The Historic Cairo Restoration Project (HCRP) is an effort by the governments of Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

 to restore and renovate historic Medieval Islamic Cairo

Islamic Cairo

Islamic Cairo is a part of central Cairo noted for its historically important mosques and other Islamic monuments. It is overlooked by the Cairo Citadel....

. Al-Qahira (Cairo) was officially founded here in 969 CE by the Fatamid caliphs as an imperial capital and walled city, just to the north of the preceding capital Fustat. There are two parts to the HCRP: the remaking of the historic area and the restoration of its monuments.

Concept

The Historic Cairo Restoration Project is a project started by the governments of Egypt and Cairo. The main project's intention is to create new museums in a sequence of historical sites in an open-air museum district, that will be widely accessible to both the citizens of Cairo and tourists. The project is currently focused on restoring historic landmarks from the medieval Fatamid era in Cairo (969 CE - 1250 CE). The number number of potential historic monuments is estimated between 450 and 630 structures.

According to the Ministry of Culture

Ministry of Culture (Egypt)

The Ministry of Culture of Egypt is a ministry responsible for maintaining and promoting the culture of Egypt. The current Minister is Dr. Emad Badr El-Din Mahmoud Abu Ghazy.-Critics:...

, the HCRP plan is to "to transform the whole area into an open-air museum." The HCRP is first focusing on this Islamic art

Islamic art

Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...

s district in order to be a part of the Museum With No Frontiers

Museum With No Frontiers

Museum With No Frontiers , an international non-profit organization founded in 1995 as a result of the Barcelona Declaration by Eva Schubert, with the goal of launching a formal partnership between the European Union and its Mediterranean neighbours, which recently resulted in the constitution of...

. This is a museum organized by the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, and the Fatimid area project will be a part of its Euromed Heritage program

Euromed Heritage program

The Euromed Heritage programme is a programme chartered by the Barcelona Declaration and funded through the resulting Euro-Mediterranean Partnership...

 — "Islamic Art in the Mediterranean."

Projects

A primary concept of the project is to feature the actual historical sites as the main exhibits for this open-air museum by providing extensive information resources and catalogs on-site at each of them. Visitors would therefore be able to truly experience medieval Egyptian culture and history by seeing the structures and sites while concurrently learning more about them from the on-site resources.

As a part of this project, to increase pedestrian accessibility there are plans to create a paved walkway along al-Muizz li-Din Allah, the main ceremonial path of Fatimid Cairo. There are also plans to demolish less significant adjacent vernacular

Vernacular architecture

Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...

 structures to create large garden

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...

 settings surrounding the landmarks.

Medieval context

The HCRP has issued many plans, which have been met with resistance by some Cairens, the citizens of Cairo. For example, the plans to create gardens and walkways is seen by some as an assault on the original dense medieval layout and 'urban fabric' of Fatimid Cairo that diminishes the historical value of the retained sites.

The reasoning is that in Medieval Cairo, the context of a building was determined by its relationship to neighboring buildings. Buildings and monuments of importance were intentionally constructed adjacent to conventional ones, to convey and enhance their high stature and prestige. It is this urban clustering and juxtaposition that actually gives the landmark buildings authentic context and meaning for visitors to experience. Some Cairens think that by eliminating this context from the buildings the HCRP is lessening the value and historical understanding of their heritage sites.

Some architectural conservation experts have claimed the HCRP has used incorrect building materials in its conservation work. Other conservation experts counter that the massive and immediate intervention for landmarks, despite the inevitable mistakes, has stopped the threat of many just disappearing.

Funding

Some residents of historic Cairo have also become suspicious of the HCRP motives, questioning if the project really has historical preservation and interpretation as its true primary intention. Some believe that tourism and commerce are instead the main reason for the project's creation and funding. The large amount of spending necessary for the intended project has also become a point of controversy, with some estimates as high as $350 million. Some residents believe that the massive cost of creating the open-air museum and restoring its landmarks would be better spent for other local public social and economic needs.

See also

• Al-Aqmar Mosque
  Aqmar Mosque
  The Aqmar Mosque is one of the few remaining mosques in Cairo, Egypt that have been built in the Fatimid era under vizier al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi during the caliphate of Imam al-Amir, son of Mustansir. The mosque is located along north Muizz Street, with several significant monuments located next to...
  
   - (Fatimid era mosque)
• Al-Muizz Street
  Muizz street
  Al-Muizz Street in Islamic Cairo, Egypt is one of the oldest streets in Cairo, approximately one kilometer long. A United Nations study found it to have the greatest concentration of medieval architectural treasures in the Islamic world...
  
   - (within district)
• Islamic Cairo
  Islamic Cairo
  Islamic Cairo is a part of central Cairo noted for its historically important mosques and other Islamic monuments. It is overlooked by the Cairo Citadel....
  
   - (the district, circa 10th—19th century city center)
• Old Cairo
  Old Cairo
  Old Cairo is a part of Cairo, Egypt, that contains the remnants of those cities which were capitals before Cairo, such as Fustat, as well as some other elements from the city's varied history. For example, it encompasses Coptic Cairo and its many old churches and ruins of Roman fortifications...
  
  

External links

• Islamica Magazine: Medieval Islamic Cairo article - "Rescuing Cairo's Lost Heritage" - history of district, conservation projects, and the HCRP.
• Scribd: "Islamic Monuments in Cairo, the practical guide" - online edition