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| Abdelazim Fahmy, the founder of Cairo Biography initiative |
We often get lost in Egypt's streets, neighborhoods, and historic districts, which enables us to discover the heritage and archaeological sites that we were either ignorant of or unaware of their existence. While we were lost on our way and touring these locations, we found ourselves transported to another historical era, focusing on the details of the buildings, tombs, and signs that contained Arabic inscriptions, woodwork, and a unique architectural style with no equivalent.
This heritage is Egypt's soft power, particularly the city of Cairo, which, due
to its shape, streets, and district names, is considered one of the cities of
the Middle Ages.
Thinking about this treasured heritage works on our psychological healing, and makes us appreciate the value of our past and how to revitalize and maintain it, which is what the founder of the Cairo Biography, researcher Abdelazim Fahmy, strives for.
Fahmy demonstrates Cairo's biography tale
The idea started when I was a child. I used to go to the old ancestral home and observe Cairo's traditional customs, such as the holidays and mawlid, “celebrating the birth of God’s Righteous Guardians.”
Through time, I became more eager to gain knowledge about these heritage customs and places because I am one of those people who enjoys strolling through alleys and lesser-known archaeological sites, and I make an effort to read, explore, and take photographs of them. “While touring these places, I noticed that the lesser-known monuments were neglected, filled with trash and dust, and no one cared about them,” Fahmy said.
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| the dome of Muhammad al-Hasawaty before cleaning |
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| the dome of Muhammad al-Hasawaty after cleaning |
As a result, I suggested to a group of my colleagues that we establish the Cairo Biography initiative. Indeed, the initiative was established in 2020, and we cleaned the dome of Muhammad al-Hasawaty at al-Shafi'i Mosque, which was the initial monument we cleaned. Then, I announced on my personal Facebook account that we planned to collaborate with the Ministry of Antiquities to clean a bunch of neglected monuments in Cairo.
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| Cairo's Biography logo |
Fahmy shares
the inspiration beyond Cairo’s Biography name
After we embarked on our journey to clean neglected heritage sites, I began promoting events to clean the second site in hopes that some volunteers would join us. There was an abundance of persons wanted to join us.
After that, I launched the "Cairo Biography" page on Facebook before we went to clean the second location. The book "Story of Cairo" by Stanley Lane-Poole, a foreign Orientalist who wrote on Cairo, “provided my inspiration for the title of the initiative at the time” Fahmy stated.
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| The book "Story of Cairo" by Stanley Lane-Poole |
Abdelazim
highlights the initiative's objective
The initiative's
fundamental objective is to comprehensively cover Cairo, a city with a
1,000-year history. Consequently, “the Cairo Biography deals with Cairo as
a living entity that demands adequate treatment to document, preserve, and
revitalize its monuments and heritage” Fahmy added.
Additionally, we do
that as there is no specific initiative for it, not merely because it is the
capital. Furthermore, we planned to conduct a couple of community-benefiting
events to educate the citizens about Cairo City and its heritage.
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| One of Cairo's districts |
Discovering
Cairo’s heritage via the initiative’s events
“To accommodate the diverse preferences of the audience and drive numerous people to Cairo, we conduct a variety of events,” Abdelazim said.
One of these events is the documentary film series "Mn Drobeha El Amera," which consists of 20 films that convey historical knowledge in a simplified and documented manner. These movies discuss urban expansion, popular culture, mythical tales, and archaeological locations.
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| Movie about Al-Megharbleen street |
Moreover, there is another type of documentary film that discusses the tales of Cairo's residents, including folktales and handicrafts from every neighborhood. There are also multiple movies covering the graves, as they have historic structures with Arabic calligraphy and distinctive marble and wood, that went back to the 19th century.
Additionally, "Taglyat Mn Wahy El Qahera," a project that utilizes voice-over that incorporates the formation of visual imagination, “focuses on how the city can heal us by generating a living relation between one's body and the structure's body” Fahmy added.
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| Cairo Archive Exhibition |
Alongside these events, they have collaborated with various
writers to launch several publications, such as "El Qahera Mo’rkha,"
book and "Byout El Qahera," a book which will be released at the
upcoming book fair by the researcher Yasmin Abdullah, and also the book "Dureba
Fl Qahera" by the researcher Mohamed Abdelhamid.
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| El Qahera Mo'arkha book |
Additionally, “we are currently collaborating with “Markaz Tabdel Lel Daragat” on an endeavor that aims to assist bikers in exploring the city's landmarks by establishing roads for them to use,” Fahmy stated.
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| The collaboration between Cairo Biography and Markaz Tabdel Lel Daragat |
Fahmy narrates
the heartfelt glimpses of Cairo's Biography trip
As the Cairo Biography team works with love, sincerity, and genuine honesty rather than out of obligation, there were more pleasing moments during the journey of establishing the initiative than there were gloomy ones.
“I'm thrilled whenever someone sends a message to the initiative expressing sentiments and indicating that they have numerous recollections of Cairo and the initiative restored those memories” Fahmy added.
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| Cairo's Biography audiences |
I'm also pleased when people save photographs of particular areas and notify us that they intend to visit them when they visit Cairo since, “despite their frequent trips to Egypt, they were unaware of them” Fahmy said.
In the moments when lethargy takes over me, I stop producing any new material because I start to wonder whether or not all of these efforts and projects will yield any results. However, “When the public begins to notify us that we have left a gap by not releasing our fresh content and new tours, that is what motivates me to return and finish what I started” Fahmy mentioned.
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| A tour with Cairo's Biography founder |
At that point, I comprehended that we had been put in a “particular position” and that we needed to keep going since there was a waiting audience seeking knowledge on these heritage sites and other events.
Abdelazim addresses the initiative's long-term vision
We wish to launch numerous innovative events, including the Cairo Biography Award for heritage, as there isn't an award like this. Although it was initially unveiled at our latest occasion, we desire to alter its shape and convince the Ministry of Culture to embrace the award's concept.
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the Cairo's Biography Award for heritage
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Moreover, there is another project we wish to broadcast which is a heritage-focused podcast called "Cairo Mic". Furthermore, we hope to transform from an initiative into a fixed-headquarters organization devoted to culture and heritage.
Besides that, we are keen to launch Cairo Heritage Week, an annual event that lasts for a week. Throughout the week, we will host various events, including folk heritage performances, educational seminars, bike tours, and numerous additional events.