Hidden within the bustling modern city of Cairo lies one of the world’s oldest Islamic cities renowned for its historic mosques, madrasas (schools), hammams (public baths), wekalas (marketplaces), sabils (drinking fountains) and military buildings. Established in the 10th century CE by the Fatimid Dynasty, Historic Cairo emerged as the new centre of the Islamic world, flourishing particularly during its golden age in the 14th century.
Over the span of time, the historic city has become a unique open-air museum displaying an extraordinary blend of architectural, artistic, and urban heritage, reflecting its rich history and diverse cultural influences. Its mediaeval urban layout has been maintained and enhanced over the centuries, accommodating both its role as a political capital and its growing population.
Founded as the centre of the Fatimid Caliphate in 969 CE, the city evolved through various Islamic dynasties and by the time of Ottoman rule in the region it had become a major centre of the Islamic world. The richness of its architecture, culture, and society has attracted visitors and been documented by travellers and orientalists for centuries. The city preserves half of the surviving monuments from the Middle Ages.
Historic Cairo contains magnificent soaring masterpieces expressing rare artistic, aesthetic and architectural value, and it continues to preserve its vibrant urban atmosphere, forming an outstanding example of cohesive urban fabric. It displays the long coexistence of different cultures and human interaction with the environment, and it was registered on the UN cultural agency UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1979.
In an attempt to meet current global trends in the travel industry, with many tourists today now seeking immersive cultural experiences and meaningful interactions with local communities, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has implemented the Integrated Management of Cultural Tourism (IMCT) Project to enhance cultural tourism in Egypt and focusing on Historic Cairo and Luxor. The project establishes a foundation for a sustainable cultural tourism management approach, strategically positioning Egypt for the future.
“The IMCT collaborates with the Government of Egypt at both national and regional levels to improve legislative and regulatory frameworks while developing public-private partnership (PPP) models to encourage private-sector investment in cultural tourism,” said Yomna Al-Bahar, deputy minister of tourism and antiquities, during an inspection tour held at the Al-Muayad Sheikh bimaristan (public hospital) in Historic Cairo.
She said that developing PPPs for heritage assets restoration and adaptive reuse and building the capacity of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in cultural tourism development and promotion will support an increase in tourism revenues, benefiting local communities living around targeted sites.
The IMCT has hosted capacity-building workshops aimed at empowering local businesses, including MSMEs, as well as residents, particularly women and youth. These workshops focus on enhancing skills in crafts, communications, digital marketing, and storytelling. Additionally, the project is connecting local business owners with microfinance institutions to support the development of high-value tourism products and promote cultural tourism experiences.
“By fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors and engaging local communities in enriching the traveller experience, the IMCT is playing a vital role in strengthening Egypt’s tourism industry. This initiative not only boosts local socioeconomic development but also aims to improve the quality of life for residents in Historic Cairo and the Luxor governorate,” Al-Bahar said.
US Ambassador to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg expressed her delight to be in a prominent historic site in Cairo, highlighting the city’s rich cultural heritage as proof of Egypt’s enduring significance as the “Mother of the World”. She emphasised the shared responsibility to preserve this legacy for future generations and reaffirmed the US government’s commitment to supporting Egypt in protecting its cultural heritage.
She noted that USAID has provided extensive resources to restore and rehabilitate Egyptian archaeological sites, enhancing the country’s cultural and historical diversity. She also highlighted that Egypt was the first country to sign a bilateral cultural agreement with the US in 2016, and the celebration marked the continued partnership in preserving Historic Cairo.
This collaboration, alongside Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, has led to significant developments in the investment portfolio for the enhancement of archaeological sites in Egypt to promote cultural tourism, preserve Egyptian monuments, and facilitate their reuse and rehabilitation. It has also including clearing 40 tons of debris from the Al-Silahdar area and restoring the surrounding neighbourhood, now ready to welcome visitors. Notably, the majority of the workers involved in this project were women.
Garg emphasised that the restoration efforts and investments in Historic Cairo will position Egypt as a key player in cultural tourism. The restored site is set to become a hub for community, tourism, and cultural development, attracting new investments and reviving traditional Egyptian crafts and entrepreneurship, she said.
She also mentioned that the US government has contributed $140 million towards the preservation of Egypt’s monuments, underscoring the importance of shared responsibility in safeguarding cultural heritage.
PROJECT WORK: Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), highlighted that the IMCT project is funded by USAID under an agreement between the governments of Egypt and the US regarding the Sustainable Investment in Tourism in Egypt (SITE) initiative.
The project focuses on four primary activities, including the consolidation and reinforcement of the government of Egypt’s efforts to create an enabling environment for investment in sustainable cultural tourism, selecting financially sustainable cultural heritage sites for rehabilitation, supporting the development of higher-value tourism products and services at targeted destinations, and building capacity for enhanced cultural tourism in targeted destinations.
The project was implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the SCA, in two phases across four years. It included work at the sabils of Mustafa Sinan, Hassan Agha Koklyan and Al-Amir Shaykhu, the Ruqaya Dudu sabil-kuttab, the zawyat and sabil of Farag Ibn Barquq, the Bab Manjak Al-Silahdar, the tekkeyet of Taqieddin Al-Bustami, and the Al-Muayad Sheikh bimaristan.
HASSAN AGHA KOKLIYAN SABIL-KUTTAB: The sabil-kuttab of Hassan Agha Kokliyan lies at the corner of Souq Al-Selah Street in Historic Cairo. The nobleman Hassan Agha Kokliyan established the sabil during the early Ottoman period. It has a beautifully coloured lunette.
