Nowhere is the challenge of urban protection more important that in the heart of Islamic Cairo, the ancient centre of the city, writes Nawal Mahmoud Hassan* Moving the Association for the Urban Development of Islamic Cairo from the l7th century Arab house known as Beit Al-Fan at the foot of the Citadel to the Fatimid era street, Al-Muiz li Din Allah, in Darb Al-Ahmar district, brought our association face-to-face with the traumatic changes occurring in the heart of the urban fabric of Cairo's historic old city. Visiting Beit Al-Fan at the Citadel was always uplifting -- as contact with a harmonious and inspiring civilisation always is -- with its artists in their studios in the 1940s-60s, the open-house teas/dinners in the piano nobile presided over by Mr Milo in the 1950s and 1960s, a house that later came to be identified with world- renowned architect and humanist, Hassan Fathy, whose roof overlooked the minarets of Sultan Hassan and Gani Bek mosques and the Centre for Egyptian Civilisation Studies in the loggia and ground floor, where exhibitions of Islamic art and architecture were held in the 1970s. Contact with the problems facing the people residing in Gamalia and the rest of Fatimid Cairo dispelled the amorphous notion of harmony characterising the historic city and resulted in efforts within our association to cater to the social problems facing the population in this historic urban area. Starting from the 1960s, large-scale demolitions of rent-controlled buildings began, bought up cheaply by speculators and inadvertently threatened by a law holding municipal engineers legally responsible for certifying their safety, almost automatically guaranteeing their demolition. This resulted in historic monuments being surrounded by a sea of newly constructed concrete buildings replacing turn- of-the-century stone buildings that blended in material style and scale into the neighbourhood, and in large-scale evictions of inhabitants who were placed in inhuman conditions in the courtyards of historic mosques by socialist authorities over a 20-year period. No amount of lobbying of the district governor by Olfat Kamel, the local MP, and myself on a weekly basis was able to stem the devastation until First Lady Sadat was convinced of the harm being done and money was found to address the issue. The historic city of Cairo has seen an exodus of its population since the birth of Khedive Ismail in the Mussafirkhana Palace: first the wealthy aristocratic inhabitants, followed by the middle classes, including lately such notables as Naguib Mahfouz and the friends of Hassan Fathy -- Hamed Said and Ramsis Wissa Wassef -- who believed that indigenous Egyptian culture should be the inspiration for art and architecture; and most recently the gradual exodus of the poorer artisan and informal sector class, with all available space being acquired by wealthy merchants. Despite the recommendation of the UNESCO report prepared by architect Michael Meinecke in 1980, that housing for local inhabitants should receive priority, some influential NGOs with international funding and the government contributed to a substantial decline in inhabitants since the population census 30 years ago. This happened through actions such as the demolition of existing 18th century wekalas / rabs to rebuild better new Islamic-style buildings (such as in Tumbakshiya) while residents are relocated in other areas, or the construction of a building overshadowing the 12th century Fatimid mosque of Al-Aqmar and trespassing on the Fatimid era street alignment. The Ministry of Culture, in addition to relocating families, also displaced valuable social services after restoration such as the Women's Renaissance Association, which taught skills and literacy in Beit Gaafar, Darb Al-Asfar (replaced by a computer centre for politically motivated youth), and the Rabitat Al-Islah Al-Igtimai in Beit Zeinab Hatoun, which included a kindergarten, a weaving centre, sewing and literacy classes for young girls. No alternative space was provided in the district. Even artists are gradually losing their space in historic houses such as in Beit Gamal El-Din Al-Dahabi, Al-Mussafirkhana Palace, which burned down through neglect, and the house opposite Al-Dahabi, which mysteriously collapsed, home to the liberal leftwing poet Ahmed Fouad Nigm and Sheikh Imam, who interpreted his poems in song, and to the painter Mohamed Ali. On the other hand, we have witnessed an admirable example of restoration as part of a comprehensive urban plan for social development. The Azhar Park was conceived as a community park and a nucleus for the regeneration of the historic old city. Essentially, this meant improving the quality of life of the inhabitants by providing services for children, youth and adults, including job placement for youth, as well as a library and computer centre and loans for the upgrading of homes. This project serves as an important example of how houses near antiquity sites such as the Salah El-Din Wall can be upgraded instead of being torn down. Perhaps it would have been valuable, however, to invite NGOs to witness the step-by-step process, rather than only the final stages. The efforts of the Ministry of Culture at restoration and reconstruction of the historic city are commendable and have enhanced the cultural life of the area. But more needs to be done, while a list of urgent tasks would demand another column. * The writer is founder of the Association for the Urban Development of Islamic Cairo.
