My old neighborhood when I was around 23. I used to live in the southeast corner. It only took 28 years later for a highrise to supplant. I'm happy to see this but sigh at the slow progress .
Although your friend Ali may pronounce the “I” as he does in his name or would refer to Cairo as al-Qāhirah, in which case he would also province the “I” the same as Spiro