From a noted journalist who has spent much of his life in Cairo here is a dazzling cultural excavation of that most ancient colorful and multifaceted of cities. The seat of pharaohs and sultans the prize of conquerors from Alexander to Saladin to Napoleon Cairo--nicknamed the Victorious --has never ceased reinventing herself. With intimate knowlege humor and affection Rodenbeck takes us on an insider s tour of the magnificent city: its backstreets and bazaars its belly-dance theaters and hashish dens its crowded slums and fashionable salons its incomparably rich past and its challenging future. Cairo: The City Victorious is a unique blend of travel and history an epic resonant work that brings one of the world s great metropolises to life in all its dusty chaotic beauty.