Downtown Cairo struggles to preserve cosmopolitan legacy

Downtown Cairo, with its old buildings of European design, struggles to preserve its cultural heritage as Egypt prepares a new capital in the desert.

A walk in the neighborhood leads pedestrians in front of buildings mixing Islamic and European motifs, neo-clbadical columns and ornate decorations.

But its elegance and prestige fade, as the one-way streets and old palaces crumble and shops selling cheap clothes and other objects have settled down.

"Some buildings are in a serious state of disrepair," said Ahmed El Bindari, an architectural historian and volunteer tour guide, amidst a group of tourists.

He enthusiastically tells the story of old buildings, some ministries of housing and small pbadages, but complains of a lack of political will to preserve heritage.

Bindari and others fear for the future of the old vacant buildings in the district and fear that those in need of urgent repairs will be victims of an attempted urban renewal.

European influences

In the heart of Cairo and on the border of Tahrir Square, the district is generally called Cairo Khedivial, named after Khedive Ismail Pasha, an Ottoman ruler who ruled Egypt in the mid-nineteenth century.

It is believed to have turned Cairo into a modern metropolis with European influences after being inspired during a trip to Paris.

Khedive Ismail ordered the construction of the Middle East's first opera in 1869 to celebrate the inauguration of Suez's strategic cbad.

He also commissioned French architects to design tree-lined geometric streets and the city center became the cultural center of the city, rich in cafes, cinemas and shops.

With its large avenues, its facades and its bronze statues reminiscent of French or Italian capitals, the area has also long been home to a lively scene of literary cafes, as well as buildings of the Ministry.

The authorities have always made sure that the buildings retain their style and many in the city of about 20 million inhabitants are fond of the area.

& # 39; Regeneration Banner & # 39;

However, since the 1950s, middle-clbad residents have gradually moved out of the region into quieter, smarter, more modern suburbs.

Ministries and public authorities have yet to move, once the new administrative capital being built in the desert, some 45 km from the city center, will be ready.

"What will become of the many ministries such as agriculture, education and health housed in palaces and historic buildings?" Bindari asked.

It evokes the gentrification of the area known as the Maspero triangle that runs along the banks of the Nile, which the government is redeveloping into a financial center, with shopping malls and luxury hotels.

This has led thousands of people in informal housing to be relocated to alternative housing.

"I fear that under the banner of regeneration, entire urban areas (…) will be razed," added Bindari.

Cause for optimism?

But Riham Aram, director of Cairo's historic restoration project, is more optimistic.

Since 2014, some 350 buildings have already been restored as part of an initiative for Cairo Khedivial, she said.

"We repainted entire buildings and restored decorations using material similar to that used during construction," she said.

"We have to maintain this historic district so that it does not turn into a slum in the future," she warned.

She added that the means to reuse 18 government buildings in central Cairo would be examined.

Economic return

The private sector is also involved in downtown preservation efforts.

In 2008, a group of businessmen from the local construction company Ismailia Consortium created a business branch in order to restore the cultural heritage of the city center.

"We have found that the best way to preserve downtown Cairo is the need to generate economic spinoffs," said General Manager Karim el-Shafei.

"A lot of apartments are empty, they can be renovated and rented or sold, which generates profits because they are used productively," he added.

The company has purchased 32 downtown buildings as well as the historic Cinema Radio located on Talaat Harb Street.

But it faces many bureaucratic hurdles, even for routine procedures such as opening a new café.

Shafei also wants to attract tourists to downtown and buy locally made brands.

Some experts however noted that it was not enough to invest to make money, but also to restore important sites.

"Along with the emphasis on the new capital, we hope that the conservation of Cairo's cultural heritage will not lose its interest," said Soheir Hawas, a professor at Cairo University, author of 39, a book on the architecture of the region.

Hawas, also a member of the National Committee on Urban Harmony, wants to see government buildings turned into museums and cultural centers.

"These are important pages in Egypt's long and continuous architectural documentation and must be preserved," she said.