A part of historic Cairo as yet undiscovered by tour buses shelters the magnificent mausoleums of the Mamluk sultans, who ruled Egypt from A.D. 1250 to 1517. Fierce soldiers, the sultans prevented the Mongols from invading Egypt in the 13^th century.

Because of its role as a cemetery, the quarter came to be known as the City of the Dead. But it is a residential neighborhood too, with homes sharing streets with centuries-old mosques and minarets, ornate public fountains, schools for Islamic instruction (madrassas), shops, and studios where artisans practice traditional crafts.

Experts from the Cairo-based firm ARCHiNOS Architecture have been involved in restoring buildings in this quarter for the past decade. “The buildings and objects that we try to preserve were often commissioned by mighty rulers and extremely rich people,” says director Agnieszka Dobrowolska. “Their exceptional qualities are frequently the very reasons they have survived. The founders could afford the most expensive materials and best craftsmanship available.”

But the restoration projects also encompass social and economic development designed to improve the quality of life of the people who live in the area. "When we first came here, our main object was to conserve the monuments," says Dobrowolska. She and her colleagues now see the heritage of this place not as merely a collection of aged buildings, but as a material and intangible document of conditions, ideas, customs, and values of the society that created it. “It is a living organism in constant interaction with the people who use and continually modify it.”

In this talk, Dobrowolska will offer us a virtual tour of this extraordinary example of cultural heritage preservation in the heart of old Cairo.

Email us at arce.dc.news at gmail dot com for a link to register for this event.

Our events typically last an hour—50 minutes for the lecture, 10 minutes for Q+A.