Cairo, "Mother of the World": its vividly diverse neighbourhoods and building styles reveal its cosmopolitan energy and reflect the myriad of economic, political and cultural forces that have shaped the city over the centuries. So impressed was Khedive Ismail after a visit to Haussman's "New" Paris in 1867 that he decided to build a modern city along the same architectural lines and aesthetics, and brought European architects to Cairo to initiate Egypt's most dynamic building period since medieval times. The stunning buildings of late 19th- and early 20th-century Cairo remain, but they are neglected, threatened by pollution, and are being pulled down for concrete high-rises and parking lots. "Paris Along the Nile" captures in 200 black-and-white photographs the architectural jewels of "modern" Cairo.