Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 November 1998 Issue No.403
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue | Previous issue | Site map

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Pharaonic monuments are included on every tourist itinerary: pyramids, perhaps, capture the imagination. But what of Cairo's unrivalled Islamic architectural heritage? Only in Fatimid Cairo can one find such a dazzling density of mosques and dwellings, baths and fountains, domes and inscriptions, stucco lacework and ethereal wood screens. When the Musaferkhana went up in flames, it became clear how fragile Islamic Cairo really is. Al-Ahram Weekly's restoration campaign continues, with the beginning of a debate on the conservation of this much neglected city

Ottoman spoils A few years ago, the waqf of Mohamed Ali in Cavalla was auctioned off without generating much of a public reaction. A couple of weeks ago, the Ministry of Awqaf put up a number of Ottoman buildings for sale, which they hope to have disposed of by February. Once again, writes Fayza Hassan, hardly any protests have been voiced

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Mistaken identities Any building has its own particular architecture and decorative style, an expression of the economic, cultural and social conditions prevailing at the time of its construction. Buildings are therefore, in that sense, historical documents, living testimony to an entire era. In Fatimid and Ottoman Cairo, writes Ahmed Abdel-Gawwad

Ashes to ashes The smoke had hardly had time to clear over the ruins of the Musaferkhana when a conflagration claimed another victim, of an unquestionably lesser architectural caliber this time, but the keepsake nevertheless of an interesting, if far from admirable, chapter of our history. Last week, roaring flames were about to turn Ismail El-Mufattesh's three palaces into ashes, but the fire was fortunately extinguished this time before yet another vestige of our past bit the dust.

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