The Cairo is part of notNeutral's City Plate Collection #1 themed around "City as Gateway" with Los Angeles, Shanghai, Cairo and Berlin chosen. With this theme they asked: how is each city dealing with the effects of agglomeration as its population begins to reach critical mass?

 

Cairo is Africa's largest city, as well as the cultural center of the Middle East. It lies at the center of three continents, serving as the primary gateway between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Cairo lies along the banks and on the small islands of the majestic Nile River, which runs dramatically through the center of the plate design. The large white edge of the plate represents the vast desert in surprisingly close proximity, just outside the city's border. The 1863 completion of the Suez Canal brought a large number of Westerners, along with significant investment. It also brought a re-imagining of the city center, and using the standard design of European cities - especially Paris - Cairo transformed into the modern megalopolis it is today.