Historic Cairo

• Earthquake in 1992 (issue resolved);
• Inappropriate reconstruction works (issue resolved);  
• Rise of the underground water level;
• Dilapidated infrastructure;
• Neglect and lack of maintenance;
• Overcrowded areas and buildings;
• Uncontrolled development;
• Absence of a defined protection perimeter for the property and of a comprehensive Urban Conservation Plan;
• Absence of an integrated socio-economic revitalization plan linking the urban and the socio-cultural fabric of the city core.

An International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of Islamic Cairo, which took place in 2002, and follow up discussions within the Committee at its 27th and 28th sessions, identified a number of key recommendations to improve conservation of old Cairo. These included:

a) Designating Islamic Cairo as a Special Planning District, with buffer zones, in accordance with the provision of the Operational Guidelines;

b) Preparing a comprehensive Urban Plan for the Conservation and Development of the Old City, whereby the conservation of historic buildings would be accompanied by appropriate development regulations to encourage the rehabilitation of the urban fabric so as to ensure its compatibility with the historic character of Islamic Cairo;

c) Organizing regular meetings among Egyptian and international experts to review and discuss current conservation issues and projects.

An ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission was carried out from 9 to 16 March 2005. Its report provided many positive indications concerning the quality of restoration work. However, it also drew attention to a number of important shortcomings in work underway including over-emphasis on tourism oriented functions, lack of concern for context, and lack of involvement of the general public. Finally, the report reiterated the need of designating “Historic Cairo within clearly defined borders including an appropriate buffer zone as one planning district”.

The Committee, at its 29th session, had commended the State Party “for the actions taken to rehabilitate the property by implementing conservation works on the historic buildings”, but regretted the lack of progress made on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2002 International Symposium. The Committee therefore urged the State Party to take immediate steps “to elaborate the requested Plan and all related actions, otherwise facing the loss of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property” and requested that the State Party identify “the exact boundaries of the World Heritage property and its buffer zone on a detailed topographic map at the appropriate scale”. The Committee also urged the State Party to submit this map and a report on the progress made in the implementation of the above recommendations by 1 February 2006, for the consideration of the Committee at its 30th session in 2006.

The State Party submitted a report to the World Heritage Centre on 1 February 2006, entitled “Report of Egyptian Government on Historic Cairo and its Development Project”. While the report provides an eloquent overview of the complexity of the historic city, and demonstrates the many improvements recently achieved in approaches and methodologies for monument restoration, as well as recent actions taken to address problems associated with excessive traffic and decaying infrastructure in the city, it also suggests that the Government has given priority to addressing the physical dilapidation of the city noted in the 2002 report, prior to launching the comprehensive planning measures called for in the same document. The report suggests that it is the intention of the Government to initiate such planning measures in the second half of 2006. The report is not accompanied by the detailed topographic map called for by the Committee at its 29th session, but by colour copies of the 1948 map of Cairo showing Islamic monuments (scale 1:5,000) which had already been submitted with the original nomination, as well as a simplified A4 generic black and white map showing parts of 5 zones, without description or identification of same.

The importance of giving the highest priority to the planning process and outcomes called for in the 2002 report and emphasized as essential in all subsequent sessions of the Committee is hereby reiterated. This process should include efforts to identify and describe the character zones of the historic city, their associated significance (expressed within character zone significance statements), to ensure that planning integrates concern for housing, and socio-economic needs within conservation strategies examined. The 2002 report and supporting Committee recommendations call specifically for “designating Historic Cairo as a Special Planning District, with buffer zones, in accordance with the provision of the Operational Guidelines”. This critical point is not addressed in the recent report by the State Party.

ICOMOS believes that in spite of the many actions undertaken by the Egyptian authorities in recent years to improve physical conservation of the Old City, because of the time that has elapsed since the 2002 report and the failure in that period of the State Party to implement the principal priority recommendations in that report, the State Party should be asked urgently to consult with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies. Such consultations shall define a work programme to ensure beginning in 2006 for the implementation of all recommendations coming from the 2002 Report and subsequently endorsed by the Committee at its 27th, 28th and 29th sessions.