Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anany, with the attendance of Cairo Governor Atef Abdel Hamid, reopened on Saturday three edifices at Al-Muez Street after they were renovated, according to the Ministry of Antiquities’ official Facebook page.
The three historical buildings are the “Sabil” (public water fountain) and “Kuttab” (school where children were taught the Quran and Arabic language) of Khesru Pasha, the “Qubbet” (Dome) of Nagm El-Din Ayyub, and the hall of Mohib El-Din El-Tayeb. The historical places go back to different eras of the Mameluke, Ayyubid, and Ottoman dynasties.
According to a statement Al-Anany gave to Ahram Online, restoring these three monuments was part of a national campaign launched by the Ministry of Antiquities in 2015 to restore 100 monuments in Historic Cairo, adding that the newly inaugurated edifices are the first batch of a restoration campaign that includes seven monuments. The four still being restored include Maqaad Mammay Al-Seify, Al-Salihiyya Madrassa (school), Saeed Al-Saadaa’ Khanqah, and the Abul Dahab monumental complex.
The opening of the renovated places witnessed the attendance of other officials, including Local Development Minister Hesham Al-Sherif, Minister of Culture Helmy Namnam, Minister of Religious Endowments Mohammed Gomaa’, and directors of foreign archaeological institutes in Egypt.
Before the opening of the three places, all attendees stood in one minute of silence for the Egyptian army officers who were killed on Friday in Rafah’s terrorist attack.
The government’s allocated budget for the restoration process is a total of EGP 9 m for the seven locations.
The “Sabil” and “Kuttab” of Khessro Pasha are located in one building in front of the Qalawun Complex at the heart of Al-Muez Street. The building consists of two floors; the first holds the public fountain, while the “Kuttab” is located on the second floor.
The “Sabil” is highly important to the history of Egypt, as it is the first public fountain separated from any other buildings.
All three historical places suffered from cracked walls and water leaking, something that has been focused on during the restoration process.
Nagm El-Din Ayyub’s dome is one of the most famous historical places in old Cairo. It was built in 1243 during the era of Negm El-Din, the seventh ruler of the Ayyubid dynasty. The dome contains a “Kuttab” and a mosque.
The larger restoration plan doesn’t only include Cairo’s ancient places. In a personal visit, Al-Anany checked on the conditions of three main mosques in Damietta, including the mosques are Amr Ibn Al-Aas and Al-Mue’eny.
Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque in Damietta is the second oldest mosque in Egypt, after the first one that bears the same name located in Old Cairo.
Al-Anany ordered to start restoring the mosque instantly and to apply a total maintenance of the historical place, according to state media.
The minister soon after headed to Port Said to check on renovating Al-Abbasy Mosque and Saint Eugene Church.
