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Historic Cairo (Egypt) (C 89)
Year of inscription on the World Heritage List 1979
Criteria (i)(v)(vi)
Year(s) of inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger N/A
Previous Committee Decisions see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/89/documents/
International Assistance
Requests approved: 0 (from 1979-2014)
Total amount approved: USD 398,900
For details, see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/89/assistance/
UNESCO Extra-budgetary Funds
Total amount granted: Special Account for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Egypt: USD
2,203,304 dollars for the project Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo (URHC). For details, see page
http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/663
Previous monitoring missions
August 2002, March 2005: ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring missions; April and December 2007: World
Heritage Centre missions for the Cairo Financial Centre; October 2008: World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS
Reactive Monitoring mission; 2009-2013: several World Heritage Centre missions for the URHC project;
November 2014: World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission.
Factors affecting the property identified in previous reports
 Earthquake in 1992 (issue resolved)
 Inappropriate reconstruction works (issue resolved)
 Rise of the underground water level
 Dilapidated infrastructure
 Neglect and lack of maintenance
 Overcrowded areas and buildings
 Uncontrolled development
 Absence of a comprehensive Urban Conservation Plan
 Absence of an integrated socio-economic revitalization plan linking the urban and the socio-cultural
fabric of the city core
Illustrative material see page http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/89/
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2015
On 8 February 2015, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report; a summary of which is
available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/89/documents/. The report indicates the following progress:
 In response to Decision 37 COM 7B.49, a Ministerial Committee was established under the
chairmanship of the Prime Minister to overlook the planning of all activities pertaining to Historic
Cairo and develop appropriate strategies of intervention; the boundaries of the property and buffer
zone, as proposed by the UNESCO Urban Regeneration of Historic Cairo Project (URHC) team
have been approved by the Ministerial Committee on 13 January 2015; and a site management
plan will be prepared with the concerned stakeholders.
 The Ministerial Committee is working on amending the law on construction and demolition within
Historic Cairo to address illegal constructions. A document showcasing the government’s efforts to
control those constructions was provided.
 The report lists the restoration projects in several monuments and the urban regeneration project in
al-Gamaliya, which were implemented in the property, and the future plans to rehabilitate al-Moez
Street; it provides drawings on planned development projects within the property. However, the
report did not provide a revised draft of the retrospective Statement of Outstanding Universal Value
(OUV).
Upon invitation by the State Party, a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission took place
from 14 to 18 November 2014 to Historic Cairo. The mission was made fully aware that the fabric of
Historic Cairo is under severe strain from inadequate development control. Although many of the
monuments have been restored and are being managed, the urban fabric is extremely vulnerable. The
mission considered that unless actions are taken to reverse what is becoming a downward spiral in the
immediate future, it could well become impossible to sustain the attributes of the property’s OUV.
The mission recommended a major Revitalisation Project for Historic Cairo that could valorise the
attributes of OUV and the social and cultural assets of the city, reverse urban decline and foster a
synergy between the present and the past. Such a project would need to be tiled into the wider
development of Greater Cairo, which are facing major transformational pressures and rapid urban
change. The mission also suggested short, medium and long term actions based on the URHC studies,
analysis and proposals. It also suggested that a technical workshop might be convened to explore
further strategic or area-based approaches for what could become one of the world’s largest urban
revitalisation projects.
Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM
The rapid and irreversible degradation of the property’s urban fabric make it very difficult for the State
Party to sustain the attributes of the property’s OUV should be noted with great concern. The State Party
has taken important steps towards a reinforced and more coordinated approach to Historic Cairo, by
taking forward the conservation of the property at the highest level and addressing its challenges in a
holistic way that takes into account local development concerns. It has also adopted the boundaries and
buffer zone of the property as proposed by the URHC project and requested by the World Heritage
Committee at its 37th session. However, despite the establishment of a Ministerial Committee, the
property still does not have a management plan nor a management system to enforce the decisions of
the Ministerial Committee; urban decay is accelerating and particularly impacting on buildings of
“peculiar value” which constitute the very quality of the urban fabric, and illegal constructions are still
being built at a rapid pace. It is recommended that the World Heritage Committee commend the State
Party for the progress made so far, but also urge it for the adoption of a management system and the
production of a management plan, and reiterate its request to halt illegal constructions and refrain from
demolishing the original urban fabric.
In view of the complexity of the problems encountered in Historic Cairo, and the extent of the property’s
urban decay, it appears that only a large scale urban revitalisation project that addresses the social,
economic and environmental aspects in a holistic manner could save the property. Such a project could
build on the extensive studies and pilot project produced by the URHC and would require the creation
of a unified management structure for the property. The mechanisms of such a large scale project could
be established in a technical workshop to define concrete operational steps, and may be supported by
an extension of the URHC Project.
While the detailed contents of an urban revitalisation project, its aims, objectives, implementation
mechanism and provisional timeframe are being planned, and a Technical Unit of highly-qualified
multidisciplinary team is appointed, it is recommended that the World Heritage Committee urge the State
Party to undertake the short term actions (before end of 2015) proposed by the 2014 World Heritage
Centre/ICOMOS Advisory mission by introducing stricter controls, particularly on demolition and
development in order to stabilise the current situation of the urban fabric. Such short term actions should
be accompanied by awareness-raising actions amongst residents and amongst those involved in
development control measures.
Finally, it is recommended that the World Heritage Committee reiterate its request for the submission
by the State Party of a retrospective Statement of OUV.
Decision Adopted: 39 COM 7B.50
The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 7B.51, and 37 COM 7B.49, adopted at its 36th (Saint-Petersburg,
2012) and 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) sessions respectively,
3. Notes with great concern the rapid and irreversible degradation of the Historic Cairo urban fabric
which will make it very difficult for the State Party to sustain the attributes of the property’s
Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
4. Acknowledges the establishment by the State Party of a Ministerial Committee chaired by the
Prime Minister to oversee the management of Historic Cairo, and commends it for adopting the
boundaries and buffer zone of the property as proposed by the UNESCO Urban Regeneration of
Historic Cairo Project (URHC) and requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 37th session
(Phnom Penh, 2013);
5. Urges the State Party to introduce stricter controls, particularly on demolition and development in
order to stabilise the current situation of the urban fabric, in parallel with appropriate awarenessraising actions;
6. Also urges the State Party to consider a large scale urban revitalisation project that addresses the
social, economic and environmental problems affecting the property in a holistic manner, and to
hold a technical workshop to define the aims, objectives, implementation mechanism and
provisional timeframe of such a project;
7. Requests that a Technical Unit formed of a highly-qualified multidisciplinary team be created, to
manage the property, establish its integrated management plan, and take forward the URHC;
8. Reiterates its request to the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the revised draft of
the retrospective Statement of OUV for the property;
9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2016, an
updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property
and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st
session in 2017.