ALEXANDRIA, Egypt: Along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, the oldest tram in Africa and the Middle East rumbles for a final few weeks before its removal — the latest urban upheaval Alexandrians say is hollowing out their city’s identity.
Government plans to replace the colorful streetcars on one of the city’s routes with a partially elevated light rail line have angered Alexandrians, for whom the 163-year-old track is “heritage, not just a means of transport,” local urban researcher Nahla Saleh told AFP.
Inaugurated in 1863, the tram is one of the world’s oldest, and among only a few to operate double-decker cars.
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In the 19th and 20th centuries, it helped the city become a bustling metropolis, home to sizable European diasporas and a distinct cosmopolitan culture.
