Under the Name of Development: How Does Sisi Obliterate Cairo’s Historic Landmarks?

As Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, pushes for a rapid and sweeping modernization of Cairo, the ancient city’s historic neighborhoods, cultural centers, and craft workshops are being bulldozed to make way for concrete high-rises and new infrastructure.

Some of the oldest districts, tombs, and monuments that have witnessed centuries of Egyptian history are now threatened by demolition or relocation.

The residents of these neighborhoods, many of whom have lived there for generations, are being forced to move to the outskirts of the capital, where they face a loss of identity and community.

Cairo, home to nearly 22 million people and one of the most densely populated Arab capitals, is undergoing a radical transformation that critics say is erasing its rich heritage and social fabric.

In a recent speech, Sisi declared that “there is not a single place in Egypt that will not be touched by the hand of development.”

He has launched a flurry of construction projects across the country, including new roads, bridges, and high-speed trains that aim to connect Cairo with a sprawling new capital being built in the desert.

The new capital, which will house government offices, foreign embassies, and luxury villas, is estimated to cost $59 billion, while billions more are being spent on other ventures.

Most of these projects are financed by debt, which has crippled Egypt’s ability to cope with the deep economic crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A few weeks ago, the modernization efforts reached Fustat, the city’s oldest district, which was established as Egypt’s capital centuries before the emergence of Cairo.

There, Moataz Nasr, founder of the Darb 1718 center, a popular cultural center he founded in the neighborhood 16 years ago, was informed to prepare for the evacuation of Darb 1718.

The center, which hosts art exhibitions, concerts, and workshops, is one of many cultural spaces that are being shut down or relocated as part of the government’s plan to revamp Fustat.

The plan also involves demolishing cemeteries and tombs that date back to the medieval era and are considered architectural and historical masterpieces.

 

Military Mindset

The Egyptian military, which controls much of the country’s economy and infrastructure, has been spearheading a series of mega-projects, such as building a new capital east of Cairo and expanding roads and bridges across the city.

Sisi, a former army chief who came to power after leading the coup against Mr. Morsi in 2013, has touted these projects as symbols of national pride and development.

But critics say that the military-led construction boom has come at the expense of preserving Cairo’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, which spans from ancient Egyptian to Islamic to colonial times.

Residents complain that officials often ignore expert advice and public concerns and that conservationists have little say or influence over the fate of historical monuments.

“Only in isolated cases can conservationists be able to save historical monuments,” The New York Times reported last year.

The term “Generals’ Taste” has become a popular sarcastic expression among Egyptians to describe the proliferation of military-owned businesses and projects that dominate the cityscape.

One of the most striking examples of the new construction style is the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, which houses some of the most famous royal mummies of ancient Egypt.

The museum, which is located near the historic citadel of Saladin, has been surrounded by bulldozers and heavy machinery for years, demolishing homes in poor neighborhoods to make way for new developments.

Meanwhile, many of the gardens and trees that once adorned Cairo’s streets and boulevards have vanished, reducing the already scarce green spaces in one of the world’s most polluted cities.

In their place, fast-food kiosks and cafes, new roads, and military-owned gas stations have sprung up along the banks of the Nile, especially in upscale areas like Zamalek and Heliopolis.

 

Critical Voices

Amr el-Shobaki, an adviser to the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, denounced the destruction of the cemeteries and wrote on his Facebook page: “The pictures that came from the tombs of Imam al-Shafi’i disregarded the recommendation of the committee formed by the government and said that no more cemeteries should be demolished and there is no traffic need for the new axis, and began to demolish more cemeteries and put removal marks on others representing real architectural and historical masterpieces, and a violation of the sanctity of the dead.”

He added: “What is happening in the area of the cemeteries of Old Cairo is a full-fledged crime, as unfortunately it did not have the same immunity as the cemeteries of el-Alamein and the cemeteries of the European Commonwealth.”

“All attempts by hundreds of respected architects to stop this farce have failed, and there is a strange and suspicious determination to continue the process of demolition,” he concluded.

Similarly, in a rare public statement, Mohamed el-Baradei, the former vice president of Egypt and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, urged the Egyptian authorities to halt the destruction of Islamic monuments that he said was erasing the country’s identity and heritage.

“Our past with all its heritage, culture, architecture, literature and art … It is the pillar of our present and the foundation of our future,” he wrote on his official X account.

“Why insist, even in good faith, on destroying our identity and our Egypt under the pretext of developing heritage? Heritage is not ‘developed’ but ‘preserved’ as it is,” he added.

He called: “Please stop the ignorance. Seek the help of experienced people.”

El-Baradei, who resigned from his post in 2013 after a bloody crackdown on supporters of the ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, has largely stayed out of the public eye since then.

His rare intervention reflects the growing discontent among many Egyptians over the rapid and often reckless urbanization that has been transforming Cairo’s historic landscape.

 

Destroying Heritage

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, political researcher Anas Rashad said that in historical studies and the heritage of the arts, there is a term called “iconoclasm.”

“It means erasing the visual symbols of an earlier era to enshrine the legitimacy of new images and symbols, or raise one memory over another in a diverse historical background culture.

“Ancient cities are akin to paper on which texts are written on top of each other, living with more than one spirit and pulse, not only in neighborhoods of poverty and wealth but also in the levels of memory in their coalition,” Rashad added.

He said that when cities are unable to achieve this harmony or manage that difference to the minimum level of management, revolutions break out or civil wars erupt.

“Why is visual dimension important? And why does stone have value? Because it is an indication of histories and a symbol that reflects perceptions, beliefs, and legacies,” he noted.

Therefore, it was possible at any cost at that time to move temples from place to place when the decision-maker wanted, and tombs were demolished, which are rich and distinctive pieces of art and evidence of entire eras indicating the presence of imams, scholars, pioneers, and symbols, without the slightest hesitation.

“This demolition scene is not a coincidence or a lack of efficiency in managing the city’s cultural and historical layers, but rather a decision by which landmarks and histories are erased in favor of other landmarks and histories.

"This one scene is very symbolic, it shows you a complete map of relationships, balances, and orientations. One image is enough as a symbol of the new visual in the urban space of Egypt, and the visual scenery is the mirror of memory," he concluded.