Antique elevators in downtown Cairo are more than just a way to get upstairs—they’re relics of a city that refuses to let go of its past. In this episode, we step into the creaking, century-old lifts that still carry residents daily, celebrating their Art Deco beauty while enduring frequent breakdowns, manual fixes, and quirky safety features. Kept alive by original craftsmanship, landlords’ nostalgia, and rent controls that discourage replacement, these elevators embody Cairo’s tension between preservation and practicality. At what point does history become an inconvenience—and when does replacing it mean losing part of the city’s soul?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/20/world/middleeast/cairo-egypt-elevators.html