1st phase of modernizing lighting system in Al-Muizz Street completed

CAIRO – 7 December 2020: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has completed the work of the first phase of the project to modernize and develop the night lighting systems on Al-Muizz Street and all the ancient buildings there.

This is within the framework of the ministry's keenness to develop archaeological areas and highlight the artistic aspects in them.

Assistant Minister for Engineering Affairs and General Supervisor of the Historic Cairo Project Hisham Samir indicated that the first phase of the project, which was completed, included the installation and modernization of the lighting systems of the historic street, while the second phase, which is being implemented now, includes the installation of a specific type of lighting fixtures for the facades and arenas of ancient buildings on Al-Muizz Street to highlight its aesthetics and artistic dimensions.

He explained that the lighting system for the facades of the ancient buildings on the street is carried out according to the nature of each building where lights were used submerged in the ground, as well as projecting in some places in front of the walls of the facade of each building and lit by a degree of warm white.

Also, searchlights were avoided on the facades to maintain the streamline of their heritage shape.

The project also includes lighting the monuments from the inside with special specifications that take into account the space and the nature of each building and its holdings, taking into account the use of special lamps that do not cause any damage or high temperatures during their operation so as not to affect the ancient buildings.

Samir further explained that lighting mosques and their minarets require different specifications and techniques to commensurate with their nature and contents, with the aim of highlighting the aesthetics of their architecture, and preserving their heritage character and spiritual atmosphere.

The different lighting tools are distributed according to accurate engineering calculations to highlight and focus on some technical details of the art of architecture, and the lighting of minarets requires a special perception of them due to their height and the different shape of their architecture.

The submersible searchlights were placed below the minarets with calculated degrees of inclination.