The ongoing destruction of Cairo's historic cemeteries: A 1000-year legacy under threat

The removal of Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery to build a multi-story parking garage is a new crime against the city’s heritage

Originally published on Global Voices

This story was written by Hassan Hafiz and originally published in Arabic by Welad El Balad on August 6, 2024. It was translated and adapted into English by Walid El Houri and is published on Global Voices under a partnership agreement.

In recent years, the term “development” in Old Cairo has become synonymous with the destruction of parts of the city’s rich cultural heritage. When the bulldozers move in, it’s not just buildings that are lost — it’s fragments of history, traces of lives, and remnants of a thousand-year-old civilization. Today, the government's development projects are targeting the Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery, one of Cairo’s oldest walled burial grounds, established over 900 years ago. This cemetery, like others before it, faces the threat of demolition in favor of a multi-story parking garage to cater to tourists, a decision that has sparked outrage among conservationists and historians alike.

Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery, located near Cairo’s northern wall, has seen generations of Cairo’s residents laid to rest. But the decision to demolish large sections of this cemetery symbolizes a broader trend in modern urban development — one that dismisses heritage as a hindrance. Major General Ibrahim Abdel Hady, Cairo’s deputy governor for the western region, recently revealed plans for large-scale developments aimed at “significantly changing the capital.” Among these, the removal of a significant part of Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery has raised alarms. What’s even more troubling is that no archaeological surveys have been planned to ensure that critical artifacts, which may lie beneath the graves, are protected. Cairo’s historical core, inhabited continuously for over a millennium, deserves more than to be bulldozed without consideration of its significance.

The development plan calls for the cemetery to be cleared to make way for a parking garage. Covering 212,000 square meters and incorporating over 1,170 graves, this project threatens to erase an essential chapter of Cairo’s heritage. Official decrees have already been issued, halting burials and initiating the relocation of graves. The remains of approximately 200 people have already been moved to alternative burial sites in Al-Khalideen, a new cemetery area far removed from the historical context of Bab Al-Nasr.

A cultural demolition

This ongoing encroachment on the cemetery, however, is not without precedent. Over the past two decades, multiple burial sites across Cairo have been removed to make room for infrastructure projects. Salah Salem Road, a key artery in Cairo’s road network, saw graves removed in 2020, including those in the nearby Turbat Al-Ghafeer Cemetery. Recent developments have also targeted other historic cemeteries, like those of Sayyida Nafisa and Al-Tunsi. As a result, many of Cairo’s historic gravesites have been lost, with government initiatives bulldozing through heritage sites without concern for the cultural impact.

The Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery is particularly important not just for its age, but for its historical significance. It was established during the reign of the powerful Fatimid vizier Badr Al-Jamali, who was buried there in 1094. His tomb became the focal point around which Bab Al-Nasr developed. Chroniclers such as Al-Maqrizi, the great historian of Cairo, wrote about this cemetery, providing us with insights into its formation and significance. Al-Maqrizi noted that the first tombs outside Bab Al-Nasr were built following the burial of Al-Jamali, and over the centuries, the cemetery grew, housing some of the most prominent figures in Islamic scholarship and governance.

Among those interred in the Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery were renowned scholars such as Abu Hayyan Al-Gharnati, the grammarian and linguist, and his student, Ja’far Al-Adfawi, who authored “Al-Tali’ Al-Sa'id Al-Jami’ Li-Asma’ Nubala’ Al-Sa'id” (The Happy Outcome that Gathers the Names of the Notables of Upper Egypt). The cemetery also housed the tombs of Ibn Hisham, one of the most important grammarians in the Arabic tradition, as well as Taqi Al-Din Al-Subki, and the famous historian Ibn Khaldun. Perhaps most notably, Taqi Al-Din Al-Maqrizi himself, Cairo’s greatest chronicler, was laid to rest here. The destruction of these graves is not just a physical act of demolition but a cultural one, severing Cairo’s ties to its historical past.

Unique architecture

One of the recurring justifications for such demolitions has been modernization. In the early 2000s, part of the Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery was cleared for road expansions, supposedly to connect Al-Darb Al-Ahmar with Bab Al-Shaariya. It was rumored that this destruction included the “Hawsh al-Sufiyya,” the section where Ibn Khaldun and Al-Maqrizi were buried. Even though these graves belonged to figures of global significance, the project went ahead, bulldozing through one of Cairo’s most sacred historic sites.

This latest threat to Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery not only jeopardizes the graves but also disturbs the delicate balance of Cairo’s urban landscape. In a city so densely packed with history, every development project runs the risk of compromising a cultural site. One of the key landmarks in Bab Al-Nasr is the grave of Zaynab bint Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ja’far ibn Al-Hanafiyya, known to the public as “Maqam of Al-Sitt Zaynab.” Adjacent to her grave is the dome of Sheikh Younis Al-Sa’di, historically identified as the dome of Badr Al-Jamali. These rare structures have survived centuries and serve as anchor points for historians and archaeologists, helping to identify the locations of other historic sites. Their destruction would mean losing more than just two domes — it would mean erasing key reference points in Cairo’s historical narrative.

The work of scholars like Dr. Galila El-Kadi and Alain Bonamy has demonstrated the artistic and architectural value of Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery. In their study “Architecture of the Dead: Cairo's Cemeteries in the Middle Ages,” they referred to Bab Al-Nasr as the “Wooden Cemetery,” noting the intricate wooden enclosures that surround the tombs—a feature unique to this site. Such architectural diversity is rare and irreplaceable, and it calls for preservation, not demolition.

Short term profits

Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery today is even more fragile than in the past. Once a vast burial ground that extended to the Redanian Desert, it is now hemmed in by urban expansion on nearly all sides. The little that remains is a shadow of its former self, and further encroachments would all but erase it from Cairo’s landscape. In a time when global awareness of heritage preservation is at an all-time high, there can be no excuse for the destruction of Bab Al-Nasr in the name of modernization. The proposed parking garage will not only harm the aesthetic of the northern walls of Cairo and its historic gates but will also increase pollution and vibrations in the area, further threatening the stability of nearby ancient structures.

Development does not have to come at the expense of heritage. In a city like Cairo, with its rich historical legacy, the two must coexist. The removal of Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery for a parking garage is a decision that prioritizes short-term tourism profits over the long-term preservation of a world heritage site. If this project proceeds, it will not just be Cairo’s cemeteries that are buried — it will be the city’s soul, lost under the wheels of modernization.

Written by Welad El Balad