Cairo hosts a variety of historically significant districts and monuments, ranging from the ruins of al-Fustat, the Fatimid nucleus of Medieval Cairo, the citadel and surrounding Mamluk palaces, to its urban domestic architecture, mausoleums, bazaars, its Nilometre and other inventions related to human use and mastery of the River Nile.
All serve to demonstrate the wealth of Cairo not only as a historic capital of the Islamic World, but as a marvel of the human urban experience throughout its history. As such, the site of Historic Cairo was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979, recognizing its "absolutely unquestionable historical, archaeological and urban importance"
However, delimitation of the site and protective measures for the maintenance of its urban and architectural values have remained unclear or lacking altogether, despite its inclusion on the World Heritage List for over 30 years. It is this situation that the project Urban Regeneration for Historic Cairo seeks to address and rectify. Requested for many years by the World Heritage Committee, the initiative for the elaboration of conservation/management tools for Historic Cairo was initiated in 2009, through the Special Account for Egyptian Cultural Heritage at UNESCO.
The project Urban Regeneration for Historic Cairo (URHC) has been working with local authorities since 2010 with the aim of preparing planning and management tools necessary for the conservation of the aforementioned heritage values in addition to the socio-economic revitalisation and environmental upgrading of the World Heritage Site as a whole.
The project is based on the consideration that the establishment of the Conservation Plan necessarily requires a shared vision for the future of Historic Cairo's architectural heritage and urban fabric, and a consequent strategy to protect and rehabilitate the whole WH site not only as a spatial and functional entity, but also as a cultural and socio-economic asset.
It is based on the assumption that the tangible heritage of the World Heritage Site can only be preserved if life is kept in it. Hence, this rehabilitation initiative aims at preserving heritage features while simultaneously favouring all the possible compatible interventions which can improve the living conditions of the population and revitalise the urban fabric with new functions and uses. The Urban Regeneration project for Historic Cairo, therefore, hopes to ensure that the World Heritage Site be recognised and protected, in a dynamic fashion, through an efficient, comprehensive and sustainable management system, strengthened by the effective coordination amongst the different institutions involved.
Ministry of State for Antiquities;
Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS);
National Organisation for Urban Harmony - Ministry of Culture (NOUH);
Governorate of Cairo.
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 33 COM 7B.55, adopted at its 33rd session (Seville, 2009),
3. Regrets that the State Party has not submitted the requested report on the state of conservation of the property as well as the progress report on modifications to the Cairo Financial Centre and on the elaboration of the management plan;
4. Takes note of the information provided by the World Heritage Centre on the progress made in the implementation of the programme for the elaboration of a conservation/regeneration plan for Historic Cairo;
5. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2012, a report on the state of conservation of the property and a progress report on modifications to the Cairo Financial Centre and on the elaboration of the management plan, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.
Read more about the decisionThe World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.58, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),
3. Notes the State Party's commitment to obtain a modification of the design of the Cairo Financial Centre so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape of the Citadel;
4. Takes note of the steps taken by the State Party for the preparation of a Management and Conservation plan for the property and welcomes its decision to involve the World Heritage Centre in this process, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies;
5. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2011, a report on the state of conservation of the property and a progress report on modifications to the Cairo Financial Centre and on the elaboration of the management plan, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011.
Read more about the decisionThe World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 31 COM 7B.56, adopted at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007),
3. Notes the State Party's commitment to revising the Cairo Financial Centre project so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape of the Citadel and requests that an alternative design be adopted and submitted, as soon as possible, to the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS for review ;
4. Considers that the following measures should be taken into account in the alternative design, as they constitute the minimum requirements in order to not jeopardize the Outstanding Universal Value of the property:
a) the height of the complex should be further reduced and shaped to allow the building to rise progressively from the level of the Salah Salem highway to approximately 31 metres in the Eastern part of the site (at a distance of 500 metres from the Citadel wall). This would reduce the visual impact of the new buildings on the Citadel;
b) the volume of the complex, now appearing as a huge mass of high rise buildings, should be broken up into several parts which would better balance the urban form and volumes of the Citadel;
c) the building elevations, now projected as continuous homogeneous horizontal glass strips, should be revised in order to harmonise with the surroundings and minimise visual disturbance.
5. Urges the State Party to implement the main recommendations of the 2002 Symposium report, subsequently endorsed by the World Heritage Committee, in particular to prepare a comprehensive Urban Plan for the Conservation and Development of the Old City, whereby the conservation of historic buildings would be accompanied by appropriate development regulations;
6. Requests the State Party to invite a high level mission headed by the Director of the World Heritage Centre to discuss these issues with the State Party's officials;
7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2009, a report on the implementation of the above recommendations, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.
Read more about the decisionThe World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 29 COM 7B.42 and 30 COM 7B.50, adopted at its 29th (Durban, 2005) and 30th (Vilnius, 2006) sessions respectively,
3. Takes note of the continuous efforts of the State Party to improve conservation of the property in the recent years;
4. Urges the State Party to implement the main recommendations of the 2002 Symposium report, subsequently endorsed by the World Heritage Committee in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, notably:
a) To designate Islamic Cairo as a Special Planning District, and
b) To prepare a comprehensive Urban Plan for the Conservation and Development of the Old City, whereby the conservation of historic buildings would be accompanied by appropriate development regulations;
5. Also urges the State Party to put an immediate halt to the construction works of the Cairo Financial Centre close to the Citadel and to revise the project, once the plans and model have been provided for a thorough assessment;
6. Requests the State Party, considering the historic value of the project area, to envisage an international consultation to define an alternative to the existing project, notably by limiting its height to the level of the highway, so as to mitigate its impact on the urban landscape;
7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2008, a report on the implementation of the above recommendations for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008.
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Egypt