Chris Pearrow
The City of the Dead
The City of the Dead is a massive above-ground necropolis that has a squatter population numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Many of the houses there are actually mausoleums that have been emptied of their previous occupants. I first encountered The City of the Dead on my trip to the Sunday Market. You can ask your hotel reception to write out the name of the Sunday Market in Arabic for the taxi driver. The receptionist will probably, as happened with me, try to convince you not to go. Don't listen. The Sunday Market is a pretty intense, but worthwhile, experience. It's massive. People are selling everything from trinkets, to fake designer goods, to snakes, to camels.
Get ready to haggle! Keep in mind that you'll probably be one of the only foreigners there, so best not go if that idea makes you uncomfortable. Taking my camera out and shooting a lot of photos there did, in fact, make me uncomfortable, so I simply didn't do it. Get ready to haggle! The City of the Dead is the slum that borders the Sunday Market and is worth a bit of your time. You feel like you've been transported back in time. It's an extremely impovrished area and has a dangerous reputation, but I didn't notice a lot more than the occasional strange look. Don't miss it!
Read more
+2
