By Fayza Hassan How and why to preserve the built patrimony: these questions have been the cause of heated, and often bitter, debates between the various authorities entrusted with the difficult task of protecting Egypt's incredibly rich architectural heritage, and compelled to juggle a chronic shortage of funds, the influx of tourists, a fast-growing population, an inadequate infrastructure, a hopelessly inefficient transport system and an acute need to provide living space for the poor, who can no longer afford the soaring prices of any kind of accommodation within the city. Historical monuments have always been used as dwellings and places of work by those who have nowhere else to go. Patrimony and population, therefore, often seem to be at cross purposes. Saving our architectural heritage may entail turning the most splendid monuments into show pieces set in open air museums; the buildings may be thus saved, but who are we saving it for? These landmarks were never erected for the sole benefit of tourists, who often cause more damage to the structures than does the indigenous population, of whose life they have been part and parcel for generations. Since the beginning of the 18th century, Egypt's built heritage has attracted millions from all over the world. Until recently, compromises were mediated between those who came to look and those who were looked at, often resulting in mutual satisfaction. Globalisation and the advent of mass tourism, however, have created a new relationship of power in countries wholly or partly dependent on tourism to prop up their economies. In addressing these different problems, the conference held by the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environment (IASTE) last week did not aim to provide answers or blueprints for definitive action, but rather to offer professionals in the fields of architecture, conservation, development and tourism food for thought and a chance to exchange points of view. The sixth IASTE conference was sponsored by Cairo University under the auspices of Dr Farouk Ismail, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Housing and New Communities and the University of California at Berkeley. Participants had come in from all over the world to discuss Manufacturing Heritage / Consuming Tradition: Development, Preservation and Tourism in the Age of Globalisation. Participants presented papers slotted into a variety of sections: Manufacturing Heritage; Development, Tourism and Practice; Consuming Tradition; and the Preservation Debate. Architects and conservationists from the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Arab countries were invited to air their ideas in this broad context. A special screening of the IASTE video documentary Virtual Cairo, a computer reconstruction of the city produced and directed by Conference Director Nezar AlSayyad of the University of California (Berkeley), was mind-boggling. An extensive walking tour of Islamic Cairo followed by a reception at Beit Al-Harawi provided an opportunity for foreign architects to observe the restoration work which has taken place recently in this historical area. The keynote speaker, architect Abdel-Halim Ibrahim Abdel-Halim, addressed the impact of globalisation on architecture and urbanisation, particularly in Egypt and in the Arab world, premising that globilisation is detrimental to the production of an architecture of quality that is also culturally relevant to indigenous communities. Outlining the dangers of the global trend, he advised that it can be countered and even reversed through community-based approaches aimed at sustaining and empowering local communities to express their identity and pool their creative energy in the participatory planning and construction of their built environment. "The concept of heritage requires a sense of ownership. The concept of consumption requires a sense of permission," said Nelson Graburn, of the University of California (Berkeley), whose paper, titled Learning to Consume: What is Heritage and When Is it Traditional?, centred around how "the individual assumes a sense of identity with and ownership of a place and associated material artifacts", and considered the various ways by which individuals come to the conclusion that they "belong" to a place and a community, and decide how much permission they will be willing to give the "other" to consume this environment. Standford Anderson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) examined the role of memory in societies with no recognisable monumental architecture, and argued that, in pre-literate societies, vernacular architecture was conserved through a cohesion of the past and present, while literate societies tended to lose the social memory of their vernacular architecture but could nevertheless keep an archival record of it. Jordanian architect Rami Daher discussed the many obstacles to the systematic conservation of heritage in Jordan. "The demolition and misuse of existing historical structures is a common outcome of development projects as no guidelines exist for intervention in historic settings," he said. Azhar Tyabji from the