Islamic Cairo Heritage


Eng. Niveen Adel Eid
Principal GIS Engineer
Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT),
Egypt
Email: neid@mcit.gov.eg


Abstract
Losing a cultural heritage monument is an irreversible cultural crime. Islamic Cairo is a flourishing representation of Islamic civilization. Inspite of being tucked with modernism with both its development and polluting stamps, Cairo is still called the city of 1000 minarets. Several periods have passed on Egypt starting from caliphate period till the end of Muhammad Ali period by 1953. Islamic Cairo represents a core of attention for several organizations, universities and people both nationally and worldwide that allowed Cairo to be listed an UNESCO world heritage site. This All serve to formulate a magnificent urban architecture with both its streets and structures and this is exactly where Cultnat came after a millennium to use the latest technologies for documenting such heritage.

GIS and Multimedia technologies will represent the two most vital technologies of formulating such Information system. I will present CULNAT effort in analysis and design of an information system for documenting Islamic Cairo Heritage. GIS will be used to provide a detailed georefenced electronic map of Islamic Cairo, comprehensive thematic maps whether chronologically, or functionally, etc, urban change and evolution detection through collecting and then overlaying all possible available historic maps . The IS built will make a scientific documentation of the various structures, styles, materials and other elements of Islamic heritage, in addition to relevant key characters.

Introduction:
We would like to present an ongoing project in CULTNAT called “Islamic Cairo Heritage.” Islamic Cairo is in fact one of the world's oldest Islamic cities inserted in one of the most crowded cities in the world; Cairo; the Capital of Egypt.

Islamic Cairo is a flourishing representation of Islamic civilization. Inspite of being tucked with modernism with both its development and polluting stamps, Cairo is still called the city of 1000 minarets.

Within Cultnat efforts for documenting Egyptian cultural heritage, we are intending to provide an integrated Information system to document a significant heritage, representing a core of attention for several organizations, universities and people both nationally and worldwide, that allowed Cairo to be listed by the World Heritage Committee among 812 cultural and natural heritage properties considering it as having an outstanding universal value.

GIS and Multimedia technologies will represent the two most vital technologies of formulating such project.

System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) of Islamic Cairo Heritage
  1. Identifying problems, opportunities and objectives.
    2. 0
  2. Determining Information requirements.
  3. Analyzing system needs.
  4. Designing the recommended system.
  5. Developing and documenting the system.
  6. Testing and maintenance of the system.
  7. Implementing and evaluating the system.
(1.1) Problems

1. Difficult management of Islamic Cairo due to:
  • Large number of monuments dispersed inside the old city.
  • Information about Islamic Cairo heritage is dispersed.
  • Multi layers should be taken into consideration for a successful management.
2. Many monuments are in hazard of complete deterioration due to :
  • Structural problems.
  • Rise of water table.
  • Environmental Hazards mainly pollution.
  • Wide acceleration of the urbanization.
  • Low economic status in the context of monuments.
  • Inadequate perception in the adjacent and surrounding population of the real value of such monuments which lead to monuments abuse.
  • Legal problems because some monuments are private property or permanently rented to civilians.
3. Egyptian economic problems.

(1.2) Opportunities:
  • Utilizing Islamic Cairo heritage as source of touristic revenue.
  • Accurate documentation of monuments before starting in the costly restoration transactions.
  • Providing a portal for documenting all information related to Islamic Cairo Heritage.
(1.3) Project Main Objective

Highlighting to the world the greatness of Islamic civilization through providing a scientific information system of one of the most flourishing manifestation of such civilization located in Cairo.

