Egyptian city look depressing, including Cairo (like even during the Ottoman Era it was more green than the concrete jungle it became).
In Algeria : Oran (all of it look so ugly too me, sorry for the Oran fanboy -> Edit : Okay sorry 😔, it look nice after a deeper look), Annaba (unlike Oran nobody will defend it except it’s inhabitants - despite having really cozy area and an amazing Waterfront) and part of some area of Algiers/Constantine are also pretty ugly.
By far it’s among the best city in Algeria in a lot of way … at least for a majority of people (and let be honest it’s a well deserved place). Maybe I am a little 🤏 biased … and here I was too explain why
**But plot twist** when writing this comment I change my opinion mostly because of one photography lol from the Oran city instagram page (like just a little work on those buildings painting and the place will look even more amazing) : https://www.instagram.com/p/CzeCcdhsl10/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=930bbe71-39ce-4cc9-9228-fe46204f8666&ig_mid=51D39127-3DD2-4452-94F0-1FCAE2306EBE
Your opinion is all yours mate i'm not here to change it, it's just weird to me to call out Oran when there is so so much worse in Algeria. Seems like you had a bad experience lol
You're absolutely right, but I'm afraid he does have a point. Cairo does look terribly ugly after the population boom and all the slums that followed. Mix that with the millions of cars and 0 trees and you've got yourself a depressing-looking city.
Madness to call Cairo boring. Cairo has more historical sites in it than all of Algeria. No offense to Algeria. Love the country and people. But the density of historical and cultural sites and places in Cairo is unmatched anywhere in the world. It's why 90% of them are totally without funding or repair.
Cairo is a chaotic slum. But "boring"? Definitely not
Well to be honest … I read the question as « what is the most depressing Arab city ».
And I totally agree with you : Cairo is anything but boring … and that’s the sad part (imagine a Green non polluted Cairo : Like it can easily rise as one of the World Capital of Humanity with Istanbul, Paris, New York, Tokyo).
*For the number of historical site compare to Algeria : Egypt has a more powerful history without any doubt but the number of archeological sites in Algeria is probably higher than any country in the Magreb by far (clearly way lower than Egypt …. But who can can compete with one of the cradle of civilisation and head of the Muslim middle age history except maybe Irak).*
>Well to be honest … I read the question as « what is the most depressing Arab city ».
I agree with you on that. All of Egypt is super depressing because of the politics and constant regression in everything
Yeah I hate Cairo like any other non-Cairene Egyptian but it’s the complete opposite of boring, complete chaos, impossible to be bored. It also has the Nile, the most beautiful river in the world, and anywhere on the Nile is complete beauty and tranquility
Problem with Cairo is the traffic and the number of people. Today I was in a taxi going from Tahrir to Sayeda Zainab and honestly west el balad looked really lovely. Almost Barcelonesque.
Also nowadays with Madinaty, New Cairo and Tagamou3 I’m not sure Cairo is describable as one place anymore.
Funny you say that, I visited Egypt two years ago and I loved Cairo, the chaos, the sights and sounds and smells, kids with the late night street football matches, cars driving so close to each other you can smell the cologne of the other driver of the windows are open. Nighttime boat rides on the Nile. Seems there were infinity things to see and do.
But Giza, Aswan, Luxor we’re absolute tourist traps to me and outside of the first sights on those amazing sights, it gets boring and depressing fast when everyone is trying to scam you and take a picture with you.
pretty hard to dispute this. Although some Saudi cities are starting to become more active and lively. But then again the depressing traffic maybe cancels that out
Which ones and when? Outside The summer months the weather is pleasant and it’s very lively outside. Also i would say gulf cities are the least “concrete tree jungles” compared to the rest of MENA.
I don't know any , but to me what makes a depressing or fun or boring , is the people , even the desert can be fun if there are fun people there.
And to my experience , most of Arabs are quite fun and easy to talk with.
