Last week, Revive Foundation for Heritage and Arts (Revive Egypt), in partnership with the UNESCO regional office in Cairo, the Cultural Development Fund, EU National Institutes for Cultures, and many prestigious local partners, held, under the auspices of the Egyptian Minister of Culture, a vibrant cultural event 22–26 August in Cairo that integrated architectural heritage with arts and intangible cultural heritage.
The brainchild of Architect Omar Zahran, under the slogan ‘Invisible layers, Untold stories’, this edition of Revive Heritage opened up with two seminars. The first seminar was on Nubian intangible cultural heritage. It was accompanied by a rare photo exhibition from UNESCO’s collection of Temples that UNESCO saved and relocated during the building of the High Dam.
The second seminar included a projection mapping workshop and the Workshop of Reviving Historic Summer Cinemas.
Moving temples!
Moderated by Jenna Khalil, cultural consultant of UNESCO's regional office for Egypt and Sudan, the panel included renowned Egyptian director Yousri Nasr Allah, Professor Osama Abdel Meguid, Chairman of the Egyptian National Committee for ICOM (International Council of Museums), and Professor Adel Moussa, Intangible Cultural Heritage Expert. Architect Professor Essam Safi El-din, Founder of the House of Architecture, was among the key figures who attended the session.
The discussion addressed the UNESCO International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia (1960–1980), which is known as the most monumental archaeological rescue operation in human history. The campaign began after Egypt and Sudan requested urgent global help to rescue 24 ancient monuments from being submerged by Lake Nasser, which now serves as the water reservoir of the High Dam.
“We chose to group the temples into multiple groups to make it a touristic site later, so we had to initiate a process of regrouping. Abu Simbel was very difficult because it was sculpted inside the mountain. The original idea of how to move it was by sculptor Ahmed Othman, at the time first dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Alexandria. Othman used the cutting and reassembling technique,” remembered Professor Osama Abdel Meguid, Chairman of the Egyptian National Committee for ICOM (International Council of Museums).
This successful campaign inspired UNESCO to draft the 1972 World Heritage Convention, which led to the establishment of the concept of safeguarding UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
Nubian Days
Professor Adel Moussa, intangible cultural heritage expert, shared some insights about the book Nubian Days that he co-wrote with Mohie El-Din Saleh. The book was based on the records of Austrian anthropologist Anna Hohenwant.
“Nubian Days” is a photo book based on the photo collections of Anna Hohenwant, a researcher in Sudan and West Africa, and the founder of the Vienna Folklore Institute,” explained Professor Adel Moussa, adding that she was among the researchers asked by UNESCO and Egypt’s Culture Minister Tharwat Okasha to document the intangible cultural heritage of Nubia.
“Before her 100th birthday, she gave her research to a Nubian researcher, and it was my luck that I met this researcher and based the book on her photos and records,” he added, explaining that he wrote it in collaboration with Mohie El-Din Saleh. “We wrote it in Arabic and in the Nubian language.”
Moussa explained that the book focused on the different architecture of administrative and home buildings in Nubia. “The traditional Nubian house has a step on the front entrance to prevent any reptiles from entering because we believe that reptiles never move up unless they feel in danger. The grandmother's room always had a low doorway so that those entering it had to bow slightly, as a sign of respect. The parents' room had a Shaaloub (Makramia) hanging from the ceiling, which was first the natural refrigerator where we preserved food; later it became a place for valuable belongings of the parents,” remembered Moussa.
He explained that the Angareeb bed (which closely resembled the Tutankhamun bed) is a traditional bed made from palm leaves and tied with cow skin, which naturally repels reptiles.
“Things were not always like that”
Discussing cinema’s role in documenting places in cities, renowned Egyptian director Yousry Nasr Allah talked about his experience shooting the film “Al-Madina,” which featured the process of moving one of Egypt’s oldest and most famous fruit and vegetable markets, known in Arabic as Souk Roud El-Farag (The Roud El-Farag market), to a different location. Nasr Allah also spoke about his 2007 video installation project about Nubia, titled “The bottom of the Lake,” part of the exhibition that was held at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, curated by acclaimed French filmmaker Claire Denis.
“When cinema documents a place and the film is viewed 20 years later, whatever its genre and however good or bad it is, there is a message that tells the people that things were not always the way you see them, that there were other possibilities, “ concluded Yousri Nasrallah.
Projection Mapping
The second event showcased the outcomes of the Projection Mapping workshop and Reviving Historic Summer Cinemas workshops. The wall of the ancient Egyptian architecture house was transformed into a giant screen displaying architectural motifs. The other side of the wall displayed some of Cairo’s historic summer cinemas as they were originally constructed.
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