For a few months, I frequently met with a friend at the historic Arada, a neighbourhood around Piassa.

Sunny and buoyant days in the area, with the movie houses, eating places, and pastries, have been in reminiscence. The non-stop mob-like everyday scene in front of the now-under-construction Adwa Museum and the taxi and bus queues that linger into the evenings is a spectacle on its own. It is a sheer contrast to the Sundays and holidays stillness that settles on the likes of the nearby Wawel Street (nearby Lideta Cathedral School).

We explored the neighbourhood’s multi-faceted challenges in our recent meetup. Our visit involved being to some alleys and walking to places we had never been. We stayed late hours to grasp the new realities of the old neighbourhood.

The opening of the historic Hager Fikir Theatre, after an illustrative renovation, and the enthusiasm we drew from the theatre shows, we repeatedly attended to the merriment of the auditorium ushers, who are responsible for checking tickets, and directing patrons to their seats, came handy for the repeated meetups. Sombre has been, at times, the tone of the voices in our discussions. It brought to the nooks and crannies of Arada’s shifting architectural landscape and the loss of much of the original houses along with their architectural and historical value from age through invasion of spaces.

Constant informal structures and settlements caused overcrowding, thus making open spaces hardly available nowadays. They impede movement on narrowed alleys that are the hallmark of the heart of Arada. This place exhibits the majority of the historical houses in the city, years of neglect due to a lack of proper historical background, and run-down buildings through incompatible functional usage. Along with these are significant changes in physical appearances with added partition walls, altered fixtures, and closed balconies.

This all is against the backdrop of an area distinguished by its roofing of buildings of the pre-1900 period. It is a traditionally made roofing decorated underneath with bamboo bound and leather straps, a robust and decorative technique. It is a distinctive feature of their style, compared with domes made of wood and placed at the top of the ridge cap of palaces or residences. A style of a strong façade, entrances rose from the ground level and reached by many stairs, decorative front mainly of Indian origin, and closed and open verandas used for ventilation.