Creating Medieval Cairo

Paula Sanders

Description

How politics and culture shaped the preservation of historic Cairo
This book argues that the historic city we know as Medieval Cairo was created in the nineteenth century by both Egyptians and Europeans against a background of four overlapping political and cultural contexts: the local Egyptian, Anglo-Egyptian, Anglo-Indian, and Ottoman imperial milieux. Addressing the interrelated topics of empire, local history, religion, and transnational heritage, historian Paula Sanders shows how Cairo's architectural heritage became canonized in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The book also explains why and how the city assumed its characteristically Mamluk appearance and situates the activities of the European-dominated architectural preservation committee (known as the Comité) within the history of religious life in nineteenth-century Cairo. Offering fresh perspectives and keen historical analysis, this volume examines the unacknowledged colonial legacy that continues to inform the practice of and debates over preservation in Cairo.

Sujets

• architectural history
• Architecture

Informations

• Publié par: The American University in Cairo Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781617972300
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Creating Medieval Cairo
Creating Medieval Cairo
Empire, Religion, and Architectural Preservation in Nineteenth-Century Egypt
Paula Sanders
Copyright © 2008 by
The American University in Cairo Press
113 Sharia Kasr el Aini, Cairo, Egypt
420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
www.aucpress.com
Part of Chapter 1 appeared previously as “The Victorian Invention of Medieval Cairo: A Case Study of Medievalism and the Construction of the East,” in Middle East Studies Association Bulletin 37, no. 2 (December 2003): 179-98. Part of Chapter 4 appeared previously as “The Contest over Context: Fatimid Cairo in the Twentieth Century,” in Irene A. Bierman, ed., Text and Context in Islamic Societies: Sixteenth Giorgio Levi Delia Vida Conference Papers (Reading, UK: Ithaca Press, 2003), 131-54.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Dar el Kutub No. 3131/07
ISBN 978 161 797 230 0
Dar el Kutub Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sanders, Paula
Creating Medieval Cairo: Empire, Religion, and Architectural Preservation in Nineteenth-Century Egypt / Paula Sanders.—Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2008
p. cm.
ISBN 977 416 095 9
1. Egypt—history—19th century I. Title
962.03
1 2 3 4 5 6 12 11 10 09 08
Designed by Andrea El-Akshar Printed in Egypt
For Michael
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Constructing Medieval Cairo in the Nineteenth Century
2 Islam for the Modern World: Medieval Cairo between Egyptian Reformers and British Critics
3 Cairo of the Arabian Nights
4 Keeping Cairo Medieval: World Heritage and the Debate over Fatimid Monuments
Conclusion
Epilogue
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
Unless otherwise indicated, all illustrations are from the author’s collection.
Figure
1. Mosque of Sayyida Zaynab. Postcard album, Lévy Fils & cie, early 1900s.
2. Fête du tapis sacré. Postcard, Lichtenstern & Harari, Cairo No. 19.
3. Maristan of Qala’un and Beshtak Palace showing badigeon over-painting. Julius Franz, Kairo , 1903, p. 51.
4. Ibn Tulun Mosque. Bonfils, Ca. 1870.
5. Mosque of Muhammad ‘Ali and Bab al-Wazir cemetery. Postcard, Lichtenstern & Harari, Cairo No. 199.
6. Sultan Hasan (fourteenth century), left, and al-Rifa’i (nineteenth–twentieth century) mosques. Postcard album, Lévy Fils & cie, n.d.
7. Khedivial Library (now Museum of Islamic Art). Postcard, ca. 1903.
8. Selamlick, Exposition Universelle à Paris, 1867. Charles Edmond, L’Égypte à l’Exposition Universelle de 1867, pl. 2. Rare Books and Special Collections Library, the American University in Cairo. Photograph by George Fakhry.
9. Lord Curzon’s Lamp. © British Library Board. All rights reserved. APAC Photo 1007/11 (1910).
10. Douglas Sladen, Oriental Cairo, 1911, p. 1.
11. Napoleonic cart in front of Mamluk tombs.
12. Douglas Sladen, Oriental Cairo, 1911, facing p. 28.
13. Sabil-kuttab of ‘Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda in the Suq al-Nahhasin. Douglas Sladen, Oriental Cairo, 1911, facing p. 4.
14. Reproduction of sabil-kuttab of ‘Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda at World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893.
15. Cairo ‘medieval’ skyline, 1996. Author’s photograph.
16. Mosque of al-Hakim, after restoration by Bohras, 1996. Author’s photograph.
17. Onion market in front of mosque of al-Hakim, 1996. Author’s photograph.
18. Arcades of Ibn Tulun Mosque, showing smaller minaret (no longer standing). Rivoira, Moslem Architecture , 1918, p. 139, fig. 118. Rare Books and Special Collections Library, the American University in Cairo. Photograph by George Fakhry.
19. Arcades of mosque of al-Hakim. Rivoira, Moslem Architecture, 1918, p. 152, fig. 132. Rare Books and Special Collections Library, the American University in Cairo. Photograph by George Fakhry.
20. Complex of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, showing tomb and minaret. The sabil is from a later period and was built by Khusrow Pasha. Gaston Migeon, Le Caire, 1909, p. 52.
