Cairo Tower

When it was built in 1961 the lotus inspired 187m tall Cairo Tower was the tallest concrete structure in the world.

Towers are a great place to take in how big a city truly is, and let me tell you, Cairo is a huge city.  It has a population of around 17 million people making it a very densely populated area (dense is when there are a lot of people in a small area).

Taking in the view from the observation deck.

Looking down at Cairo from Cairo Tower you can see the density.  The buildings look like they are all attached.  They appear to all sit ontop of each other as they move away from the Nile River and into the desert. 

Cairo is a very hot city, today it was around 40 degree Celsius.  You can almost see the heat in the picture below, it is like a haze that sits above city (that haze is also smog coming from all the busy roads all around Cairo).



The haze sitting over Cairo.  Doesn't it look like all the buildings are connected?

Not only did I get an amazing view at Cairo Tower but I also made a friend.  My friend's name is Ahmed.  Ahmed works at the tower as a photographer.  When you arrive he offers to take a picture of you standing in front of the tower, and if you like the way it looks you can buy it as a souvenir.  When he asked if I would like my picture taken, I said "No thank you, I don't have any money to buy it with."  Ahmed asked me where I was from and why I was in Cairo.  I told him that I was a teacher from Toronto who was travelling the world to learn more so that I could teach more.  My story made Ahmed smile, so he asked if he could take a picture for me on my camera so I could have one of "Mr. P standing in front of Cairo Tower" to show you.  The picture was taken, but because it is so bright and sunny outside we didn't notice that my eyes were closed in the picture!  All that kindness that Ahmed showed me and I end up with a picture of me sleeping in front of the tower.  It is a memory of his kindness that I will always keep no matter how funny I look in the picture.

Mr. P sleeping in front of Cairo Tower.

Do you have a picture of yourself that you like because it tells a funny or happy story?  Bring the picture in and share it with you class.