City of the Dead (Cairo)

For other uses, see The City of the Dead.
Historic Cairo
UNESCO World Heritage Site
LocationCairo Governorate, Egypt
Part ofHistoric Cairo
CriteriaCultural: (i), (v), (vi)
Reference89
Inscription1979 (3rd Session)
Coordinates30°02′48″N 31°16′35″E / 30.04667°N 31.27639°E / 30.04667; 31.27639
City of the Dead (Cairo) is located in Nile Delta
City of the Dead (Cairo)
Location of City of the Dead in Nile Delta

The City of the Dead, or Cairo Necropolis, also referred to as the Qarafa (Arabic: القرافة, romanized: al-Qarafa; locally pronounced as al-'arafa),[1] is a series of vast Islamic-era necropolises and cemeteries in Cairo, Egypt. They extend to the north and to the south of the Cairo Citadel, below the Mokattam Hills and outside the historic city walls, covering an area roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) long. They are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Historic Cairo".[2]

The necropolis is separated roughly into two regions: the Northern Cemetery to the north of the Citadel (also called the Eastern Cemetery or Qarafat ash-sharq in Arabic because it is east of the old city walls), and the older Southern Cemetery to the south of the Citadel. There is also another smaller cemetery north of Bab al-Nasr.[1]

View of the Northern Cemetery. In the foreground are tomb enclosures, typically belonging to a family. In the distance (left), are the domes of medieval Mamluk mausoleums. Further in the background (and right) are the housing blocs of Manshiyat Naser rising into the Mokattam hills.

The necropolis that makes up "the City of the Dead" has been developed over many centuries and contains both the graves of Cairo's common population as well as the elaborate mausoleums of many of its historical rulers and elites. It started with the early city of Fustat (founded in 642 CE) and arguably reached its apogee, in terms of prestige and monumentality, during the Mamluk era (13th–15th centuries).[1] Throughout their history, the necropolises were home to various types of living inhabitants as well. These included the workers whose professions were tied to the cemeteries (e.g. gravediggers, tomb custodians), the Sufis and religious scholars studying in the religious complexes built by sultans and other wealthy patrons, and the regular inhabitants of small urban settlements and villages in the area.[1] This population grew and shrank according to circumstances in different eras. However, starting in the late 19th century and increasing in the 20th century, the pressure of Cairo's intensive urbanization and its ensuing housing shortage led to a large increase in the number of people living in the necropolis zones. Some people resorted to squatting within the mausoleums and tomb enclosures and turning them into improvised housing; however, these "tomb-dwellers" remained a small fraction of the overall population in the area.[1][3] This phenomenon led to much media commentary and popular imagination about the condition of those living in the necropolises, linking them symbolically to Cairo's much-discussed overpopulation problems and sometimes leading to exaggerated estimates of the number of people squatting in the mausoleums.[3]

Since 2020, the Egyptian government has demolished some historic tombs in the cemeteries for the purpose of building new highways and infrastructure through the area, eliciting protests and objections from locals and conservationists.[4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ a b c d e El Kadi, Galila; Bonnamy, Alain (2007). Architecture for the Dead: Cairo's Medieval Necropolis. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.
  2. ^ "Historic Cairo". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  3. ^ a b Sims, David (2010). Understanding Cairo: The logic of a city out of control. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. pp. 20–24. ISBN 9789774164040.
  4. ^ Dagres, Holly (2023-09-07). "Egypt is killing the history of its City of the Dead". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  5. ^ Maher, Hatem (19 June 2023). "Bulldozers tear into Cairo's historic Islamic cemeteries". Reuters. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  6. ^ Sawy, Nada El (2022-01-19). "Cairo's City of the Dead faces destruction to ease traffic jams". The National. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  7. ^ Keath, Lee; Magdy, Samy (2023-09-11). "New highways carve into Cairo's City of the Dead cemetery as Egypt's government reshapes the city". AP News. Retrieved 2024-01-27.