Al-Azhar Park
Al-Azhar Park is a public park in Cairo, Egypt. It is located in qism al-Darb al-Ahmar, in Historic Cairo. Among several honors, this park is listed as one of the world's sixty great public spaces by the Project for Public Spaces.
The park was created by the Historic Cities Support Programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an entity of the Aga Khan Development Network. The park was developed at a cost in excess of USD $30 million, its funding a grant to Cairo from Aga Khan IV, a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad through his daughter, Fatima, and cousin/son-in-law, Ali. He is therefore a descendant of the early Fatimid Caliphs of Cairo.
The park project, an urbanism initiative, included:
- the development of the park
- archeology involving a 12th-century Ayyubid wall
- historic building rehabilitation
- several quality of life improvement initiatives requiring skills training, area rehabilitation, microfinance, and support in the areas of health and education, among others.
Development
Darassa Hills
The park site is the Darassa Hills, a area less than from the Nile with a north-south stretch of hills. The site is bounded to the west by the Ayyubid wall and to the east by cemeteries. The Cairo Citadel is to the south.The site was historically used as a landfill, particularly for debris from redevelopment. The practice intensified in the 16th century during the Mamluk Sultanate. By the late-20th century, the fill was deep in some parts. No development occurred as the fill was unsuitable as building foundations and the cost of fill removal was prohibitive.
Site rehabilitation
In 1984, Aga Khan IV decided to donate a park to Cairo following a conference organized by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture called "The Expanding Metropolis: Coping with the Urban Growth of Cairo". The Darassa Hills were selected for their proximity to the historic districts of Islamic Cairo. Existing occupants on the site were relocated in the late-1980s, including a police horse compound. Afterwards, the General Organization for Greater Cairo Water Supply took over the site to build water tanks funded by the United States Agency for International Development; the tanks were to be completed in 1995. In 1990, AKTC and the Cairo Governorate concluded a new agreement which incorporated the water tanks into the park design. The master plan was developed with the help of Sasaki. The site was taken over by AKTC in 1996. By this time, the park was part of a larger Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme plan to rehabilitate Al-Darb al-Ahmar.Earthworks and grading began in 1997 as detailed design continued. The existing soil and fill were subject to settlement under load or destabilization through water absorption. Soil replacement and insertion of water-impervious clayey soil was done by partially excavating areas where fill was sufficiently compact. Older layers of fill were isolated from future irrigated and planted areas were isolated by similar soil barriers. Over one million cubic meters of fill were removed.
While the designers grappled with the technical difficulties at hand posed by the terrain and soil the government introduces an additional unexpected constraint at halfway through the process: three cisterns were to be integrated into the terrain to improve the supply of potable water to the city of Cairo. Works had to be interrupted and the design revised to integrate the new three elements.
The new revised layout of the park was then carefully designed according to the landscape of the hill and the new 3 water tanks. It is mainly divided in five sections according to slope inclination, leaving us with: 2 hills, a rolling topography hill to the east, a flat area north and a western steep slope.
The designers insisted on integrating traditional Islamic landscape traditions in both their design and choice of greenery, thus allowing the past flow of the city to come back to life. Tradition and historical legacy were preserved:
This legacy can be seen in a variety of styles from different periods and different regions. It is reflected in the bustan-like orchard spaces, the shaded sitting areas and the Fatimid archways used in the construction of Park buildings, among other elements. Persian and Timurid elements are also reflected in the water channels and fountains.
The Nile, symbol of Egypt and Cairo, also finds a place in the new project as the river is designed to feed the water ponds in the park. The choice of plantation was also carefully made, according to landscape and quality of soil. Several tests were done at the American University in Cairo that offered its nursery for propagating the flora of the park to make sure that the adequate choices for the climate were being made.
Opened to the public in 2005, the gardens of al-Azhar are reminiscent of historical Islamic gardens, with a blend of modern and traditional elements. The central terraced formal gardens, emphatic use of fountains, Mamluk multicolored stonework, sunken gardens, intersecting waterways and bold Islamic geometry are all integrated into a contemporary site design; cafes are situated at the entrance, playgrounds and scenic overlooks are arranged along curving paths. The site is supported by a reservoir constructed for the project.
