The three-year, $1.4 million project restored the Aslam al-Silahdar Mosque, built in 1344-1345 by Aslam al-Bahai, an amir or nobleman who rose to the position of “silahdar,” or “swordbearer” for Sultan al-Nasir Mohammed, one of the most powerful of Egypt’s Mamluk rulers.

It is tucked into Cairo’s al-Darb al-Ahmar district, a dense warren of narrow, dusty alleyways. Many of its 92,000 inhabitants are among the poorest in Egypt, living on less than $1 a day, according to the Canadian Development Agency, which works in the community.

The neighborhood is also packed with antiquities — an Islamic monument about every 20 yards (meters), ranging from Cairo’s early days in the 11th century to more modern times.

The area is “comparable to Rome” in terms of monuments, said Luis Monreal, the general manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, which directed the renovation of the Aslam Mosque, unveiled on Wednesday.

A handful of American donors contributed to the conservation efforts, including the American Research Center in Egypt with a grant from USAID, and the U.S. Ambassador Fund.

The Aslam Mosque was redone from floor to ceiling. Hanging lamps illuminate Islamic-style archways and smooth stone floors. On the exterior, elegant green and black Arabic calligraphy scrolls around the base of the mosque’s prominent dome. A square adjoining the mosque was also renovated.

Many of the mosques, mausoleums and Islamic schools in the district are delapidated and crumbling after decades of neglect. Until recently, the Egyptian government also did little to encourage tourism to the area, and most foreign visitors ignored the rich area in favor of pharaonic sites such as the Giza Pyramids.

Dina Bakhoum, conservation programs manager for AKTC’s Egypt branch, said al-Darb al-Ahmar has “great potential to become one of Cairo’s major attractions.”

The agency — funded by the Agha Khan, hereditary leader of the Nizari branch of Shiite Islam — is carrying out a wider urban renewal project in al-Darb al-Ahmar. In recent years, the Egyptian government also has carried out extenstive renovations on mosques in the area and has sought to increase the amount of tourism to Islamic sites.

Source: Associated Press

For now there are only two lines: one running from El-Marg to Helwan, and the other from Shobra to Giza. You’ll find that with only a few stations in the tourist heart of the city, it is of limited use in getting between all of the various must see’s, but there are exceptions.

Sadat station is beneath Midan Tahrir and close to the Egyptian Museum, Mar Girgis station is just opposite Coptic Cairo, El-Malek El-Sahel is well placed for exploring parts of Old Cairo, and Mubarak is nearby the Ramses train station.

By the way, construction is underway of a third line, which will link the airport to the city centre, but this has some years to go before completion.

Pricing is nice and easy, as it is just one Egyptian pound per journey (about 11 pence), regardless of the distance that you plan to travel, but remember to keep hold of your ticket in order to work the turnstiles at your destination. You’ll see the stations by the big red ‘M’ on the above ground signs.

For women travellers there is the option of travelling in the one (and sometimes two) dedicated women-only carriages, usually at the front of the train. You’ll also sometimes find women-only queues at the ticket booths at some of the larger stations.

Source: The Times

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