Brooo i agree that there's nothing to do there except having some very nice barbecue n going for walks. HOWEVER, it is green, calm city, the air is nice, great views, a national park just nearby, wonderful if ur into hiking, great affordable swimming pools, snowy mountains just nearby during winter...... So come on you can't say Taza.. I've lived in multiple cities in Morocco n i can say it's one of the best if you want a cheap calm city with all basic life needs. I've also been to the middle East and I can confidently say that Morocco (even Taza) is way better in living conditions. Only bad thing about Taza is the lack of good hospitals if you have any special condition.
I used to HATE going to Zarqa, the only joy I got was seeing my cousins. Other than that it's a city not worth remembering.
Litter everywhere, very dusty, and some areas reek of sewage. If chronic depression was a city, it would be Zarqa
They are pretty classy! Also Khaleeji wealthy people are generally much more down to earth than European wealthy individuals most of the time.
Tell me why they aren't classy? No need for empty statements, need some content my guy.
Yes envy btw, when you hate on wealthy people for just being wealthy or anyone for just being something without really hating on their actions of personality only their monetary status.
Most their wealth came from natural resources such as oil. For UAE you can make the slave argument since a large amount of their wealth comes from tourism.
Qatar is a much better example than UAE, tourism is not slavery. But even if we admit Qatar is slavery, that would mean there is a lot of slavery in Western countries too, because some of them have low wages and high cost of living.
Well idk about boring, but if you're looking for depressing visit literally any city in Syria (perhaps sans Damascus and the coastal cities). All you'll see is destruction, poverty, militarism and human misery.
Have you guys seen Darfuri cities ? Those cities are depressing as hell. They are basically glorified refugee camps turned slums with no urban planning or any basic infrastructure. What is even sadder is the fact the region used to have a lovely and vibrant village culture that was devastated in recent times.
I read Tayeb Saleh's Seasons of Migration to the North/موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال last month and it was spectacular, but really put into contrast what you said about village culture, as well as other aspects of Sudanese culture that's changed in recent history.
Driouch, Morocco.
This town isn't even Arab but amazight. But I have been there once and wanted to leave immediately. The town literally translates to "Poor people", like can't get more depressing.
Egyptian city look depressing, including Cairo (like even during the Ottoman Era it was more green than the concrete jungle it became). In Algeria : Oran (all of it look so ugly too me, sorry for the Oran fanboy -> Edit : Okay sorry 😔, it look nice after a deeper look), Annaba (unlike Oran nobody will defend it except it’s inhabitants - despite having really cozy area and an amazing Waterfront) and part of some area of Algiers/Constantine are also pretty ugly.
Saying Oran is ugly is pretty wild to me since it one of the best cities to live in Algeria
By far it’s among the best city in Algeria in a lot of way … at least for a majority of people (and let be honest it’s a well deserved place). Maybe I am a little 🤏 biased … and here I was too explain why **But plot twist** when writing this comment I change my opinion mostly because of one photography lol from the Oran city instagram page (like just a little work on those buildings painting and the place will look even more amazing) : https://www.instagram.com/p/CzeCcdhsl10/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=930bbe71-39ce-4cc9-9228-fe46204f8666&ig_mid=51D39127-3DD2-4452-94F0-1FCAE2306EBE
Your opinion is all yours mate i'm not here to change it, it's just weird to me to call out Oran when there is so so much worse in Algeria. Seems like you had a bad experience lol
Well let said it didn’t shine in my eye (*or maybe I just love the east too much that I am close to be really objective from the start*).
Such an L take Cairo is the most alive, energetic and history-rich city of the Arab world. You clearly have never been to Egypt
Oh stop 😡, I already apologised for Oran one. Now stop educating me and let me be an ignorant commentator. (*It’s a joke of course*).
You're absolutely right, but I'm afraid he does have a point. Cairo does look terribly ugly after the population boom and all the slums that followed. Mix that with the millions of cars and 0 trees and you've got yourself a depressing-looking city.
