The City of the Dead (Al-Qarafa), Cairo
A vast historic necropolis stretching for kilometers through Cairo, where mausoleums dating back over a thousand years remain, unusually, home to the living.
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Share a photoHistory & haunting lore
Cairo's City of the Dead, known in Arabic as Al-Qarafa, has served as the city's principal cemetery since the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, and it holds the tombs of sultans, scholars, and saints spanning the Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods. Many of its mausoleums are architectural landmarks in their own right, including elaborate Mamluk-era funerary complexes recognized as part of Historic Cairo's UNESCO listing.
What sets the necropolis apart is that it has never been purely a place of the dead; families have lived among its tombs for generations, particularly since housing shortages in the 20th century pushed residents to build homes, run shops, and raise children within the cemetery's walls. This coexistence of daily life and burial ground has fueled centuries of folklore about the spirits of the qarafa, though residents themselves generally describe their neighborhood in practical, unromantic terms. Egyptian authorities have in recent years moved to relocate some communities and restore the site's most significant tombs, raising concerns among heritage advocates about the loss of this unique living-cemetery tradition.
Current site status
Historic necropolis, partially inhabited; part of UNESCO-listed Historic Cairo