Historic Cairo

• Earthquake in 1992 (issue resolved)
• Inappropriate restoration 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
• Housing
• Lack of a management system

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

On 30 January 2020, the State Party submitted a State of Conservation Report, a summary of which can be found at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/89/documents/. This sets out progress made in addressing the recommendations adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019).

A joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission visited the property from 9 to 13 June 2019. A copy of the mission report is also available at the above-mentioned web address.

The State Party report provided details on the following:

• Decree No. 90 regulates demolition, renovation or replacement of unprotected buildings in proximity to protected Archaeological Buildings and Valuable Buildings with Special Architectural Style and applies constraints relating to the height and form of replacement or emended structures, but does not preclude demolition. It is implemented by the Department of Tourism and Antiquities;
• The Decree will form the basis for the development of regulations for 17 proposed Historic Cairo areas, based on studies undertaken by consultants in the second stage of the Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo project (URHC);
• The third stage of the URHC project is underway and was due to be completed by February 2020. This comprises a Sustainable Development Plan that will include initiatives compatible with the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, such as the development of local crafts and markets as an axis for development, measures to strengthen the structures of local communities, the identification of carrying capacities for tourism and revitalisation of local culture. The Plan will identify areas for rehabilitation that can be offered to development companies in coordination with the Centre for Archaeology and Environment, Cairo University;
• The proposed administrative structure that emerged from the second stage of the URHC projects will be overseen by a Higher Ministerial Steering Committee chaired by the Prime Minister, and is currently being submitted to the Supreme Committee for approval;
• Major restoration projects are being planned with financial support from the United States (USAID) and the European Union amounting to 800 million Egyptian pounds.

The main conclusions of the 2019 mission were:

• Degradation of the urban fabric appears to be increasing and in places accelerating;
• The overall historic urban fabric suffers more than individual protected monuments;
• Neglect and lack of maintenance is leading to deterioration beyond affordable rehabilitation or the total collapse of some structures;
• The attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) are threatened by a process of physical and environmental degradation and functional decay.

The recommendations of the 2019 mission included the following requests to the State Party:

• Halt immediately the demolition of all structures, old or new, within the property;
• Amend Law 119 that permits demolition by owners for reasons of safety against collapse;
• Stop any further street cutting or widening to improve vehicular traffic;
• Clarify how the URHC project relates to the development of a Master Plan and how both will work toward halting and reversing the decline of the urban fabric of the property through multi-agency and multi-disciplinary involvements;
• Complete as a matter of urgency the Conservation Plan to define a holistic vision for the conservation of the historic urban city;
• Apply strict controls for the demolition of non-registered buildings on the basis of the Conservation Plan, or other approved planning tools;
• Activate the decree of 2014 for an inter-ministerial committee for the management of Historic Cairo and clarify the roles and missions of major stakeholders;
• Establish, adopt and submit to the World Heritage Centre one map for the new boundaries and buffer zone of the property;
• Complete the retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (RSOUV) and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.

A UNESCO Advisory mission to Egypt took place from 30 January to 4 February 2021. The mission considered several issues related to the conservation of World Heritage properties, including Historic Cairo. High level meetings, onsite consultations and a workshop with site managers and focal points were held, in addition to a short online workshop prior to the mission, to provide a detailed introduction to the World Heritage Convention and its Operational Guidelines.

The main recommendations of the 2021 mission included:

• Full implementation of the 2019 Reactive Monitoring mission recommendations, especially in relation to clearly established boundaries, finalization of the management plan, and submission of the RSOUV;
• Close cooperation among stakeholders, especially on information on any major projects and demolitions to avoid impacts on the historic and urban fabric, and sharing of information with the World Heritage Centre as per paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, prior to the implementation of such projects;
• Decisions to demolish buildings should only be taken when no other alternative is feasible and the demolition would be absolutely necessary for safety reasons and subject to following the established procedures, noting that in most cases this also requires a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA);
• Organization of a HIA training workshop, to start with Historic Cairo as a case study, for capacity building of the site management and analysis of impacts on OUV prior to any decision making;
• Further strengthening of communication and cooperation with local communities.

On 26 April 2021, the State Party informed the World Heritage Centre about the issuance of decree number 1097 on 14 of March 2021, which orders a pause on demolition permits in the area of Historic Cairo.

A map of the property in Arabic and a justification including the names of the roads in English was also received, but a presentation in line with Paragraph 164 of the Operational Guidelines for submission to the Advisory Bodies is still expected.