Very incorrect about Cairo. I don't think the lifelines in Cairo exists elsewhere in thr middle east
Madness to call Cairo boring. Cairo has more historical sites in it than all of Algeria. No offense to Algeria. Love the country and people. But the density of historical and cultural sites and places in Cairo is unmatched anywhere in the world. It's why 90% of them are totally without funding or repair. Cairo is a chaotic slum. But "boring"? Definitely not
Cairo could do with more green spaces tho, especially compared to many other cities of similar size
Yes totally agreed. The government has actually been demolishing green spaces actively over the last 10 years for reasons only they can understand
Well to be honest … I read the question as « what is the most depressing Arab city ». And I totally agree with you : Cairo is anything but boring … and that’s the sad part (imagine a Green non polluted Cairo : Like it can easily rise as one of the World Capital of Humanity with Istanbul, Paris, New York, Tokyo). *For the number of historical site compare to Algeria : Egypt has a more powerful history without any doubt but the number of archeological sites in Algeria is probably higher than any country in the Magreb by far (clearly way lower than Egypt …. But who can can compete with one of the cradle of civilisation and head of the Muslim middle age history except maybe Irak).*
>Well to be honest … I read the question as « what is the most depressing Arab city ». I agree with you on that. All of Egypt is super depressing because of the politics and constant regression in everything
Yeah I hate Cairo like any other non-Cairene Egyptian but it’s the complete opposite of boring, complete chaos, impossible to be bored. It also has the Nile, the most beautiful river in the world, and anywhere on the Nile is complete beauty and tranquility
Problem with Cairo is the traffic and the number of people. Today I was in a taxi going from Tahrir to Sayeda Zainab and honestly west el balad looked really lovely. Almost Barcelonesque. Also nowadays with Madinaty, New Cairo and Tagamou3 I’m not sure Cairo is describable as one place anymore.
Funny you say that, I visited Egypt two years ago and I loved Cairo, the chaos, the sights and sounds and smells, kids with the late night street football matches, cars driving so close to each other you can smell the cologne of the other driver of the windows are open. Nighttime boat rides on the Nile. Seems there were infinity things to see and do. But Giza, Aswan, Luxor we’re absolute tourist traps to me and outside of the first sights on those amazing sights, it gets boring and depressing fast when everyone is trying to scam you and take a picture with you.
Silence, miscreant! All Arab cities are exciting and joyous and if you can't see that then you have been corrupted by the Great Satan!
I actually laughed hard at this
All gulf cities, concrete jungle, heat and sand and full blast air conditioning
pretty hard to dispute this. Although some Saudi cities are starting to become more active and lively. But then again the depressing traffic maybe cancels that out
Have u even been to any gulf city ???
Yes
Which ones and when? Outside The summer months the weather is pleasant and it’s very lively outside. Also i would say gulf cities are the least “concrete tree jungles” compared to the rest of MENA.
Why so butt hurt? Chill
Not butt hurt, I am genuinely asking how you came to this conclusion
It's trendy to hate on the GCC, that's all
Mena Subreddits lore
I loved Abu Dhabi though, but I visited in winter so what do I know?
I don't know any , but to me what makes a depressing or fun or boring , is the people , even the desert can be fun if there are fun people there. And to my experience , most of Arabs are quite fun and easy to talk with.
Taza, Morocco. Look it up on Google.
The girls are pretty and you have Bouiblane mountain close by.
Brooo i agree that there's nothing to do there except having some very nice barbecue n going for walks. HOWEVER, it is green, calm city, the air is nice, great views, a national park just nearby, wonderful if ur into hiking, great affordable swimming pools, snowy mountains just nearby during winter...... So come on you can't say Taza.. I've lived in multiple cities in Morocco n i can say it's one of the best if you want a cheap calm city with all basic life needs. I've also been to the middle East and I can confidently say that Morocco (even Taza) is way better in living conditions. Only bad thing about Taza is the lack of good hospitals if you have any special condition.
