BIA

JUIN 2015
‘Abd al-‘Azîz said the dome was restored in
1905 by the Comité des Antiquités, an early
heritage organisation. The mausoleum is a
large domed cube typical of late Burgi
Mameluke buildings, set within an enclosure
entered through the gate opposite a drinking
trough built by the Mameluke Aymitsh.
All that remains of a much larger complex,
the structure is a magnificent example of late
Mameluke workmanship, including double-leaf
cresting, windows in the form of three oculi
over three arched panels, roundel inscriptions
with the amir’s name, double bands of
moulding and decorated shoulder cascades in
the dome’s transition zone.
‘Abd al-‘Azîz said the restoration of the
dome included the removal of several metres
of rubbish that had accumulated around the
monument, structural consolidation and
conservation of both the interior and exterior
surfaces of the mausoleum, madrasa and sabîlkuttâb.
The exterior spaces have been
reorganised in order to prepare the area as
the southern entry point to al-Azhar Park. The
restoration work started in 2006.
MONREAL said that both the Ayyubid walls
and the Tarâbây al-Sharîfî monuments are part
of the broader urban regeneration projects
begun in 1984 when the Aga Khan Award for
Architecture sponsored a symposium in Cairo
titled “The Expanding Metropolis: Coping with
the Urban Growth of Cairo.”
At that time, the AKTC offered to create a
park for the citizens of the capital. The
creation of al-Azhar Park and the numerous
urban regeneration projects around it, including
the Ayyubid walls and the restoration of the
Tarâbây Complex, speaks to the possibility of
rejuvenating areas that once appeared to be in
terminal decline, he said. Another example is
the restoration of the 14 th -century Amir
Aqsunqur “Blue Mosque” in al-Darb al-Ahmar,
which was inaugurated a month ago.
In all of its restoration and regeneration
work, MONREAL said, the AKTC has the objective
of leveraging culture in ways that could lead to
the alleviation of poverty.
In al-Darb al-Ahmar, one of the poorest
districts in Cairo, the Trust has consciously
worked to create a critical mass of activities
that not only focus on the restoration of
monuments, but also on the creation of public
spaces, water and sanitation improvements,
education and health initiatives, microfinance
and employment generation and training, he
said.
The 1984 programme not only aimed to
create a park visited by almost two million
people a year, MONREAL said, but also extended
to socioeconomic initiatives in the neighbouring
al-Darb al-Ahmar district, including housing
rehabilitation, microfinance, apprenticeships and
healthcare.
Local housing was renovated and returned
to its owners. Job training and employment
opportunities were offered in different sectors
such as shoemaking, furniture manufacturing
and tourist goods production. Apprenticeships
were made available in automobiles, electronics,
mobile telephones, computers, masonry,
carpentry and office skills.
Microcredit loans enabled residents to open
small businesses such as carpentry shops and
a drycleaner. Hundreds of young men and
women in the al-Darb al-Ahmar area have
found work in the park, in horticulture and on
project teams restoring the Ayyubid walls,
MONREAL said. (Nevine El-Aref, “Historic Ayyubid
walls reopen”, Al-Ahram Weekly, June 25, 2015.
Voir également MENA, « Le ministre de
l’Archéologie : La restauration de la muraille
Est et de la coupole de Tarâbây a coûté 9,1
millions de dollars », al-Shurûq, 16 juin ;
“Minister: Cairo eastern wall renovated for $8.5
million”, Egypt Independent, June 17 ; Dînâ
‘Abd al-‘Alîm, « Le ministre de l’Archéologie :
L’inauguration de la muraille du Caire contribue
à l’essor du tourisme », al-Yawm al-Sâbi‘, 17
juin).
- -
Dimanche 28 juin 2015
Sultân ‘Îd, head of Luxor Antiquities, has
denied media reports that artefacts have been
stolen from Karnak temple galleries. He told
Ahram Online that all the artefacts are safe
and sound. The car which was parked at the
western gate of Karnak temple, he continued,
belonged to the archaeological mission of the
BIA LI — Janvier/Juin 2015 161