Transforming Al-Muizz Street into an Open Museum

Islamic Cairo was first world heritage-listed in 1979. A phenomenal four-stage project has subsequently been carried out to revive the buildings and monuments in Historical Cairo.

In Stage One, 45 monuments were restored in al-Hussein and ad-Darb al-Ahmar; in Stage Two, 25 monuments in al-Nahassin and Bayt al-Qadi; in Stage Three, 43 monuments in al-Gamaliya and al-Kharanfash; and in Stage Four, 28 monuments in Bab Zowayla and Bab al-Wazzir.

One of the major projects undertaken in Stage One is transforming al-Muizz Street into an open museum for Islamic monuments.

The street has been open only to pedestrians for one kilometer from al-Azhar Street to Bab al-Futuh. The side-alleys are connected to the main street by stairs and natural slopes. 18 electronic gates have also been installed at the entrance and exit points to organize traffic.

The street, at the heart of historical Cairo, has many monuments, some of which date as far back as AD 1040. With 141 Islamic monuments newly restored, the street is equipped with the most up-to-date functional, aesthetic and visual aides that add to a visitor’s experience.

A plan was developed in the mid 1990s to rehabilitate al-Muizz Street whereby 34 more monuments were restored in the 1200-meter stretch between Bab al-Futuh and Bab Zowyala. An additional 67 rare monuments surrounding the street were also recovered.

Not only were monuments on both sides of the street were restored but the entire Street from Bsb al-Futuh to where it intersects with Jahwhar al-Qa’ed Street was rehabilitated. Twenty buildings were developed so as to be in harmony with the architectural and monumental fabric of the Street.