Living with Heritage in Cairo: Area Conservation in the Arab-Islamic City

by Ahmed Sedky

The Arab–Islamic city has been always a glamorous urban dream in human cultural memory. This is manifested in Cairo, the world’s largest medieval urban system where traditional lifestyles are still implemented. Nevertheless, despite the extensive efforts to preserve Historic Cairo, it is sadly vulnerable. Ahmed Sedky investigates the reasons behind this condition, exploring and comparing regional and international case studies. Questions such as how and what to conserve are raised and elaborated through the perspectives of different stakeholders. A resulting evaluative framework is accumulated that underpins the criteria for assessing area conservation in the Arab–Islamic context and that can be used to delineate the causes responsible for the present condition of Historic Cairo.

Genres: Architecture

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[ahmed sedky]

I do request other's comments

[Rawan Arafa]

I feel like the book could've been so much shorter. The first chapters establish the principles of conservation, but I think it was given a larger space than it required. The problem facing area conservation in Egypt are so obvious that a complete academic definition of area conservation was unnecessary to establish the errors in planning and execution. Overall, it is a very good book that gives an overview of all the beautification projects in Islamic Cairo.

On another note, I can't imagine what the author feels after the more recent developments in and around the old cemeteries. That has to be heartbreaking to see that much damage. The problem is no longer a problem of beautification over function and integrity but now there is no sacred place in Cairo anymore.

Usually with these sort of books I always feel like they need periodic updates but the government has dead and buried this topic altogether.