Venerable Cairo University is getting ready to welcome the US president when he speaks to the Muslim world. Nevine El-Aref reports on the extravagant makeover With its off-white neo-classical architecture, Cairo University in Giza has stood as one of the city's most famous academic and cultural landmarks since its founding in 1908. It is not only the home of diverse faculties and scientific institutes but along the span of history it has been a key meeting point of several political, cultural and scientific events. Many of its Egyptian students are world famous and the list of graduates reads like a Who's Who: Nobel Laureate Ahmed El-Baradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel Prize for Literature; heart surgeon Magdi Yaqoub, professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Imperial College in London; and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former UN secretary-general. The university is once again in the spotlight. On 4 June US President Barack Obama will be in Cairo University, the platform from which he will speak to the Muslim world in his long-awaited address. Though Obama's visit to Egypt was announced weeks ago, his choice of Cairo University was made just recently. As such, the university, caught slightly off guard, is working overtime in preparation for the big day. Professors, students and staff are now working on campus in the middle of labourers with their equipment. Perched atop the university's famed dome are three workers dangling from ropes, cleaning its bronze shields. Others are busy planting trees and roses to make the university's environs greener. Workers standing on very high ladders carrying very long water hoses are cleaning the walls and removing graffiti and love letters written down the years by star-stricken students. Other workers with hand brushes are busy scrubbing the university's marble stairs. Outside the university, workers are giving the 5,000 metre iron fence that surrounds the institution a fresh face of green. "Cairo University is being readied to host this important event," Sami Abdel-Aziz, Cairo University spokesman, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Abdel-Aziz said that since its founding more than 100 years ago, the university has been the site of many historic occasions, citing the speeches of former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser and the more than 15 Arab and foreign leaders, including kings and presidents, who have visited. Because of Obama's visit, some major changes are currently taking place. Abdel-Aziz said Al-Khartoum Hall in the domed building is now a press centre for journalists. And because Obama's visit comes during end of year examinations, there has had to be an inevitable rescheduling of tests. Those affected are fourth year students of the faculties of commerce, law and arts; first and second year students of the faculty of science; and postgraduates exams of the faculty of archaeology. All the exams had been scheduled for 4 June, the day Obama is due to speak. The "Great Celebration Hall", where President Obama will stand on its 400 square metre stage to deliver his address, has turned into a beehive of activity. Restorers with their small brushes are cleaning the walls' gilded decorations while workers are busy brushing, mopping, vacuuming and polishing the floor, windows, velvet chairs and glass lamps. The Great Hall covers 3,160 square metres and can hold up to 4,000 people. It has been the scene of several noteworthy occasions, including national and scientific conferences, commencements, cultural seminars, concerts and art shows. In fact, said Abdel-Aziz, the hall has welcomed several Arab and foreign leaders since it was built in 1935. On its stage, former French president Jacques Chirac delivered an address during the official opening of the Qasr Al-Aini Al-Fransawi Hospital. Another former French president, Valléry Giscard d'Estaing, former South Africa president Nelson Mandela and former Senegalese president Abdu Diouf made appearances when the university granted them honorary doctorate degrees in economy and political science. Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi has also paid a visit, as have former Italian prime minister Sandro Pertini and Japan's minister of defence. Cairo governorate is also sprucing up the area around the university. Streets leading to the university are being repaved, plants and trees across the streets are being put into the ground and the well known statue of Nahdet Masr (Egypt renaissance) carved by renowned sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar at Al-Gamaa Street, will shine once more. Ahmed Nassar, head of the Cleanness and Embellishment Authority, says the governorate has allocated 450 cleaners in an attempt to complete the refurbishment in time. Nassar said the iron fence on the edge of Al-Gamaa Bridge is to be painted in green, lamps along the Gamaa streets will be cleaned and those that are damaged will be replaced.