Restoration of the Ayyubid Wall
While the excavation was still ongoing, under the mounts of garbage a treasure was uncovered: a wall to a depth of 15 meters and a 1.5 kilometers section. The forgotten historic Ayyubid Wall and towers were revealed in their entire splendor. It quickly became evident that the new uncovered gem was inseparable from the park project. Buried during centuries, the stone wall presented different forms of deterioration such as flaking and disaggregation." segment of wall constitutes a uniform piece of construction. It comprises a few repeating elements, such as round-fronted towers and curtain walls, and is consistent in its use of materials. The walls are adorned and punctuated by crenellations, arrow slits, stairwells and chambers." Among the structures uncovered and restored were two former eastern city gates: Bab al-Barqiyya and Bab al-Mahruq.
Revitalization of Darb-Al-Ahmar
The uncovering of the Ayyubid wall shed the light on the neighboring area of Darb al-Ahmar. The population of the area, one of the poorest in Cairo, was lacking adequate sanitation and rubbish-collection services due to their adjacent location to the old city dumpster. But that was just the problem at the surface; Darb al-Ahmar was suffering from deficits and troubles on several levels. Lack of education, sanitation, and hygiene, insalubrious living conditions and extreme poverty were some of the deeper problems. With the new improvement brought to the area by the park, the neighborhood of Darb al-Ahmar was now in the prominent danger of gentrification causing the dislocation of its inhabitants by new luxury projects. The area also comprised over 60 historical monuments under great distress. As the AKDC foundation lacked funding to encompass this new chapter of the project, the Agha Khan proved once again of agility and commitment to his promise. New foundations providing supplemental funding were approached to start an invigoration program of the area of Darb al-Ahmar and continue the flux of the program.The rehabilitation program affected the area on two levels: physical and non-physical.
On one hand the physical aspect, accordingly endangered historical monuments were rehabilitated and restored:
"We rebuilt the minaret of the mosque and madrasa of Umm al-Sultan Shaaban based on research and studies on the previous minaret, which collapsed during an earthquake. We rebuilt it in order to show people what it looked like, in order to re-create the past, which might be lost forever otherwise. We not only restore monuments, but we also aim to make them functional and beneficial for the users."
The project started mainly with three buildings: Khayerbek Complex, the Darb Shoghlan School restored to be used as the headquarters for the community development company and Umm Al-Sultan Shaaban Complex. Later it extended to encompass more buildings and public spaces.
On another hand, the non-physical aspect, a more sustainable project affecting the residents was also introduced to induce socio-economic growth. Firstly, although the area is populated with one of the poorest inhabitants of Cairo community and family life remained strong. Small family businesses, including carpentry, tile making, and other small crafts, continued to provide a portion of the local population with a living. Those resources were utilized and amplified by the program introduced: training workshops were offered and some long lost crafts were re-introduced. The project also generated many working opportunities for instance the ayyubid wall restoration project was transformed into a mass employment opportunities as all the working force was hired from Darb al-Ahmar and special training workshops were provided. The Carpentry skills were also utilized to produce furniture for the Al-Azhar park. The community as a whole was also involved in the preservation and maintenance of the park. Other apprenticeships were also arranged in the fields of computers, mobile phone services, automobile electronics, office skills and tourist market goods. And finally to complete the socio-economic development long term, micro-credits have been offered to more than 400 individuals to help evolve their businesses. The several programs were also offered to women, in fact in 2008 from the 159 individuals that attended the training session 59% were women. The initiative of empowering women is a very innovative and positive aspect of this project. In fact, the impact of the Al-Azhar Park project will most certainly fulfill some of the Millennium Development Goals set forth by the UN at the start of the 21st century.
"the integrated project three of the MDGs: the eradication of extreme poverty through the extension of micro-credit and employment generation; ensuring environmental sustainability through the rehabilitation, and raising the awareness, of cultural and natural assets; and finally, the promotion of global/local partnerships and networks by pooling the resources of contributors."