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Eduard von Heller

Cairo, 1876 – 6 Dec 1970

5 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

  • Born1876, Caironot verified1 source
  • Died6 Dec 1970not verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 1876

    Born in Cairo

  2. 6 Dec 1970

    Dies

Family

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Partner

During his lifetime

He lived through 11 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Cairo.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1870s · Eduard is born in Cairo

In the news1876

Mixed courts established in 1876

Mixed courts were established in 1876, creating a new legal system with jurisdiction over both Egyptians and foreigners.

Getting around

Railway travel between Cairo and Alexandria

The railway connecting Alexandria and Cairo reduced travel time from 30 hours to 8 hours.

At the table

Cheap coffee was a dietary staple

Coffee was very affordable, costing between 1 and 3 para per cup, and was so central to the diet of the poor that some individuals consumed up to 30 cups a day.

Electric light. Edison’s light bulb and his first power stations, in New York and London, began to light cities with electricity.Around the world · 1879–1882

Electric light. Edison’s light bulb and his first power stations, in New York and London, began to light cities with electricity.

KMJ, alpha masking by Edokter · CC BY-SA 3.0

What people wore

Women's outdoor modesty garments

When leaving the house, women concealed their colorful indoor outfits under a dark, modestly cut robe known as a ferace or hibra. They also covered their faces in public with a long, transparent white muslin veil called a burqa or yashmak.

Music

Musical life in coffeehouses

Coffeehouses were central to musical life, where patrons enjoyed songs and performances in the evenings. By 1860, there were estimated to be over 1,200 such coffeehouses in Cairo alone.

Daily life

Education systems and child schooling approaches

Children often attended traditional neighborhood schools called kuttabs to learn to recite the Koran, while state and foreign schools also became more prevalent during this period. Education for many girls remained focused on practical domestic skills rather than formal book-learning.