(1.4) Project Detailed Objectives:

  • Providing a detailed georefenced electronic map of Islamic Cairo.
  • Providing comprehensive thematic maps for Islamic Cairo whether chronologically, functionally, structure wise and so on.
  • Collecting and then overlaying all possible available historic maps in order to both analyze and visualize the urban evolution of the city along successive eras.
  • Dividing Cairo to homogeneous, comprehensive geographic areas historically based, which could be easily handled for studying, restorations, rehabilitation and site management. Consequently we will start with Saliba region as a nucleus for level 2 of the project.
  • Documenting monuments with an anthropological approach by highlighting them through political, economical, cultural and religious contexts.
  • Making a scientific documentation of the various buildings of Islamic architecture such as mosques, schools, markets, houses, etc including the time dimension.
  • Making a scientific bibliography of all key persons in Islamic Cairo heritage, ex. Amr Ibn Al As, Ahmad Ibn Tolon, Salah Eldin Al Ayubi, Muhammad Ali, etc.
  • Documenting the evolution and distribution of the use of various building structures(ex, domes, arches, archades,etc.), elements(ex mashrabias, wind catchers) and raw materials(ex. Marble, gypsum, glass, etc.).
(2) Determining Information Requirements:
(2.1) Spatial Data:

  1. Cadastral maps scale 1:5000, 1:500
  2. Remote Sensing Image
  3. Historic maps.
  4. Architectural drawings.
(2.2) Attribute Data:

1. Monuments attribute data including:
  • Monuments identification data ex: name, official registration code etc.
  • Monuments dating.
  • Monuments Functions.
  • Restoration data.
  • Related official documents, sources and references.
  • Architectural elements.
  • Architectural styles.
1. Bibliography of key persons.
2. Raw materials.
3. Roads.
Attribute Data Sources:

  1. Archaeological references.
  2. Supreme Council of antiquities.
  3. Archive of old photography.
  4. Detailed internal, external and panoramic photography.
  5. Other archaeological Authorities.
  6. Official documents.
  7. Documents contemporary to the monuments' periods (medieval sources.)
(3) Analyzing System

To be able to document Islamic Cairo heritage, the project is divided to two main levels

(3.1) Project level 1 Level 1 is dealing with Islamic Cairo at large through performing the following processes:

  • Proposing comprehensive sub regions of Islamic Cairo.
  • Developing multiple thematic maps.
  • Developing monuments GIS search engine
  • Studying historic evolution.
(3.2) Project Level 2:

Level 2 provide detailed Geographic and scientific documentation for geographic sub regions generated from level 1.

(4) System Design

(4.1)Projects Deliverables:

  1. GIS system of Islamic Cairo heritage.
  2. Electronic and paper maps.
  3. Multilingual CDs.
  4. Multilingual Web site.
  5. Series of detailed Booklets.
(4.2)Project level 1

(4.2.1) Proposing Comprehensive Sub Regions of Islamic Cairo
We have tried to divide Islamic Cairo into 6 sub regions which could be easily studied. This contribution has been submitted by Cultnat to UNESCO's World Heritage in Feb. 2002. Each region is homogeneous in terms of period, function and geographic location.




Fig. (1) illustrating the suggested 6 sub regions.

(4.2.2) Developing multiple thematic maps:
In order to globally understand the project context we have developed multiple thematic maps. These maps serve to understand the project context chronologically, functionally, status and administrative wise.


Fig. (2) illustrating a chronological thematic map of Islamic Cairo

(4.2.3) Monuments GIS Search Engine:
In process of documenting Islamic Cairo Heritage we started by a global view of the region using maps scale 1:5000 as base map. The paper map source was the Egyptian General Survey authority issued in 1951.

Using this map we developed a GIS system using mapobjects, visual basic 6 and MS access. This system is a search engine for more than 620 monuments located in the whole Islamic Cairo.

The search engine provides various search techniques of Islamic monuments as follows:

  1. Search my monument registration code as registered by the supreme Council of antiquities or directly by the monument's name.
  2. Search by period starting from early Islamic period at 639AD till Mohammad Ali dynasty which ended by 1953.
  3. Search by functions of monuments. The Islamic civilization has initiated various types of building such mosques, wekalas(markets), sabil(fountains), khanqah, bimarestans and so on.
  4. Search by address, administrative or archeological region.
  5. Search by the monument constructor starting by Amr Ibn As who constructed the first mosque in Egypt till Muhammad Ali.
  6. Search by monument status whether it's registered or not, existing in good status, under restoration, or even completely ruined.
  7. Direct search from the map resulting whether single or multiple monuments.
As a result of the search process the system generates the list of monuments (or single monument) satisfying the search criteria. The system zooms to the selected monument(s), with the ability to view the selected zoom within the whole Islamic Cairo context.