Has to be any Kuweiti city. It is only fun if you enjoy eating at fast food chains all day lol
This is funny because there is only one Kuwait City
Kuweight city
I was thinking Zarqa even before I clicked this lol. I hate even driving by it while on the highway
Having relatives in Zarqa and spent my vacations in Zarqa, I can confirm that the only thing to do there is shop around and eat
I used to HATE going to Zarqa, the only joy I got was seeing my cousins. Other than that it's a city not worth remembering. Litter everywhere, very dusty, and some areas reek of sewage. If chronic depression was a city, it would be Zarqa
But is Zarqa more boring than Irbid? 🤔
Absolutely. Irbid has a way better scene
I haven't been to Irbid in forever. At least Zarqa has the old Roman ruins.
In Irbid you feel like you are breathing in flames in the summer
i only know zarqa from alzarqawi... thought it was some insignificant village/town. is it big?
same lol, hearing he comes from a shithole explains his behavior
Its the third largest in Jordan and a very important, if not the primary, industrial city in the country.
انا عايش بالزرقا كمية الكابة هون كثير ههه
any in gulf
Have you even lived in the gulf?
I visited n everything is just too much...the disgusting displays of wealth literally depresses me
You’re disgusted by people being wealthy?
that's right, I'm a communist
Loool explains it. Most gulf countries are beautiful. Pretty odd for you to be that upset about them being wealthy 😂😂
outside of their cities sure
Cope, commie
Nah even the cities. Commie envy is beautiful tho,
envy? there r displays of wealth all over the world that are beautiful, Khaleejis just cant be classy
They are pretty classy! Also Khaleeji wealthy people are generally much more down to earth than European wealthy individuals most of the time. Tell me why they aren't classy? No need for empty statements, need some content my guy. Yes envy btw, when you hate on wealthy people for just being wealthy or anyone for just being something without really hating on their actions of personality only their monetary status.
also it's not odd they built that wealth off of the backs of slaves
Most their wealth came from natural resources such as oil. For UAE you can make the slave argument since a large amount of their wealth comes from tourism.
my point is that wealthy people do bad evil things like own slaves...duh
Most people in these cities are definitely not slaves.
Qatar is a much better example than UAE, tourism is not slavery. But even if we admit Qatar is slavery, that would mean there is a lot of slavery in Western countries too, because some of them have low wages and high cost of living.
correct there is, but what I am saying is the kafala system is slavery
I never said tourism is slavery. With tourism comes more demand for new buildings and bizarre designs which require more labour work.
aside from a few countries like Yemen
You know if the roles weee reversed and we were the piss poor one and you the rich you would just call us jealous and being wealthy isn’t your problem
but the roles aren't reversed
You are literally complaining about the supposed gulfers “flaunting” of their wealth. Jealous a bitch aint it
They are too irrelevant for me to even know.
One answer El-Mahalla El-Kubra
But... But the cotton mills!
Tel Aviv surely
It will be more cheerful when it's back to Palestinian Inshallah ☺️
iA
Well idk about boring, but if you're looking for depressing visit literally any city in Syria (perhaps sans Damascus and the coastal cities). All you'll see is destruction, poverty, militarism and human misery.
Depressing? Rafah, sadly…
Rafah seemed really interesting until Sisi flattened the entire Egyptian part of it
Rafah people are some of the kindest and sweetest in Palestine.
Aljubail, KSA.
Thats wrong answer
Been to 11 Arab countries & so far it's Kuwait City
الرس القصيم
Have you guys seen Darfuri cities ? Those cities are depressing as hell. They are basically glorified refugee camps turned slums with no urban planning or any basic infrastructure. What is even sadder is the fact the region used to have a lovely and vibrant village culture that was devastated in recent times.
I read Tayeb Saleh's Seasons of Migration to the North/موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال last month and it was spectacular, but really put into contrast what you said about village culture, as well as other aspects of Sudanese culture that's changed in recent history.
Driouch, Morocco. This town isn't even Arab but amazight. But I have been there once and wanted to leave immediately. The town literally translates to "Poor people", like can't get more depressing.
Tel Aviv..😏
Bahrain 💀 I'm Bahraini by the way.