Istanbul Of Egypt

Ever since my first visit to Istanbul, I have always wondered how a city that bridges the East and West could be so magnificent. I don't think that it is cliche to consider Istanbul to be the best of both worlds. No wonder why it is the only cosmopolitan city that connects two continents. Obviously Istanbul's model is historically unprecedented and based on very historical interactions between Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman heritages. 

But while looking out of my family's balcony at the Asia and Europe, I wondered to myself, wouldn't it be possible to emulate such a model in Egypt? My initial feeling was that I wanted to bring such a beautiful sight to Egypt. Cairo another major city in the Middle East that shares many of the same roots as Istanbul, but its location limits its prestige. I wondered to myself why Egypt doesn't possess a city of such grandeur as Istanbul that connects its two continents: Africa and Asia. More significantly, I think that such a city would be protege of Istanbul because it provides the main water transportation between Europe and Asia, being the nautical connector between the East and West. Wouldn't such a city usher an era of cultural exchanges of civilizations between Afro-Asian heritages as Istanbul has done with the East and West?
It is imperative to understand that such a city that would connect Asia to Africa would be a modern version of Istanbul considering that the Bosphorus has existed since the dawn of civilization whereas the Suez Canal is only a century old. Although the Suez didn't exist back in the day, Egypt has always connected Asia and Africa through the Nile. The Greeks, Persians, and Romans have always sought a connection between the Mediterranean and Asia. Evidence of this is the Darius Inscription:
"Saith King Darius: I am a Persian. Setting out from Persia, I conquered Egypt. I ordered this canal dug from the river called the Nile that flows in Egypt, to the sea that begins in Persia. When the canal had been dug as I ordered, ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, even as I intended."

I envision that if the cities on the Suez, such as Port Said, Ismailia, and Suez are heavily invested, in, they can form a metropolis that would define the premier real estate of Egypt. More than the Bosphorus, the Suez Canal is the most important geopolitical waterway in the world. I am sure that real estate on this piece of land that connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and Africa to Asia would have the potential to prosper in magnificence as Istanbul. This is not to mention that this city would only be one hour away from Africa's largest city, Cairo, and from some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the world in Sinai. 

What is extremely interesting is that I feel the fate of the developing a city on the Suez that is as cosmopolitan as Istanbul is inherently inevitable. Historically, Istanbul and the Suez share the tied history considering that the Constantinople Convention of the Suez Canal is what governs the commerce and politics of the world's most travelled waterway. Just as the history of Istanbul and the Suez are tied to one another, so will their future, I believe.