All About World Heritage Sites
Make traveling more meaningful
Last week Adventures by Disney announced their new Egyptian Adventure. Now take a look at what you can expect. What should you expect when you travel to Egypt with Adventures by Disney? “Expect pyramids, pharaohs and private tours. Expect history, hieroglyphics and hands-on immersion. Expect recreation, relaxation and renowned Disney service. Expect monuments, majesty and […]
Source: Disney Offers In-Depth Look at Adventures by Disney’s Egypt Vacation | The Kingdom Insider
Workers perched on scaffolding delicately repair Cairo’s 13th-century al-Zahir Baybars mosque, a vital restoration project in the Egyptian capital’s neglected Islamic quarter. Halted by the popular protests that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and the ensuing political and economic turmoil…
Neeta Lal can’t get enough of Egypt’s capital.
Cairo, Egypt’s sprawling capital, is a maelstrom of sights, sounds and smells.
Peppered with Pharaonic sites, soaring minarets, Coptic churches, mosques and mausoleums, history jostles with modernity at every corner of this stunning, teeming city of 20 million people.
Dive right in for an immersive experience.
Watch graceful abaya (headscarf)-clad women with kohl-lined eyes glide about town with kids in tow.
Men in galabiyas (traditional robes) play backgammon and suck shishas (hookahs) outside cafes with pipes stuck in their mouths like oxygen tubes.
Kamikaze vehicles belching noxious fumes on gridlocked roads, scooters hauling families of four and mules pulling vegetable carts add diversity to the moving landscape.
“As the cultural and artistic hub of the Middle East, Cairo is known as ‘Umm al-Dunya’ or mother of the world,” our guide Abdel Kawy tells us as we amble across the Kasr el-Nil Bridge towards the storied Tahrir Square, stopping for a moment to take in the view.
The iconic square is the pivot around which all of Cairo seems to flow.
Read more from source: Cairo is a feast for all the senses
The maqaad Mamay Al-Seifi in Islamic Cairo has been successfully restored and reopened to the public this week, reports Nevine El-Aref
Islamic Cairo, listed on UN cultural agency UNESCO’s World Heritage List of outstanding cultural and natural heritage sites worldwide, is the best surviving collection of Islamic monuments in the world, dating from the seventh to the 20th century.
However, over recent decades environmental pollution, population density and other factors have posed increasing threats to the historic city. In 2002, a rehabilitation project to rescue it was launched, and many buildings and monuments were restored, among them those along historic Al-Muizz li-Din Allah Street and its neighbouring alleyways.
Road surfaces were given appropriate treatment and the street furniture was enhanced. Residential houses were given a make-over, bringing them into line with the area’s historical character and urban fabric, and a high-tech drainage system was installed as well as a new lighting system.
In 2010, the area was declared a pedestrian zone where people could enjoy the magnificent Islamic monuments within their original environment and experience the traditions and customs of those who lived during the various periods of the Islamic era.
Source: Historic maqaad reopens
The UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) praised on Tuesday the progress achieved by Egypt in preserving Historic Cairo, and proposed recommendations for the preservation efforts.
In its annual report on the Urban Regeneration of the Historic Cairo Project (URHC) published on Tuesday, the WHC praised “serious steps” taken by Egypt to develop the area and “preserve its architectural and urban heritage.”
The WHC welcomed “steps that have been taken to start and plan a major [project to restore Historic Cairo] under the control of the Ministry of Antiquities and the scope of its urban, cultural, economic and social goals aimed at revitalising the old city structures, and a one-year work programme to undertake studies and define an overall master plan.”
Egypt’s Pharaohs’ monuments, Ancient Nubian kingdoms, Christian monasteries, and Islamic heritage sites are all included.
Tourism is one of the leading economic sectors in Egypt crucial to the growth and development of the country. The sector employs over 10% of the total workforce and serves about 15 million visitors annually. Tourism contributes approximately 11% of the GDP. Although the tourism sector has suffered major setbacks especially during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the country recovered to its best position in 2015 ranking 83rd as the world’s best tourist destination. Egypt is endowed with both cultural and natural tourist attraction sites. Some of the sites have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List because of their historical significance. These sites include;
Spend a Day in Al-Khalifa is a regular event hosted by Mogawra NGO, one that truly connects the monuments with the people who inherited them. Last weekend, as part of the national People and Heritage campaign, Mogawra launched the first of its monthly walks in Al-Khalifa district in the heart of Islamic Cairo. We were led by Maissa Moustafa, a tour guide whose passion and stories made this walk as enchanting as the lives of those we visited.
We started off at what Moustafa described as the “edge of the city” where Cairo ends and many graveyards begin, situated in Al-Khalifa district in historic Cairo—one of Egypt’s 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
El-Saida Nafisa Mosque/maqam (shrine)
