By Seheir Kansouh-Habib "One could say that almost no other ancient or modern city over the last centuries has been observed, visited, studied, described, written about, its moments painted or pictured, like Cairo. Hundreds of travellers, writers, adventurers, fortune seekers and curiosity lovers came to see this well- known and mysterious city. Emperors, kings, military leaders of all kinds considered that their empires or expansionist desires could not be fulfilled without conquering Cairo; of course the city fascinated all of them." These words of Ambassador Ahmed Haggag are a vivid expression of what Cairo has meant to people across the world for centuries. His description, part of a wonderful essay unfortunately too long to publish in this issue, sums up the dilemma of describing this grand city in but a handful of words. My editorial colleagues Samia Farid Shihata and Hoda Sharkawi and I, after having chosen to make Cairo the central theme of this issue, were faced with the daunting task of giving the city full justice befitting its place in the world and across civilisations. Naturally, we could not. The following pages give but a glimpse of the city's complexity. We, therefore, do not pretend to provide a comprehensive picture of Cairo of "La Belle Epoque", or the Cairo of today with its many scars on its beautiful face.We chose to invite a host of Cairo lovers to write on what they are doing, or hope to see done, to mend these scars, allowing the city to reinvent itself. Lamenting bygone days will do no good. Accepting the status quo because we are too apathetic to change it is a crime against future generations. Cairo's greatness is here to stay: it was on this note of hope that we set out to make this issue. With its glorious moments, sad moments and much love, Cairo remains a living history over the passage of time -- to be reinvented and cherished.
