" حي شعبي " Hay chäby means, in the colloquial Egyptian, a popular district! In terms of ambience, popularity embodies certain ambient characteristics as it reflects the image of a poor district, densely populated, abundant with touches of misery and vulgarity. Yet, the sensory experience in Choubrah contains pale vestiges of a glorious past. During the commented-walks, names of palaces, intensive green shadows, or dilapidated luxurious façades pop up and change our perception. These sensory traces unfold another face of Choubrah's atmosphere. They allow us to enter into its temporal depth by reactivating moments of the past. In other terms, navigate its palimpsest. This article is a trial to reveal the history of Choubrah from a sensory point of view by letting these traces speak for themselves.