Artist Creates Viral Illustration of Cairo in a Circle

If you live in Cairo, you’ve probably tried explaining to someone who hasn’t visited just how complex Egypt’s capital is. Yet, despite swearing on your ancestors’ graves, you still fail to convey its reality. But then artist Maxwell Tilse goes and encapsulates it with all its layers in an illustration only as big as a pot lid.

Conveying a passion for architecture and travel, Tilse sketched the towering minarets and sculptural domes of Old Cairo set against Khedival Cairo’s Belle Epoque architecture and modernist housing buildings protected by mosque crenellations, with the lions of Qasr El Nil bridge acting as gatekeepers to the artwork, and thus, the city. 

Drawn over the course of three days, the artwork features a myriad of Egyptian landmarks cascading down the canvas. We’ve managed to spot the Great Pyramids of Giza, Muhammed Ali Mosque, Cairo Tower and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hovering above. Further down, there’s the iconic Rivoli Cinema and the historic La Genevoise building.

Video Credit: Maxwell Tilse