Mit Ghamr Dovecotes

In the Delta town of Mit Ghamr, extraordinary towers rise between the ordinary apartment blocks: giant conical dovecotes, or hamam houses, studded with hundreds of clay pots and jutting perch-sticks that make them look like something from a fairy tale. These are working pigeon lofts, a tradition stretching back centuries in rural Egypt where pigeon is prized both as food and for the valuable droppings used to fertilise fields.

Seeing them means wandering the everyday streets of a Delta town well off the tourist trail, where the towers loom over markets and rooftops. It is a glimpse of a living agricultural craft rather than a monument, best appreciated for the surreal collision of humble city life and these soaring, sculptural birdhouses.