The Al-Azhar Park has risen through the Cairo smog 20 years after being given the green light, Nevine El-Aref reports Spreading over a hill in the heart of Islamic Cairo, the new Al-Azhar Park offers 15 million Cairenes, as well as tourists, some much needed leisure and recreational space with magnificent views of historic Cairo's countless architectural treasures. At last Friday night's opening Mrs Suzanne Mubarak officially inaugurated the park in the presence of His Highness Karim Aga Khan, the imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Shias, along with Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir and top government officials. The scene was spectacular: spotlights in the grass cast a fine play of light and shadow, creating an aura of ancient grandeur and mystery. The undulating landscape of lawns, palms, sycamores, blackthorns and acacias was interspersed with gazebos and pseudo-Moorish limestone structures that house the coffee shop and seating areas. To reach the highest point where the opening ceremony took place, the visitor mounts a flight of wooden steps cut into the hillside, its scale accentuated by a stream-cum-lake that flows down the park's centre. Framed by the soaring "1,000" minarets of Mediaeval Cairo, the Salaheddin Citadel and the domed mausoleums of the many Mameluke sultans, this area offers those who dawdle by the artificial lake a view not unlike those in Andalusia. The park hosts 89 varieties of trees, 51 of shrubs, five kinds of grass, 14 climbers, 50 groundcover plants and 26 varieties of succulents. More than 655,000 young plants from cuttings and seeds have been put in. Most of the lawns were laid down as turf. The 71-feddan park mirrors the traditional use of public spaces in the Islamic context. Orchard spaces reflect the bustan, the shaded seating areas imitate the takhtaboush and Fatimid archways are used in the construction of the park buildings. Persian and Timurid elements are reflected in water channels and fountains -- which are fed directly by Nile water from a nearby municipal pipeline. The space embraces a meticulously conceptualised hilltop lookout kiosk, a children's play area, an amphitheatre and stage, playing fields, a viewing plaza and a historical wall promenade. The origin of the park project goes back to the year 1984 when the Aga Khan Prize for Architecture organised a conference on "The Expanding Metropolis: Coping with the Urban Growth of Cairo". At that time it was clear that Cairo needed more green space. Hence the Aga Khan announced the decision to finance the creation of a park for the citizens of the Egyptian capital. The only central location of a suitable scale and which lent itself to rehabilitation was the derelict Darrasa site, a 500-year-old mound of rubble in the inner city, between the eastern edge of the 12th-century Ayubid city and the 15th-century Mameluke City of the Dead. The site also neighbours the Darb Al-Ahmar area, one of the richest concentrations of Islamic art and architecture in the world. The park project was therefore intended to be a case study for a variety of development challenges ranging from environmental rehabilitation to cultural restoration. The objective was to create a model of development that could be replicated in many other settings and in particular in the historic cities of the Islamic world, many of which face pressures similar to those of Cairo. The Aga Khan described the project as "a catalyst for social, economic and cultural renewal and improvement". He also said that constructing the park and restoring the nearby cultural monuments were intended as a herald of economic development and the overall improvement of the quality of life in the district. At the same time, he suggested, the park would offer a new vantage-point with spectacular views of Islamic Cairo that would no doubt draw foreign tourists and the residents of greater Cairo alike to the once-neglected area. "A fundamental lesson, which reinforced our experience in other countries, is that public and private partnerships can be effective mechanisms for enhancing the value of underused, unappreciated or even unknown social, cultural and economic assets," the Aga Khan said in his address at the inauguration ceremony. He stressed that the project would not have succeeded without effective partnership with a number of international, national and local NGOs and institutions such as the Swiss Egyptian Development Fund, the Ford Foundation, the World Monuments Fund, the French Institute of Archaeology, the City of Stuttgart and the newest donor, the Social Development Fund. With the help of the Cairo Governorate and the Supreme Council of Antiquities the project team had been able to study the nature of the area and how to upgrade it. The project included the excavation and restoration of the Ayubid wall and the rehabilitation of important monuments and landmarks in the neighbouring historic city, such as the 14th-century Um Sultan Shaaban Mosque and the Khayrbek complex, which encompasses a 13th-century palace, a mosque and an Ottoman house. The Darb Shoughlan school is also being restored, along with 19 local residential houses. This rehabilitation of the houses is being undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which expects to work on an average of 50 houses a year until 2007. A housing credit scheme aiding individuals with the rehabilitation of their own houses is also being provided. "Another lesson here was the important role that micro-finance could play in helping residents of this community to lift themselves beyond subsistence, enabling them to grow businesses and upgrade the quality of their living condition," the Aga Khan said. During the ceremony, Mrs Mubarak witnessed the signing of the agreement between the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Cairo Governorate and the Social Development Fund to upgrade and develop the Darb Al-Ahmar area. According to this agreement, micro-credit loans will be provided to residents of the area enabling them to restore their houses and open small businesses such as carpentry shops and dry-cleaners. In addition, job training and employment opportunities are being offered in various sectors such as shoemaking, furniture manufacturing and tourist goods production. Apprenticeships are available for automobile electronics, mobile telephone and computer technology, masonry, carpentry and office skills. Hundreds of young men and women in Darb Al-Ahmar have found work in the park, in horticulture and on the project for example in restoring the Ayubid wall.
