Historic Cairo

• Earthquake in 1992 (issue resolved)   
• Inappropriate reconstruction works (issue resolved)    
• Coordination among institutions
• Authenticity and adaptive re-use in conservation policy
• Training and institutional building

1. An International Seminar on the conservation of Historic Cairo, with multi-disciplinary planning workshops focused on specific projects, to be organized in early 2002. Periodic reviewing seminars of the current projects will also be held.

2. The establishment within the premises of a restored monument, of a permanent Information Centre on Historic Cairo World Heritage site and current conservation efforts

3. The preparation of a Conservation Manual, with technical specifications and detailed descriptions of the types of work most commonly required for the conservation and maintenance of historic building within the city of Cairo.

Following the ICOMOS report of August 2001 on Islamic Cairo and the subsequent joint agreement between the World Heritage Centre and the Egyptian authorities regarding the implementation of a series of specific actions for this site partially funded through the Egyptian Funds-in-Trust at UNESCO, the following actions were undertaken:

1. An International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of Islamic Cairo was organized by the Ministry of Culture of Egypt in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, from 16 to 20 February 2002 in Cairo. Attended by several renowned world experts, both Egyptian and international, on conservation of historic cities and Islamic architecture, the meeting included site visits, four thematic sessions on subjects related to the conservation of Islamic Cairo, as well as technical workshops on specific projects among those currently being implemented by the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The main recommendations of the Symposium can be summarized as follows:

1)     To strengthen coordination among all the concerned institutions and to designate Cairo as a single Planning Zone, with a comprehensive Urban Conservation and Development Plan;

2)     To address, as a matter of priority, the problem related to ground water;

3)     To integrate the re-use of historic buildings in the conservation policy, with an emphasis placed on respect of authenticity;

4)     To address the social context within the framework of a policy for the conservation of Islamic Cairo;

5)     To provide training on urban and architectural conservation of staff from the Supreme Council of Antiquities;

6)     To ensure periodic monitoring and follow up through regular meetings and technical missions between Egyptian and international experts on current projects and overall policies for the conservation of Historic Cairo.

The World Heritage Centre is currently working on the proceedings of the symposium in Arabic and in English, in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and the UNESCO Cairo Office.

2. A preliminary study for a Conservation Handbook for Islamic Cairo was undertaken by the Centre and financed through an Italian Funds-in-Trust, in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities. This study will be submitted shortly to the Supreme Council of Antiquities for a joint implementation of the project in several phases, under both the Egyptian Funds-in-Trust and the Italian Funds-in-Trust.

3. The Ministry of Culture is restoring Takeyet Abu El-Dahab, an early twentieth-century structure in Islamic Cairo, to host a permanent multi-media Information Centre on the Islamic Cairo World Heritage site and current conservation efforts.