Historic Cairo

• Earthquake in 1992 (issue resolved)
• Inappropriate restoration works (issue resolved)
• Water (rain/water table) (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
• Management systems/ management plan (lack of a management system)

Total amount granted: Special Account for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Egypt: USD 2,203,304 for the project Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo (URHC).

For details, see page https://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/663

On 31 January 2024, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, an executive summary of which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/89/documents. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented as follows:

• In collaboration with stakeholders, work is still ongoing to prepare the combined Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) for the property;
• A temporary Historic Cairo Regeneration Unit has been formally established to manage projects of the Urban Development Fund (UDF) for the regeneration of Historic Cairo. It is headed by an Executive Director, who also heads a higher Coordinating Committee, and commissions an Advisory Committee. The former includes representatives of Cairo Governorate, relevant Ministries, and other institutions and experts, while the latter provides assistance and technical advice to the Executive Director, and is responsible for supervising works on management and action plans;
• A number of projects have been implemented, are ongoing, or are being planned to preserve heritage buildings, develop visitor services, compile an inventory of heritage crafts, deliver training and capacity building activities, and raise awareness;
• The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in collaboration with the UNESCO Cairo Office, is launching a University Heritage Forum, which includes training workshops focused on developing urban regeneration proposals, which will feed into the ongoing process of preparing a CMP and Sustainable Development Plan for the property;
• Confirmation is provided that all buildings in the property are protected under the relevant Egyptian Laws of 1983, 2006 and 2008;
• Demolition and removal of buildings that are considered to be structurally dilapidated or randomly built and incompatible with the historic urban fabric, are carried out within the strictest limits in order to ensure the survival of archaeological and heritage buildings;
• Interventions at Al-Hakim Mosque area, include reconstruction and reuse of wikalat (caravansaries) and urban spaces for heritage hotels and social, cultural and tourism activities. Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) reports are being reviewed, and when completed, will be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
• The development of HIA studies will apply to all regeneration and development projects within the property;
• In response to third-party reports related to the destruction of cemeteries at the property, a report was submitted to the World Heritage Centre in August 2023, and included in Annex 4.

The decision by the Egyptian Cabinet to establish a temporary Historic Cairo Regeneration Unit to manage projects of the UDF, for urban regeneration and sustainable development projects in priority areas of the property is welcomed. It is noted that the higher Coordination Committees will develop a vision, approve and follow up work plans, projects, and time schedules, and approve financial resources.

However, it is not clear how this new initiative relates to structures that were approved in 2021 when a Higher Steering Committee for the property was established. This Committee, comprised of high-level representation from the relevant stakeholders, including the Cairo Governor, the Executive Director of UDF, the ministers of Tourism and Antiquities, Religious Endowments, Environment, and Interior, and other relevant stakeholders. Similarly, a board of expert consultants and specialists was also established, and both were tasked with developing the CMP, to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre in December 2022. No mention is made of either the Steering Committee or the board in the organisational chart provided. It would be helpful to understand if the Steering Committee has been subsumed into the Regeneration Unit.

The University Heritage Forum implemented with the UNESCO office in Cairo within the framework of the UNESCO Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo project (URHC) project is noted. It is foreseen that it will contribute to the process of preparing the CMP and Sustainable Development Plan for the property.

In advance of any completed Sustainable Development Plan, mention is made of sustainable development projects prepared by the UDF, to achieve the 14 objectives that were the outputs of the URHC first and second phases, and are to be managed by the new Unit. Projects that are mentioned include the Integrated Management of Cultural Tourism Project, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which aims to restore and reuse archaeological sites and heritage buildings through offering them as investment in partnership with the private sector.

Confirmation that all the buildings within the property are ‘protected’ by the relevant Egyptian Laws of 1983, 2006 and 2008 is helpful. The CMP should also be the document that translates these laws into practice through identifying what in the property is being protected and to what degree. Overall progress is being made through the introduction of new structures such as the Regeneration Unit that will be responsible for developing the CMP, overseeing regeneration projects across the city, drawing in support from private funders and developing an overall vision for the way forward. This is a positive step forward to coordinate regeneration activities across a wide canvas. But this work does need to be coordinated with the overall management and conservation of the property.

While this work is said to be linked to the outcome of the first and second stages of the URHC project, the third and final stage of that project, that is the Sustainable Development Plan, has yet to be finalized. The CMP also remains a work in progress and urgently needs to be completed in order to provide a basis for the Sustainable Development Plan, a context for regeneration projects that are already being implemented, and a guide for demolition proposals. These two documents are crucial to ensuring that regeneration projects respect the conservation and management of the property and sit within an overall sustainable development framework that is in line with the implementation of the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape.

The Committee may wish to encourage the State Party to prioritise the completion of drafts of these two documents for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before they are finally approved. It may also suggest that the vision which the new Regeneration Unit is tasked with drafting should also be submitted for review.

The State Party has responded to queries sent by the World Heritage Centre concerning the reported demolition within the property, stating that none has taken place at buildings of heritage value. In 2024, media reports have referred to a development project in the area of Salah El-din Citadel, and possible damage inflicted to heritage buildings and the Citadel’s fence, in addition to reports on the demolition at the cemeteries.