THE MUSTAFA SINAN SABIL: The sabil of Mustafa Sinan was founded by its owner in 1630 CE and is the only remaining part of a complex that once included a kuttab, or elementary school. The sabil has a unique style of decoration mixing Ottoman and Mameluke styles, as well as marvellous geometric patterns and arabesque works over its windows and panels of handsome ornate marble and harmoniously painted tiles.
AL-AMIR SHAYKHU SABIL: This was a water dispensary for animals during the Mameluke era.
It is a one of a kind as it was set into the rocky hill on which the Salaheddin Citadel stands and has an architectural design unlike other sabils in Egypt. It stands alone without being attached to a mosque or a madrassa or any religious or civil edifices.
It was restored in 2021 including by cleaning the façade, the inscriptions, and the decorations. All encroachments on the site were removed and an iron fence was erected to protect it. The sabil was built by Al-Amir Shaykhu Al-Omari Al-Nasiri in 775 AH/1354 CE. He was a prince who reached a high position during the reign of the Mameluke Sultan Al-Muzaffar Haji Ibn Al-Nasser Mohamed.
THE RUQAYA DUDU SABIL-KUTTAB: This is among the most opulent 18th-century edifices still standing in Historic Cairo and is a rare example of Rococo-influenced Ottoman-period architecture.
It was built in 1761 by Badawiya Shahine as an act of charity in memory of her daughter Ruqaya Dudu. The interior has a painted wooden ceiling bearing numerous inscriptions, while its exterior façade is decorated with ceramic tiles, a wooden canopy, segmented arches, and stalactites (muqarnas), as well as rich geometrical and floral ornamentation engraved in stone.
THE ZAWYET AND SABIL OF FARAG IBN BARQUQ: This is a small Sufi establishment that is noteworthy primarily for the lovely panels of inlaid polychrome stone on the exterior. It is likely there was originally a kuttab as well, but nothing of it survives. The zawiya, or small mosque, which was restored by the Comité de conservation des monuments de l’Art arabe in 1923, was moved from its original location directly fronting the Bab Zuwayla to accommodate the widening of the Al-Darb Al-Ahmar. The portal was also added at this time. The painted and gilded wooden ceiling of the sabil is a masterpiece of muqarnas decoration.
BAB MANJAK AL-SILAHDAR: Located at the corner of Souq Al-Silah Street, this site was once part of the Palace of Amir Manjak Al-Yousefi Al-Silahdar, who served as the Amir of Arms during the Mameluke Sultan Hassan’s reign. The palace housed successive holders of this title. However, with the construction of Mohamed Ali Street in the 19th century, most of the palace was demolished, leaving only the main entrance intact.
The entrance features a pointed arch framed by a stone relief and narrowing in the middle to resemble the Arabic letter mim. The spandrels display the founder’s emblem, a circle divided into three sections with a sword at its centre. The gate leads to a derka that was once topped by a sail vault supported by plain pendentives. Notably, a zigzag collar of red stones decorates the dome’s interior. Positioned near the Citadel, this gate marked the entrance to the Souq Al-Silah, the Armourers’ Bazaar, a strategic location due to the nearby Mameluke quarters. The area remains a hub for metalworking trades today.
THE TEKKEYET AL-BUSTAMI: This was originally built by the 10th Circassian and 34th Mameluke Sultan of Egypt, Seifeddin Abu Saad Gakmak, for Sufis coming from Bukhara in Central Asia in 1443 CE.
The tekkeya was originally a small mosque built by the Sultan Mohamed Ibn Qalawun for a Sufi named Taqieddin Al-Bustami from Persia who lived in it until he passed away. It has a central open court surrounded by several structures, among them a small mosque, a madrassa, and a garden leading to the nearby bimaristan through a newly discovered tunnel.
During the restoration work carried out in 2018, engravings revealing calculations and mathematical exercises were uncovered, as well as a cistern and a burial area.
THE AL-MUAYAD SHEIKH BIMARISTAN: This was built by one of the most important Circassian Mameluke sultans to rule Egypt, Al-Muayad Sheikh Al-Mahmoudi, who reigned between 1418 and 1420 CE. The bimaristan is the second public hospital still remaining from the period after that of the Mameluke Sultan Qalawoun built in 1284 in Al-Muizz Street in Islamic Cairo.
It is noted for its monumental scale, unprecedented in a civic building, which was clearly inspired by the nearby free-standing Sultan Hassan madrassa, and also for its portal, which is set in a distinguished Persian character façade. The portal has a muqarnas hood (stalactite decoration) and a window with a pair of colonnades featuring a snake as a symbol of healing.
The bimaristan is located in the Darb Al-Laban area on the site of the Sultan Al-Ashraf Shaaban madrassa, founded in 1367 and demolished by Sultan Farag Ibn Barquq in 1411 and used as a military garrison to protect the nearby Citadel if it came under siege during times of trouble.
Al-Muayad Sheikh Al-Mahmoudi rebuilt the bimaristan on the remains of the Al-Ashrafiya madrassa. The building is a shell and has lost many sections of its outlying structure. The area in front was levelled in 2005 by the then Supreme Council of Antiquities to allow a full view of the façade.
The complex originally included the remains of a mosque, three minarets, two mausoleums and a madrassa. The two-storey structure was divided into male and female sectors, with a timber-roofed middle hall and four iwans (vaulted open chambers) with pointed arches. A manuscript describes it as originally having 25 chambers plus four secluded rooms for special patients, as well as a pharmacy, library and a small mosque.
Near the entrance there was a sabil, a school for orphans and a third smaller mosque. The hospital fell into disuse following the Sultan’s death. Today, its upper floor is missing, but the main façade reflects the wonderful proportions and ornamentation of the Mameluke period.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 22 August, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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