University of Maryland (College Park), on the other hand, elaborated on the Indian experience: Since the beginning of the '90s, he explained, a new economic openness has fostered innovative public/private sector partnerships most visible in the heritage site tourism industry, for which the Indian government and joint non-profit agencies are at present devising more adequate socio-cultural and economic policies. His case study focused on the conservation effort underway in the desert citadel of Jaisalmer, an 800-year-old settlement built of sandstone and limestone in the state of Rajasthan. Tyabji's conclusion was that the success of a project is often due to a collaboration between technical, academic and management groups "whose strength may lie in their attitudinal differences rather than consensus, and whose primary concern must be to include local bodies in making decisions about several built heritages." Paul Ammar of New York University presented a paper which focused on National Identities as Claims on Spaces in Islamic Cairo, taking Al-Gamaliya and its inhabitants' attitude towards foreign visitors as a case study, while Alaa El-Habashi and Ihab Elzayadi presented Social Perspectives and Preservation Strategies in Modern Cairo in a lively dialogue, concluding that "the hope is to provide an understanding of the paradox that arises in the context of many traditional environments when attempts are made to preserve an old heritage" while increasing integration within the globalisation process are taking place. Several other papers discussed the tensions created between the local and the global, and the transformation of urban settings from traditional places catering to the few, to objects of consumption marketed to millions. Rawia Ezzedin Hammouda from Matariya University closed her presentation with recommendations to amend building legislation in the area of heritage preservation in a way that contributes to a distinctive contemporary architecture and a built environment capable of coping with the negative pressures of globalisation. The theming of vernacular settings, their use as props to art, musical and cultural festivals and the active production of postcard images for tourists' consumption were the object of a number of papers which examined the practice, often critically. The general consensus, however, was that such manifestations were beneficial to a tourist-oriented economy, attracting scores of tourists in search of local colour, while sometimes capturing the imagination of the indigenous population, who seemed to enjoy playing the role of the tourist, albeit in the next village. For example, according to Layla Al-Zubaidi (of the Free University, Berlin, US), tourist events such as the annual desert festival in Palmyra, Syria, attract more Palmyreans and Syrians than foreign tourists; fake antiquities are bought and displayed in Palmyrean homes as well." Another keynote speaker, Derek Gregory, broached the topic of colonial nostalgia, exploring Western tourists' practices during the 19th century in Egypt. Gregory mapped their favourite itineraries, conjuring up the iconography which lured them to the Nile banks and showed that the very same colonial discourse of tourism is being used now, "in order to guarantee continued access to a supposedly timeless, 'authentic' Egypt." Timothy Mitchell, author of the well-known Colonising Egypt, recounted Hassan Fathi's protracted adventure with the construction of "new Gurna", which finally came to completion exactly 50 years ago, but has remained an empty shell to this day, shunned by the population of the old village who have resisted uprooting for half a century. He recapitulated the numerous instances in which attempts were made to remove the Gurnawis from their village. "The struggles of the people of Gurna have [much] to tell about the dynamics of the heritage industry, international tourism, and local and national politics in relation to the built environment." Renowned author of Cairo, 1001 Years of the City Victorious Janet Abu Lughod, however, argued that, as long as tourism was a primary resource for the inhabitants, there was a need to come to terms with the compromises the presence of tourists entailed. A special workshop was presented by Dalila El-Kerdani, professor of architecture at Cairo University and co-director of the conference, and Ali Gabr of Cairo University, on the up-grading and conservation of Zamalek, the residential quarter par excellence of mid-20th century. The presentation stressed the rapid deterioration of the once luxuriously built environment when overtaxed by a growing population, the invasion of the business and academic communities and an influx of tourists who prefer to be accommodated in this convenient part of town. In conclusion, Abu Lughod warned against the dangers of a globalisation catering only to the needs of a single hegemonic power, and commented that strategies of resistance based on the founding of vibrant micro-economies should be devised, empowering communities to share in the decision-making process and actively contributing to a discerning consumption of their heritage.
