Everything Old Is New Again

Egypt is an old country but when people think of old Egyptian items it's always pharoanic statues and pyramids and things like that. But there are lots of wonderful antiques to be found here from the days when Egypt was wealthier and was modernising. When Mohamed Ali founded the last dynasty to rule Egypt before the military coup in the 1950's, he decided that Egypt should have all the things that Europe did. He took advantage of the American Civil War to push the Egyptian cotton crop and increase the country's revenues drastically. He brought in European architects and workmen to build Cairo and Alexandria in the images of European capitals with new railways, metro systems, and schools. With the military coup, Egypt was transformed into a socialist state and many of the wealthier families with ties to the Europeans who had come to change Egypt found themselves under scrutiny. Many left for North America and Europe, leaving behind many of their belongings, which are now to be found in shops all over the country. Now people are going back to find these old treasures.