Mashrabiya Apartment Lane

Mashrabiya Apartment Lane is an original illustration set in Historic Cairo District, Egypt. It lies in the subtropics, where the climate is hot desert — evaporation far outruns rainfall.

Large projecting window boxes of dense turned-wood lattice overhang a narrow lane, deep shadow gathering beneath them. The walls are thick sand-coloured plaster with small recessed openings. The lane itself is barely wide enough for two people to pass.

Why is the window built as a projecting wooden lattice?

A lattice box catches whatever breeze moves along the street and cools it by evaporation from water jars set inside — air conditioning built from wood and shade. The narrowness of the lane is deliberate too: buildings shading each other keep the ground cool through the day. Thick plastered walls store the night's coolness. Everything here is answering extreme dry heat.

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