Al Monitor, by Baher al-Kady (Excerpt Behind the scenes of Egypt’s project to face-lift Khedivial Cairo)
The Egyptian state has started unifying the facades of buildings and shops in the downtown area of Khedivial Cairo.
A view of the central Talaat Harb Square in Cairo's downtown district, Egypt, March 8, 2019. Photo by Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images.
Dec 14, 2020
CAIRO — The Egyptian government is seeking to breathe new life into the historical downtown area of Khedivial Cairo. In coordination with the Ministries of Tourism and Antiquities, the National Organization for Urban Harmony and a number of Egyptian state institutions, Cairo governorate started painting the facades of buildings and shops in the area in one unified color. This comes in the wake of the completion of the development works at the buildings and stores in Tahrir Square.
The initiative to unify the facades of buildings in Khedivial Cairo was launched by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with the aim to develop and preserve the cultural and heritage aspect of the downtown area.
In August 2014, Sisi called to prepare a comprehensive plan for the complete development of the area as well as the restoration of its urban aspect. He called for the formation of a ministerial committee headed by then-Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb with the membership of a number of ministries, such as the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Cairo governorate. The committee was tasked with immediately starting to develop and implement that plan in order to put the downtown area once again in the archaeological and heritage spotlight.
The downtown area includes nearly 500 properties. The National Organization for Urban Harmony, in cooperation with the institutions concerned with the project, has thus far succeeded in restoring 300 of them and unifying many building facades and storefronts. The agency chose the color light beige for building facades and shop signs and dark brown for storefronts, and work is currently underway to change all the facades and restore the traditional look of buildings.
Mohammed Hamzah, vice dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor over the phone that the project to develop Khedivial Cairo, especially the downtown area, is similar to the Khedive Ismail project that was aimed at transforming the downtown area and have it labeled as the “Paris of the East.”
Hamzah called for the need to make every effort to preserve the identity and heritage of that area as it is a unique area with various architectural aspects from different architectural periods.
Comments