21. Southern minaret of mosque of al-Hakim. Rivoira, Moslem Architecture, p. 156, fig. 136. Rare Books and Special Collections Library, the American University in Cairo. Photograph by George Fakhry.
22. “Ruined Mosque of al-Hakim.” Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of Cairo, p. 135; cf. Rivoira, Moslem Architecture, p. 152, fig. 134.
23. Northwest wall of mosque of al-Hakim, showing tomb of Qurqumas before its removal. Creswell, The Muslim Architecture of Egypt, vol. 1. Rare Books and Special Collections Library, the American University in Cairo. Photograph by George Fakhry.
24. Al-Salih Tala’i‘ before demolition of Ottoman minaret. 1918. Henriette Devonshire, Some Cairo Mosques, 1921, facing p. 2.
25. Al-Salih Tala’i‘ after the Comité’s restoration, 1995. Author’s photograph.
26. Al-Hakim minaret (left intact) and arcades (after restoration by Bohras), 1995. Author’s photograph.
27. Al-Lu’lu’a after Bohra restoration, 1996. Author’s photograph.
28. Tomb of Sayyida Ruqayya, internal view of the maqsura installed by Bohras, 1996. Author’s photograph.
29. Reproduction of al-Aqmar Mosque bevel at the tomb of Sayyida Ruqayya after restoration, 1996. Author’s photograph.
30. Bevel of al-Aqmar Mosque, 1995. Author’s photograph.
31. Houston Mosque, Texas, 1999. Author’s photograph
32. Al-Juyushi Mosque before restoration. Franz, Kairo , 1903, p. 124.
33. Al-Juyushi Mosque after Bohra restoration, 1996. Author’s photograph.
34. Al-Aqmar Mosque before restoration. Franz, Kairo , 1903, p. 31.
35. Al-Aqmar Mosque after restoration, 1996. Author’s photograph.
36. West Indian Turf Club set, stylized reproduction of restored al-Aqmar façade. Day of Thanksgiving, pamphlet published by Dawate-Hadiyah. Bombay, 1992, back cover photograph.
Acknowledgments
I t is a pleasure to acknowledge the help that made it possible to complete this book. I have benefited from the generosity of many colleagues who contributed in various ways to my research and thinking about this project: Robert Patten, Helena Michie, Thad Logan, and Marty Wiener fielded numerous questions about Victorian culture and history; Carl Caldwell, Carol Quillen, Shirine Hamadeh, Lynne Huffer, Susan Lurie, Helena Michie, Daniel Sherman, Allison Sneider, and Betty Joseph all read chapters at various junctures.
At a very early stage of this project, I was part of a group of scholars discussing nineteenth-century Cairene architectural heritage and history: Irene Bierman, Donald Preziosi, Nezar AlSayyad, Nasser Rabbat, and Nairy Hampikian. Special thanks go to Irene Bierman for organizing this group. I thank my writing group at the National Humanities Center in 2002-2003 for their critiques of parts of the book: Kathryn Burns, Ginger Frost, Grace Hale, Susan Hirsch, Teresita Martinez, Joanne Rappaport, Moshe Sluhovsky, Erin Smith, Faith Smith, and Helen Solterer. The faculty workshop of Rice’s Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance provided an opportunity to present Chapter 2 to colleagues. A conference and graduate workshop organized by Daniel Sherman, director of the Center for 21st Century Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee provided a valuable opportunity to meet with colleagues with similar interests. A month spent at the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in 2001 allowed me to present my work to a truly international community of scholars and to conduct research in Paris. I thank my hosts, Jocelyne Dakhlia and Lucette Valensi, for this invaluable opportunity. My year at the National Humanities Center in 2002-2003 was undoubtedly the happiest of my professional life. I thank all of the NHC staff for the genuinely warm and supportive environment, as well as for concrete assistance in pursuing my research and writing.
My first forays into the study of architectural preservation in Cairo were guided by Alaa El-Habashi, W. Brown Morton III, and Nairy Hampikian. I am more grateful to them than I can properly express, and can only hope that this book will not annoy them too much. I thank Chip Vincent of the American Research Center in Egypt—Egyptian Antiquities Project for providing so many opportunities to visit monuments undergoing conservation. Nicholas Warner was generous with both his expertise and his personal collection of maps and photographs. I am grateful to the entire staff of the American Research Center in Egypt’s Cairo office, and especially Mrs. Amira Khattab.
I have been fortunate to receive substantial institutional support for this project. I received fellowship support from the American Research Center in Egypt (1995-1996), the National Humanities Center (2002-2003), and the National Endowment of the Humanities (2003). At Rice, Deans Judith Brown, Gale Stokes, and Gary Wihl provided research support. Three chairs of the History Department—Jack Zammito, Carl Caldwell, and Marty Wiener—provided crucial support at various stages of the project. Rice’s Center for the Study of Cultures provided a semester of teaching release during which I began work on Chapter 3 .
I am grateful to the staff of the institutions where I conducted research: ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) in Rome; ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) in Paris; and the American Aca