Bab Al-Azab restoration project officially approved

CAIRO – 25 October 2017: A project to restore the Bab Al-Azab Citadel gate in Old Cairo has been officially approved by the Islamic and Coptic Antiquities Committee. The project is part of a framework plan by the Ministry of Antiquities to restore various monuments in Old Cairo.

Director-General of the Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project Mohamed Abdel Aziz said in an officially released statement that the restoration project will be executed in three stages across 10 months, thanks to a generous grant by the American Research Center in Cairo (ARCE).

He explained that the first phase of the project aims at consolidating the massive structures of Bab Al-Azab, along with removing all debris and garbage in its vicinity. The floors would be isolated and minor restorations would take place with Bab Al-Azab’s two doors. The blocks of the walls would then be maintained and restored in order to prevent and reverse any erosion.

The second phase then involves a full on scientific documentation of every structure within the monument, with studies to help rehabilitate the site and allow it to be usable once again. The third and final phase involves the organization of workshops and seminars that will help prepare to preserve these buildings, which in turn will ensure periodic maintenance though establishing new groups of archaeologists and architects from within the area.