2. The number of apartments in the block varies depending on the number of bedrooms in the individual unit. For example, blocks with one-bedroom apartments have twenty units (four on each floor), while blocks with two-bedroom apartments have ten units (two on each floor). [BACK]

3. There are many who believe that Sadat did not know about these small and disliked units. He thought, as people emphasize, that all the units were two or three rooms. [BACK]

4. If the deceased is a relative, a friend, or a neighbor, it is customary to wait for at least forty days before the wedding (often with little or no festivity) takes place. [BACK]

5. Some families tried to get larger housing units by bringing relatives from the countryside and presenting them as residents of the housing unit. People also claim that some of those who had connections with the Egyptian bureaucracy managed to get a larger apartment when the family size was considered large. [BACK]

6. Throughout this book, I avoid using the word adaptation, a common word in studies of relocation. This is motivated by my desire to avoid the passivity, conformity, and unidimensional connotations of this word. Adaptation is defined in Merriam-Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary as “the act or process of adapting: the state of being adapted” and as “adjustment to environmental conditions: as a: adjustment of a sense organ to the intensity or quality of stimulation b: modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions of its environment.” Rather than simply viewing these spatial practices as adaptation, I aim to show their complexity and how they transform and shape individual housing units and the project at large. [BACK]

7. A monolithic definition of modernity also tends to be assumed in studies of urban housing in Egypt (see, for example, Steinberg 1991; as-Safty 1987; Hassan 1985). [BACK]

8. In this regard, I disagree with some writers who have seen in this distinction a dichotomy that corresponds to a rigid differentiation between a powerful

9. Officials promised, as reported in daily newspapers, that families who arranged their apartments “quickly and nicely” would be given E£ 10. Sadat also donated some furniture to two needy families who were not able to furnish their apartments. [BACK]

10. Women also felt sorry for me because I was living away from my family, a role they all volunteered to fill. They also thought that my apartment, which was owned by the American University in Cairo, was not a good deal. Since the apartment was furnished, we tenants did not have any claims on the apartment in the long run; the owner legally had the right to evict us whenever he or she wanted. The fact that the place was furnished also limited my choices in displaying my social distinction. [BACK]

11. In some cases, residents on the ground floor created new entrances for their apartments, turned the area in front of them into a small garden, and formed a unit that was totally separate from the rest of the block. [BACK]

12. My discussion here should not be understood as denying any interest from male family members in the housing unit. In fact, men also inspect their housing units, and a husband may start a fight with his wife if he feels that she is not taking good care of their apartment. He is socially supported in this case, and the woman's duty in taking care of the housing unit is reinforced through direct interference from her family and in-laws. [BACK]

13. Only a few openings were made by the original designers to allow peopleaccess to the roof. To drill a hole in the blocks with no access to the roof, people have to negotiate with the residents of the fifth floor, and if the latter refuse, as is the case with Um Hassan, no one can use the roof. In other cases, people have agreed on drilling the hole and have cooperated to raise poultry on the rooftop. [BACK]