From a noted journalist who has spent much of his life in Cairo, here is
a dazzling cultural excavation of that most ancient, colorful, and
multifaceted of cities. The seat of pharaohs and sultans, the prize of
conquerors from Alexander to Saladin to Napoleon, Cairo--nicknamed "the
Victorious"--has never ceased reinventing herself.
With intimate knowlege, humor, and affection, Rodenbeck takes us on an
insider's tour of the magnificent city: its backstreets and bazaars, its
belly-dance theaters and hashish dens, its crowded slums and fashionable
salons, its incomparably rich past and its challenging future. Cairo:
The City Victorious is a unique blend of travel and history, an epic,
resonant work that brings one of the world's great metropolises to life
in all its dusty, chaotic beauty.