Heritage Management: Islamic Cairo

Al Ahram Weekly (Gamal Nkrumah)

Ahmed Sedky, the self-effacing prince of Arab-Islamic architectural treasures talks cultural memory, traditional lifestyles in mediaeval urban settings, and the pitfalls of preservation, conservation and restoration to Gamal Nkrumah

Ahmed Sedky sighs. "The Boharas? Now they are not funny. They are dead serious," he mock drawls. Baby-faced, grey-haired, wide-eyed and smiling with mischievous pleasure, he acknowledges that city dwellers, particularly those resident in historic districts, have a harder time befriending their neighbours since lives are busier and closer quarters often lead to conflicts of interests. Minutes earlier as I go up to the first floor to meet Sedky, I reflect that if anyone can bridge the large divide on restoration between developing countries like Egypt and the developed world, it is articulate architects like Ahmed Sedky. He is keen on transferring the state-of-the-art conservationist technologies from Western countries to the developing world, but he does not see the process as a piecemeal one. For years Sedky has been well known among the cognoscenti, and deservedly so.

"Of course they have a hidden agenda. Of course, they are wrong, and deliberately so," he added, quick as a flash.

"But my point is," he hastens to add is: Who is really responsible for the shortcomings with regards to sustainability and social needs of the residents of historic Islamic Cairo in the conservation and restoration projects of the area over the past few decades?"