7 -13 December 2000
Issue No.511
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 7 -13 December 2000 Issue No.511 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
It doesn't rain..
By Nevine El-Aref
Last week, Cairo witnessed a sudden, torrential downpour. Caught off-guard were not only thousands of pedestrians, but also the ambitious restoration programme launched by the Ministry of Culture to renovate the 4th-century Hanging Church in Old Cairo. Water apparently seeped through three of its roofs during the storm. Father Morqos Aziz, the church's pastor, was quick to raise the cry that the leakages confirmed his long-standing claim that the restoration work presently being carried out is shoddy. Father Aziz went so far as to accuse the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and a consortium made up of the Arab Contractors Company and Orascom -- the two companies executing the restoration scheme -- of gross negligence.
"The water went through three levels, despite the waterproof material the SCA claims had been placed on top of every roof," Father Aziz told Al-Ahram Weekly. The leakages affected various parts of the church compound, he continued, including an attached chapel, the library, administrative offices and engravings decorating the sanctuary dating back to the 4th century. Even the church's two towers, which are supposed to have been completely restored, are now once again surrounded by scaffolding.
"This proves that my complaints are legitimate," Father Aziz concluded.
Contractors are presently removing the protective ceiling which they had already affixed to the church's roof in order to put thicker waterproof material underneath.
"I do not agree with Father Aziz's accusations," countered Atiya Bekhite, assistant director of the project. He claimed that nothing had been damaged to the extent that Father Aziz had suggested. The only part which was affected, he said, was the administrative section, because its roof had not at that stage been covered with waterproof material.
Bekhite attributed the leakages to broken windows in the giant air shafts located at the top of the church's roof, as well as the clogging of the church's original rooftop drains.
"The project is still ongoing and plenty of work remains to be done," he remarked.
Bekhite affirmed that the restoration work is being executed according to a precise schedule and state-of-the-art restoration techniques.
Father Aziz's complaints go back several years. In 1997, before restoration had started, he sued the government for what he described as deliberate negligence in restoring Coptic shrines. He also more recently accused the SCA of negligence, saying it had damaged a 1st-century Roman fresco. This last complaint was dismissed by antiquity officials.
The Hanging Church, which was built in the 4th century AD on the spot where, according to legend, the Holy Family stayed during its travels through Egypt, rests on the two southwestern bastions of the Roman fortress of Babylon. Those foundations were said to have been threatened by subterranean water and poor sewage facilities, problems compounded by the October 1992 earthquake. As a result, the columns which supported the church began to lean.
The main aim of the restoration plan is, therefore, to provide an efficient drainage system. Several frescoes and icons are also being restored at a total cost of some LE31 million.
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