A FEW steps away from Al-Muizz Street, which is now preserved as an open-air museum of Islamic monuments, stands the area of Gammaliya which now awaits its turn to be revamped and returned to its glorious heyday once the dust of centuries has been brushed away, and the monumental and historical edifices and accumulated debris removed from the streets, says Nevine El-Aref. The alleyways will be properly lit and the district will become an architectural showcase. On 7 January, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, accompanied by senior government officials and journalists, embarked on a tour of inspection of Gammaliya to reassure residents and assess the current situation of the area and its buildings. Time has taken a heavy toll on these historic edifices. Encroachment and misuse by residents have in some cases caused irreparable harm, while environmental pollution has undermined foundations and the 1992 earthquake left visible marks on the threatened historical zone. In 2000 the government launched its huge restoration campaign, the Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project, with the aim of protecting and conserving historic Cairo with a view to creating a living museum. Al-Muizz Street took a huge chunk of the LE850-million project, but now it is the turn of Gammaliya. "I need your help and support in order to spruce up the area with a view to developing it into an open air museum like its neighbour, Al-Muizz Street," Hosni told residents. He said that those people who would be moved from their houses and workshops would be compensated and rehoused. According to the rehabilitation project for the area, workshops and factories that affect the monuments in the historic district and dump their industrial waste near the buildings will be removed unless they change their ways. "Skilled workers and their handicraft stores are essential to the distinct character of Gammaliya. They provide the vivid atmosphere of the area and the government is keen on settling craftsmen in their original locations, but in a manner that complements the splendour of the area," Hosni said. "Workers whose small enterprises adversely affect the monuments will be transferred elsewhere unless they change their activities. In this case, the government will help the labourers involved and provide them with training courses and materials for new businesses." Owing to Hosni's belief that these Islamic monuments are living entities inhabited by people who must remain a part of the total environment, the khanqah (fountain) of Said El-Soadaa, which houses a fountain of the reign of Salaheddin, the oldest in Cairo, will be transformed into a inshad dini (centre of religious chanting). A new drainage system will be installed for the whole area, and major restoration will be carried out on the magnificent buildings such as the Oda Pasha wekala (community workshop).
