In Egypt, the City of the Dead threatened by an urban development project

The program “En direct du monde” received the 2021 Grand Prize for the international press (radio) from the Foreign Press Association (APE).

The City of the Dead is the oldest necropolis in the Muslim world. It is a huge funeral district of nearly 1,000 hectares. There are tombs, mausoleums and mosques there. The site, which dates back to the 7th century, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979. However, a vast urban development project in Cairo could lead to the destruction of part of the City of the Dead.

This is without counting the mobilization of a handful of heritage defenders. “Two main roads will cross the cemeterysays Tariq Al Murri, preservation expert and member of a City of the Dead protection group. We are talking about a length of about two kilometers! The southern part of the cemetery is over 1,400 years old, even before the founding of Cairo. And for 1,400 years, it has still been in operation! What interests us is not building by building but the fabric and the urban landscape. Historic Cairo is listed as a World Heritage City as a city, not for its individual monuments. “ According to this expert, between 200 and 300 graves could be demolished.

Defenders of heritage are all the more worried as demolitions are already taking place in the City of the Dead. The latest date back to last year. These were dozens of tombs erected during the 20th century. Again to build a road axis. It is precisely to prevent this scenario from repeating itself that Tariq Al Murri and his team are mobilized: “At the time we found the bulldozers demolishing the facades. And no one had the opportunity to understand what was going on! This time we are trying to act upstream. has a lack of transparency and public participation. ”

“We are carrying out documentation work. We are photographing all valuable buildings. We are calling on deputies. We have proposed alternatives to the current plan. And we are trying to be heard by the government, so that it understands our concerns.”

Tariq Al Murri, member of a City of the Dead protection group

to franceinfo

This group of experts proposes in particular the construction of a tunnel to avoid damaging this historic site. On the Unesco side, a tool of pressure on the Egyptian authorities could be to include the City of the Dead on the list of heritage in danger. A decision that is not currently considered.