Tarabay al-Sherif Conservation

Cairo, Egypt

In spite of its inscription as a World Heritage Site in 1979, Historic Cairo was not given enough attention and individual buildings were suffering neglect, serious deterioration and lack of maintenance. During the early phases of the design of Azhar Park, new light was projected on the adjacent neighbourhood of Darb al-Ahmar, as the Park hills provide views to a number of magnificent monuments. With its medieval structures, domes and minarets amid the dense urban fabric, the Darb al-Ahmar district invites visitors to the Park to come and explore the jewels of Islamic art and architecture.

The conservation projects of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in Darb al-Ahmar started with two minarets in the vicinity of Azhar Park, that of Umm al-Sultan Shaaban Mosque (1368–69) and that of Khayrbek Mosque (1502–20). Both minarets had lost their upper parts as a result of the devastating 1884 earthquake. Collapses and reconstructions of minarets were not unknown to the history of Cairo. Despite attempts to reconstruct them in 1941, the minarets of Umm al-Sultan Shaaban and of Khayrbek mosques waited until 2003 to recover their integrity, when AKTC, on the basis of historic documentation, started with the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt not only to restore them to their original shape but also to restore and revive the skills and the craftsmanship of artisans whose crafts were, and still are, in danger of being lost.

The Darb el-Ahmar community, one of the poorest in historic Cairo, did not have the resources to undertake this important conservation project. The goal, however, was not only the conservation of historic buildings, but the social and economic improvement of the neighborhood by bringing an important cultural asset back to use and appreciation. A major component of the project was training for local residents in traditional building crafts and conservation activities.