History

modern Egypt

Guides covering the modern period.

Modern Egypt Revolution History: A Cairo Guide

Modern Egypt Revolution History: A Cairo Guide

Nasser's 1952 officers seized power without firing a single bullet. The king left with 204 pieces of luggage. Cairo still carries the whole story.

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Mohamed Ali Pasha Modernizing Egypt: History in Stone and Steel

Mohamed Ali Pasha Modernizing Egypt: History in Stone and Steel

He executed 470 Mamluk lords at a single dinner party and used the chaos to rebuild Egypt from scratch. The mosque he left behind is not what you think it is.

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Modern Egypt and the 1952 Revolution: A Cairo History Guide

Modern Egypt and the 1952 Revolution: A Cairo History Guide

Nasser's officers took Egypt in a bloodless coup at 7am on July 23. The king was gone by noon the next day. Cairo still carries every scar and monument of what followed.

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Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernization of Egypt: Cairo's Divided Legacy

Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernization of Egypt: Cairo's Divided Legacy

He executed 470 Mamluk beys at a dinner party, then built a mosque that looks Ottoman but sits on a Pharaonic hill. Mohamed Ali's Cairo is everywhere if you know what to look for.

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Modern Egypt's 1952 Revolution: A Cairo History Guide

Modern Egypt's 1952 Revolution: A Cairo History Guide

Naguib Mahfouz heard the tanks from his apartment window and kept writing. The revolution that ended 2,500 years of foreign rule lasted fewer than six hours.

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Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernizing of Egypt: Cairo's Living Record

Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernizing of Egypt: Cairo's Living Record

He executed 470 Mamluk beys at a single dinner and used the proceeds to build a European-style army. Cairo still carries the evidence of both acts.

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Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernization of Egypt: A Cairo Guide

Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernization of Egypt: A Cairo Guide

He executed 470 Mamluk lords at a single dinner party and used the proceeds to build a modern nation. The Citadel still holds both stories.

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Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernization of Egypt: Cairo's Living Evidence

Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernization of Egypt: Cairo's Living Evidence

He executed 470 Mamluk lords at a single dinner party and used their absence to rebuild Egypt from scratch. The mosque he left behind still dominates Cairo's skyline.

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Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernizing of Egypt: A Cairo Guide

Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Modernizing of Egypt: A Cairo Guide

He executed 470 Mamluk beys at a single dinner party. Then he rebuilt Egypt from scratch. The Citadel still holds both stories.

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Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Making of Modern Egypt: Cairo's Living Legacy

Mohamed Ali Pasha and the Making of Modern Egypt: Cairo's Living Legacy

He massacred the Mamluks at a dinner party, then rebuilt Cairo in their image. Mohamed Ali's Egypt is stranger, bloodier, and more brilliant than the textbooks admit.

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Greco-Roman Alexandria: The City That Invented the Modern World

Greco-Roman Alexandria: The City That Invented the Modern World

Alexandria was once home to 600,000 people and the world's only institution dedicated to total human knowledge. Almost none of it survived. Here is what did.

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British Colonial Egypt: The History Sites That Explain Modern Cairo

British Colonial Egypt: The History Sites That Explain Modern Cairo

Britain occupied Egypt for 72 years but never officially called it a colony. The buildings they left behind tell a stranger story than the textbooks do.

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