Celebrating the start of the conservation work in al-Shurafa Mausoleum and the ‘Women Quilt for al-Hattaba’ project

Athar Lina initiative invites you to a heritage awareness day in al-Hattaba, north of the Citadel, celebrating the start of the conservation work in al-Shurafa Mausoleum.

Throughout the day, visitors will be introduced to the history and heritage of al-Hattaba through a guided tour of the neighborhood and its monuments, and traditional crafts in the area, such as inlay and Khiyamiyya.

The day will introduce the ‘Women Quilt for al-Hattaba’ project, which sheds light on women working in Khiyamiyya, as well as, heritage awareness activities for the children of al-Hattaba neighborhood.

Program

10am-12pm: A guided tour of al-Hattaba neighborhood, by the tour guide Maissa Mostafa

12pm-12:30pm: Introductory remarks on al-Shurafa Conservation and Women Quilt for al-Hattaba projects

12:30pm-2:30pm: hands-on quilting activities with the women of al-Hattaba and Children heritage awareness activities

Meeting Points

Guided tour: Citadel Square, in front of Bab al-Azab

For the Hands on Activities: Al-Shurafa Mausoleum, al-Hattaba

About al-Shurafa Conservation Project

Al-Shurafa Mausoleum (monument No. 357)) is a neglected monument. It is located in al-Hattabh area, north of the Citadel. Based on its architectural elements, it is likely that it belongs to the Mamluk period. Al-Shurafa mausoleum, in al al-Hattaba was chosen for conservation because of its state of neglect, as well as the environmental risks it faces due to the accumulation of garbage and damp, as well as, its structural problems.

The project is funded by the American Research Center in Egypt and implemented by Megawra. The project comes within the framework of the Built Environment Collective’s research project, Citizen Participation in Historic Cairo, funded by Ford Foundation.

Al-Shurafa mausoleum is being conserved within the framework of a tourist route starting from the northern gate of the Citadel (al-Bab al-Jadid, now closed), through al-Shurafa mausoleum and all the way down to the monuments of Bab al-Wada’ Street, as part of a comprehensive development plan for the area as a heritage and crafts neighborhood.

About ‘Women Quilt for al-Hattaba’ project

The project consists of one participatory workshop and two public events where the women of al-Hattaba neighbourhood in Historic Cairo join a designer and a khiyamiyya (patchwork) artisan to design and implement a communal patchwork khiyamiyya hanging that tells the history of al-Hattaba from their perspective. The workshop builds on women’s basic skill in khiyamiyya. The story will be disseminated further through a short film on the making of the quilt.

It is planned to hang the patchwork in al-Shurafa’ Mausoleum after the completion of Athar Lina’s conservation project by the end of 2020.