By Sherine El Madany First Published: June 3, 2007
CAIRO: Walking down the streets of Downtown Cairo in the early 20th century was similar to taking a stroll along the streets of 19th century Europe. The unique architecture combined European styles, when antique buildings were designed by French and Italian architects.
Take a walk around the streets of Downtown Cairo nowadays, and your eyes will fall upon dilapidated buildings or newly constructed ones that are out of proportion and break the harmony of the once called “Khedive Cairo.”
In a bid to save Cairo’s endangered architectural heritage, parliament is currently looking into passing a law that restores as well as unifies construction of buildings in Downtown Cairo, similar to those built during the 19th century.
“The law will map out specific districts that are of unique architectural heritage such as Downtown Cairo and Garden City and only allow for the construction of equally unique buildings,” said Soheir Hawas, head of architecture unit at the National Heritage Conservation Authority.
When passed, the law will allow for construction of new buildings that maintain the same architectural heritage as those of the 19th century, as well as allowing for restoration of old buildings without changing their original architectural façade.
“Basically, what the law aims for is to preserve architectural beauty of 19th century buildings. Officials focus on protection of archeological sites only and overlook architectural artifacts, which will also play a role in boosting tourism,” she said.
Most of these endangered artifacts stretch along Cairo’s Downtown strip, particularly in El-Tahrir Square, Talaat Harb Street, Bab El Louk, and Garden City.
In the late 20th century, several historic buildings were demolished and replaced by modern architecture that spoil classic and archetypal design patterns which characterized “Cairo’s Beautiful Era.”
“The law will ban demolition of the [remaining] historic buildings and will look into means of compensating their owners,” Hawas pointed out.
In a step that would put the proposed law into actual practice, the European Union has started to compile a database of Cairo’s historic buildings which includes photographs of each building in both its current and original conditions. This will provide architectural designs and guidelines for restoration of some of these buildings.
The European Union has earmarked 40,000 euros to fund this project, named “Cairo’s Belle Époque.” By the end of this year, the database will include all of Cairo’s historic buildings, which are estimated to number 5,000.
“When we speak of Cairo, this [architectural heritage] is not the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why it’s a good reason for us to fund this project to spread the historic value of this era throughout the world,” said Karin Johansson, head of the social sector at the European Commission in Egypt.
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It is a pity they let these beautiful buildings in misery. I think if they decided to restore them, downtown Cairo would look very different. And it would attract more tourists, I guess - as it happens in Instambul.
Posts: 327 | From: balad alnour | Registered: Sep 2004
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Completing project of documenting 550 historical buildings down town Cairo
كتب: Cairo – Ayman El-Kady تاريخ: 09/06/2007
Civilization and Natural Heritage Documentation Center under chairmanship of Dr. Fathi Saleh completed the documentation and registration of Egypt's Architectural and Historical Heritage at Down Town district of Cairo, as 550 historical buildings that date back to the 19th century were completed
Deputy Director of the Center Dr. Rim Bahgat during the seminar organized by the center last Tuesday at the Smart Village under the title "Usage of Modern Technologies in maintaining heritage and its documentation" stated that 2nd stage of the project includes registration and documentation of historical buildings at Heliopolis district, East Cairo, whether currently existing or those destructed.
She pointed out that process would be carried out through assistance of Archives of Heliopolis Company for Housing and Reconstruction, as an optic survey of maps, initial drawings and amendments that took place over these buildings were effected.
Project Manager Engineer Malak Wahba made it clear that documentation and registration of historical buildings that are located between Ramses Street and "Claude Bek " up to the end of Al-Azbakeya district and the two streets of Abdul Aziz and Al-Tahrir were finalized, where GPS technique was used in documentation that includes collecting full information about the history of each building, area and the engineer who supervised it and the architectural style. She indicated that historical buildings at the districts of Zamalek, Abbasseya and Sakakiny documentation is currently underway
On other hand Dr. Rim Bahgat declared that the center will begin during the coming period, in collaboration with the National Books and Documents House will implement an integrated project for documenting the press tradition during the period from 1830 until 1920, whether they were daily or weekly newspapers or magazines, through conducting an photo-optic survey for each edition of these publications. The project will last five full years.
The seminar that comprised many scholars and specialized experts discussed the role of Information and Documentation Centers in documenting and protecting the Cultural Heritage and maintaining it, with usage of Laser for first time in Egypt in the field of restoration and maintenance of monuments, in addition to utilization of the three dimensional survey in documenting and registering architectural heritage and historical buildings
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