Historic Cairo

• Earthquake in 1992 (issue resolved);
• Inappropriate reconstruction works (issue resolved);  
• Rise of the underground water level;
• Dilapidated infrastructure;
• Neglect and lack of maintenance;
• Overcrowded areas and buildings;
• Uncontrolled development;
• Absence of a comprehensive Urban Conservation Plan;
• Absence of an integrated socio-economic revitalization plan linking the urban and the socio-cultural fabric of the city core.

Total amount granted: Special Account for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Egypt: USD 2,203,304 dollars for the project Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo (URHC).  For details, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/663

Current conservation issues

On 20 February 2013, the State Party submitted to the World Heritage Centre a report on the state of conservation of the property addressing some of the issues requested by the World Heritage Committee in Decision 36 COM 7B.51. It indicates notably some progress in revising the existing protection measures for areas of Peculiar Value (L.119/2008, Building Law and following decrees), by the National Organisation for Urban Harmony in cooperation with the UNESCO Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo (URHC) Project. The report also announces the creation of a National Committee for all World Heritage properties of Egypt considered as a first step toward the establishment of a management system for Historic Cairo, the definition of which is planned to be completed in the coming months in close consultation with the concerned stakeholders involved in the protection of the property, as well as with the URHC project.

No mention is made in the report of progress either in finalising the revision of the clarification of the property’s boundary or in submitting a revised draft of the retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value.

The State Party’s report evokes the current political situation in Egypt that so far has not allowed implementing positive changes and, on the contrary, is putting the property under threat because of the difficulties in monitoring the situation during this transitional period. In particular, it mentions the presence of a large number of illegal buildings constructed with inconsistent materials and architectural design, mainly exceeding the heights specified in the regulation for Historic Cairo. Those illegal buildings are made up of reinforced concrete which makes them very difficult to be removed. Many decisions were taken through 2012 concerning the removal of illegal buildings within Historic Cairo, but the administrative authorities are unable to stop these irregularities or to apply the removal orders. In addition, the report presents the interventions carried out by the Ministry of Antiquities in 2012, starting from the Al Muizz project (all the listed interventions had already been presented in the 2009 state of conservation report) and the list of on-going and future restoration projects of monuments.

Separately the World Heritage Centre has received a copy of a report by the UNESCO Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo Project (URHC), as follows:

The technical results of the first two years of the URHC project have been summarized in the First report of activities (available on web page https://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/663, and http://www.urhcproject.org). The URHC project team confirms that the on-going uncontrolled processes of renovation are leading to the definite dilapidation of large parts of the urban fabric, seriously threatening its vitality and liveability while affecting the significance of the monuments in relation to their surrounding context. As for the archaeological areas within the World Heritage property, their present dramatic condition of maintenance (in particular the area of Fustat) definitely requires an assessment in order to verify the appropriateness of the regulatory and management measures.

The report includes an accurate and very detailed analysis of the historical evolution and transformations of the urban fabric of the property, and suggests how this could be used to define the boundaries of the property and inform the revision of its retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value. Both of these outcomes have been discussed with the Egyptian authorities several times during 2011 and 2012. 

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that despite concerns expressed by the World Heritage Committee, very little progress has been made by the State Party in the effective protection of the property. They also note that despite the considerable effort deployed by the URHC team to develop cooperation with institutional counterparts and dialogue among the various institutions and stakeholders, the conclusions of the URHC report that lead to a logical definition of the boundaries and a basis for a revised draft retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value have not led to any submission by the State Party for a clarification of the boundaries or a retrospective Statement. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies note that the State Party in its report acknowledges that its approach is focused on monuments, rather than on urban landscape.

Whilst understanding the difficulties caused by the current situation, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies wish to underline the impact of the absence of management measures on the protection of the property. They also note that ensuring long-term conservation and management will require considerable time and capacity-building to develop an efficient and adequate managing system. They recommend that the World Heritage Committee reiterate its requests made at previous sessions to take decisive action to preserve the Outstanding Universal Value for which Historic Cairo was recognized as a World Heritage property and to develop an adequate management system. They consider that the World Heritage Committee may wish to send a reactive monitoring mission to assess the overall state of conservation of the property and the presence of threats which could potentially warrant its inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.