New Preservation Project Will Restore Old Cairo’s Historic Blueprints

Old Cairo is famously heralded as one of the most treasured examples of historical architecture in Egypt, and less famously revered as a hub of medieval academia and engineering. To keep its legacy alive, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities began a new preservation project that will document and restore historical maps and blueprints at the Islamic Antiquities Registration Center in the Citadel of Cairo.

The archive is currently made up of architectural drawings and photographs, some dating back to the nineteenth century. They include the blueprints of iconic structures like Al Rifai Mosque, and the restoration plans for Mohamed Ali Mosque which was completed in 1939.

The restoration project will be carried out by experts from Cairo University’s archaeology faculty, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, and the Coptic Museum.