City of the Dead (El-Saf, Egypt)

Morbid, gloomy, and oddly beautiful

Zawiyyet al-Mayyiteen, or the "City of the Dead," is a city of cemeteries that spans several kilometers, and is known as one of the biggest cemeteries in the world. 

Zawiyyet al-Mayyiteen was founded after Cairo's rulers wanted an isolated location away from the busy city. Through history, the City of the Dead has been the final resting place to numerous factions, including the Fatimids, Abbasids, Ayyubids, Mamlukes, Ottomans, and Coptic Christians.

The City of the Dead contains 5 major cemeteries:

• The Northern Cemetery
• Bab el Nasr Cemetery
• The Southern Cemetery 
• The Cemetery of the Great
• Bab el Wazir Cemetery 

The historic belief in Egypt is that the cemeteries are an active part of the community and not exclusively for the dead. Due to Cairo's housing shortage, many residents have been forced to live among the dead here. More than half a million of Egypt's most poor have formed a community here. As a result, they have caused massive damage and desecration to the graves here. Although it's technically illegal, its tolerated by Egypt's government.