For each selected monument we can get the following information:

  1. Monument General Information such as belonging period, construction Hijri and AD date, name of constructor, address, status and function.
  2. General description of the project architecture and annexes (if any.)
  3. Set of monument contemporary pictures.
  4. Set of monument antique photos.
  5. Set of collected paintings of the monuments.
  6. Architectural drawings of the monument.
  7. Egyptian post cards available for such monument.
  8. A recorded video of the monument.

Fig (3) illustrating a selected monument (Ibn Tolon Mosque) with right side menu showing available information and to the left showing map legend, boundaries of resulting zoom and a photo of the monument..

(4.2.4) Studying Historic Evolution:
Several historic maps have been entered on the system and georefenced on the 1:5000 base map by the help of our monuments as trusted control points. Using such overlay we could study the urban growth of Islamic Cairo along periods. More maps and sketches should be searched to complete such job.

Example: Plan General De La Ville Du Caire by Ismail Pasha (1874 AD)is georefernced on the 1:5000 map of Islamic Monuments map by Egyptian General Survey Authority (1951 AD. Using such overlay and others we can utilize GIS to make change detection and conclude:

  • Deteriorated monuments.
  • Urban acceleration on monuments.
  • Architectural changes in the monuments and urban changes in their contexts.
(4.3) Project Level 2:
After achieving a global documentation of Islamic Cairo shows up level 2 of the project providing detailed geographic and scientific documentation. As a nucleus for this level we selected the Saliba region; ranging from Sayeda Zainab square to the west till the Citadel to the east , and the beginning of Helmeya street to the north till the end of Ashraaf road at south where Sayedah Nafisah mosque lies.

In this phase maps scale 1:500 would be used as base maps for more detailed documentation of monuments mass plans, in addition to detailed database.

The database includes information for:

  1. Monuments located within level 2 current scope (50 monuments.)
  2. Key persons in Islamic Cairo heritage.
  3. Raw materials used in Islamic heritage.
  4. Roads covered in the region.
(4.3.1) DataBase


Fig(4) illustrating main database sections, database secondary items(lockups),key persons and monuments functions input forms showing the ability of including the time dimension in the database.

(5)Developing & Documenting The System
GIS Software:
  • Autocad
  • Arcview 8.x
  • Map objects 2.x
  • ArcIms
Database:
• MS Access Multimedia:
  • Director Shockwave Studio V8.5
  • 3D studio max
Others:
  • Visual basic 6
  • Asp.net
  • Ms Office
  • Adobe PhotoShop
Conclusion:
Documenting the heritage of Islamic civilization in CAIRO in particular, which took nearly 1400 years to evolve is a task which CULTNAT modestly tends to achieve to be in the hand of archaeologists, architects, historians, students, researchers, youth, elders, Muslims, Nonmuslims and in fact the world at large. Thanks to information technology which made this effort tangible; CULTNAT is extremely welcoming the cooperation of both national and international organizations to formulate such task.

References:
  • Kendall and Kendall's, Systems Analysis and Design 4th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2000.
  • Michel, George, Architecture of the Islamic World Its History and Social Meaning, Thames and Hudson, 1991.
  • Rachot, Guy; Simoen, Jean-Claude, Voyage En Egypte David Roberts, Biblitheque d'Image 1995.
Acknowledgment:
Special Acknowledgments to Dr Fathi Saleh Director of CULTNAT, Dr Reem Bahgat, Mr. Mohammad Farouk, Mr Ayman Khouri, Mr Mohammad Said, Dr Al Araby Sabry, Mr Mohammad Arafa and Mr Ahmad al Naggar for the effort exerted in performing Islamic Cairo Heritage project.