With funding provided by the Government of France, a workshop on HIA was organized in June 2021, as follow up to the recommendations of the 2021 mission and the request of the State Party. Coordinated work with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies is needed in order to finalize the RSOUV, and to identify attributes that convey OUV as a basis for the Management Plan and also for a boundary definition of the property.

The 2019 mission has highlighted that there has been progress at a strategic level over the past five years, but this did not appear to have been matched by progress on the ground in terms of stopping continuing degradation of the urban structure or applying stricter regulation to demolitions, as has been requested by the Committee.

Clarification on the implementation of Decree No. 90 and the scope of third stage of the URHC project are welcomed, as is advance information on the development of major restoration projects with international support.

Decree No. 90 relates to protected/registered structures and does not prohibit demolition of non-registered structures. For these structures, demolition has thus been allowed on the basis of undermined structural stability due to neglect and lack of maintenance. For unprotected structures, there has been no necessity for demolition permits. The recent decree of March 2021, which pauses demolition permits in the property is to be welcomed, but it remains unclear whether it extends beyond the demolition of protected/registered structures, and whether those where structural stability is proved are exempt.

The property is now reaching a critical point where degradation of the urban fabric appears to be increasing and in places accelerating with the vernacular buildings suffering more than the protected monuments. Although the exact number of demolitions over the past five years is not known, it is clear on the ground that these are cumulatively leading to drastic transformations in some areas of the city.

Moreover, it has been reported through the media that the demolition of several tombs and mausolea in the historic Northern and Southern Cairo cemeteries took place due to the construction of a new road. These cemeteries are within the property and each contained many thousands of tombs intertwined with historic buildings. No information on this project was sent beforehand to the World Heritage Centre for evaluation by the Advisory Bodies, as per Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, or since the work commenced. While these demolished tombs and mausolea may not have been protected/registered monuments, they are nevertheless important parts of the historic urban fabric, and the roads could channel yet more traffic into the property. The World Heritage Centre sent a letter in July 2020 to the State Party, requesting confirmation of this information and the provision of any relevant information, but neither of these has yet been provided. This confirms the urgency for a coordinated and holistic approach in terms of the conservation of the urban fabric, and individual buildings and monuments, in line with an overarching Master Plan, especially in relation to major development and infrastructure projects. 

The vast city of Historic Cairo reflects a succession of capital cities over nineteen centuries and while its complex historic urban landscape may be still just about existing in many parts of the property, its attributes of OUV are being cumulatively threatened by a combination of physical and environmental degradation, functional decay, demolition, and most recently, large-scale infrastructure development that is cutting through its urban patterns. Urgent measures and rapid actions are needed to halt the current trend, until the necessary plans are developed and management structures enabled to drive forward a conservation project that is based on protecting the OUV, while at the same time improving the economic and social structures of the city, thus bridging the gap between conservation and development.

Although the URHC is progressing and a Sustainable Development Plan should be elaborated in 2021, what is still lacking is an overarching Master Plan that sets out the road map, and a Conservation Plan that provides the context for renewal and development, while ensuring that overall historical urban fabric is retained. Moreover, a management structure that brings together all the key stakeholders has yet to be approved and implemented, as has the Management Plan.

It is understood that Decree No 90 will form the basis for the development of regulations for 17 proposed Historic Cairo areas. This could imply that new regulations will mainly be directed at the form and shape of new development rather than the conservation, restoration, renovation and upgrading of the historical non-designated structures. Also, from the few details provided for the proposed major projects, it appears that there is a focus on major monuments while conservation of the urban form, with streets and houses reflecting layer upon layer of history is not indicated. It is also concerning that the Sustainable Development Plan will identify areas for rehabilitation that can be offered to development companies in coordination with the Centre for Archaeology and Environment, Cairo University. The use of the many traditional markets as a basis for economic recovery, and the revitalisation of local culture, must all be part of an integrated approach to urban conservation.

The elaboration of the Master Plan and the Conservation Plan needs to proceed as a matter of urgency, based on an approved RSOUV and definition of the attributes of OUV, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Plan, and to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review. The demolition of all buildings should be halted until such plans are in place, Law 119 that permits demolition by owners for reasons of safety should be amended, and any further widening of roads or the construction of new ones to improve vehicular traffic within the property and in the buffer zone should be halted and be subject to an HIA, submitted with detailed plans to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies.

Given the positive reassurances that have been provided by the State Party over several years that progress has been made, details remain insufficient to demonstrate that the measures taken are achieving the desired impact. There still appears to be a strong focus on protected/registered monuments, and what appear to be lacking are mechanisms to promote and support the conservation of traditional and vernacular structures at the property and prevent their demolition. Progress remains extremely slow in improving the overall management framework.