The Egyptian Telephone Exchange on Opera Square in downtown Cairo. Like so many other creaking, forl
The Egyptian Telephone Exchange on Opera Square in downtown Cairo. Like so many other creaking, forlorn relics of Nasser’s mid-century modernization efforts, it is still in use, but by what is now Telecom Egypt, privatized with a $1billion IPO in December 2004, proceeds of which were evidently not reinvested into upgrading its aging critical infrastructure, even after a 2015 fire ravaged the building, the scars of which can clearly be seen even in these distant shots. Date & architect unknown—but it has the same block-and-central turret arrangement of the Maspero TV headquarters, and I would wager that this central tower was influenced by renderings of the ancient Pharos, the lost lighthouse at Alexandria that was one of the Wonders of the World. Photos March 2020 Bauzeitgeist. -- source link