About URHC

In July 2010, UNESCO-WHC launched the Urban Regeneration project for Historic Cairo (URHC) in the framework of a larger programme of technical assistance to the Egyptian Government concerning the management of the World Heritage property. URHC aims to prepare the planning and management tools necessary for the conservation of the aforementioned heritage values, in addition to the socio-economic revitalisation and environmental upgrading of the property.

URHC intends to foster and develop a consequent urban conservation policy whose main prerequisites are: (a) the definition of clear and shared concepts on heritage conservation, to be implemented through new urban planning tools, special projects and building regulations; (b) the creation of adequate institutional capacities and technical skills; and (c) an increasing and spread awareness of heritage issues amongst the authorities and the larger public.

To these ends, the project will focus on the following objectives:

• The preparation of a conservation plan for the World Heritage property of Historic Cairo and its buffer zone, which would include the management plan required under the World Heritage Operational Guidelines.
• The establishment of an institutional framework to undertake and develop a sustainable urban conservation policy, promoting coordination and collaboration amongst the different institutions, administrations and agencies which are concerned with the management of the World Heritage property.
• The creation of an appropriate and shared information platform for urban conservation.

A first report on the activities July 2010 - June 2012 is available here in English and Arabic.

Historic Cairo World Heritage Property

The property of Historic Cairo was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979, recognizing the “absolutely unquestionable historical, archaeological and urbanistic importance” of the historic city of Cairo, based on the following criteria:

• Several of the great monuments of Cairo are incontestable masterpieces.
• The centre of Cairo groups numerous streets and old dwellings and thus maintains, in the heart of the traditional urban fabric, forms of human settlement which go back to the Middle Ages.
• The historic centre of Cairo constitutes an impressive material witness to the international importance, on the political, strategic, intellectual and commercial level, of the city during the medieval period.

Please check the Historic Cairo Visitor's Map side I(133MB) and Historic Cairo Visitor's Map side II(98MB).

Please check the UNESCO website for more.