occupy the necropolis, filling the gaps around the final resting places of 7th century Egyptians. Although there are plans to relocate people out of the living cemetery, the population has grown so large that there is almost nowhere to move residents. Like so many other slums across the world, the City of the Dead is greatly populated by children, who must face fears and live in and around tombs, and make do with their morbid surroundings.

Related Tags

Memento Mori Catacombs And Crypts Eccentric Homes Outsider Architecture Homes
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Egypt Family Adventure: Pyramids, Mummies & The Mighty Nile

Cross dream-like deserts and uncover the secrets of ancient pyramids.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

JBHewlett

Edited By

atimian, serflac, philoursmars, Fred Cherrygarden

  • atimian
  • serflac
  • philoursmars
  • Fred Cherrygarden

Published

November 30, 2011

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Cairo's City of the Dead
Cairo
Egypt
30.064742, 31.249509

Nearby Places

The Aquarium Grotto Garden

Cairo, Egypt

miles away

Al-Andalus Garden

Cairo, Egypt

miles away

National Military Museum of Egypt

Cairo, Egypt

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Cairo

Cairo

Egypt

Places 10
Stories 6

Nearby Places

The Aquarium Grotto Garden

Cairo, Egypt

miles away

Al-Andalus Garden

Cairo, Egypt

miles away

National Military Museum of Egypt

Cairo, Egypt

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Cairo

Cairo

Egypt

Places 10
Stories 6

Related Stories and Lists

Morbid Monday: Living with the Dead

morbid monday

By Dolly Stolze

Morbid Monday: Egypt Edition

By Annetta Black

Related Places

  • Marker outside the Ocean-Born Mary House

    Henniker, New Hampshire

    Ocean-Born Mary

    Sites connected to a woman born on a ship and spared by a pirate.

  • Sarah Winchester

    New Haven, Connecticut

    Grave of Sarah Winchester

    Connecticut grave of the woman responsible for the Winchester Mystery House in California.

  • Vienna, Austria

    Stephansdom Crypt

    The crypt of the imposing Stephensdom holds royal intestines and thousands of skeletons.

  • Los Angeles, California

    Mosaic Tile House

    Rainbow-hued local gem in Venice.

  • Front entrance to the Whale House.

    Santa Barbara, California

    Whale House

    This stunning sea creature-shaped home blends into the landscape like a fantasy villa.

  • New Orleans, Louisiana

    The Faerie Playhouse

    A pink cottage covered in hearts served as a haven and a resting place for LGBTQ activists.

  • Edmundas Vaiciulis’ Pan House

    Žagarė, Lithuania

    Pan House

    What almost started out as a spite house became an eccentric's found object masterpiece.

  • Quetzalcoatl’s Nest

    Naucalpan, Mexico

    El Nido de Quetzalcóatl

    An Aztec snake god has taken the material form of an apartment complex.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.