Architecture professors in Egypt and abroad are leading a campaign to halt the continuing destruction of historic cemeteries in Cairo to clear space for new highways. The tombs of many prominent writers, politicians and cultural figures have already been demolished as part of government roadbuilding projects.
The group is currently working on creating detailed site plans to document tombs and cemeteries threatened with destruction. The documents “create a means to resist forgetting,” said Galila El-Kadi, a member of the campaign and a professor of urban planning in France.
The scholars hope their work helps to preserve the sites through images and education, if not physically, she said. They also provide heritage preservation societies with pictures and illustrations of these places to “highlight their unique historical and artistic value.”