@ Mohamed AbdElmalek via Facebook
The Egyptian government is currently demolishing historic tombs, cultural centers, and residential neighborhoods in Cairo as part of a comprehensive modernization plan, as reported by local sources. Ancient sites are being cleared to make way for new developments and roads, while green spaces and cultural focal points are being eradicated with little regard for the environmental consequences. The residents of Cairo are deeply concerned about the potential loss of the city's rich history and the displacement of long-standing inhabitants due to the construction of highways and high-rise buildings. Even well-established cultural institutions such as Darb 1718 are facing the risk of destruction.
Allegedly, district officials have visited Darb 1718, a cultural center established in 2007 by artist Moataz Nasreldin, and informed him that the government intends to widen the road behind the center to build an elevated highway. This would require Nasreldin to relocate, despite the absence of any written demolition order or formal paperwork. Nearby pottery workshops, which have been in operation for decades, and adjacent housing units are also slated for demolition.
"Every day, you wake up and you don’t know what’s going to happen," remarked Mohamed Abdin, owner of one of the pottery workshops facing destruction, whose family has been engaged in pottery-making in the area since the 1920s, in an interview.
The modernization plan encompasses the establishment of the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, which necessitated the demolition of working-class neighborhoods near Darb, as well as the creation of a $59 billion new capital city, reachable through high-speed trains and surrounded by a network of immaculate roads.
Selena Mattei