AUC Press Authors at AUC Tahrir CultureFest

Two years after its release, we finally embark on a scholarly exploration of Cairo’s architectural heritage at the AUC Tahrir CultureFest. Join the discussion of Ottoman Cairo: Religious architecture from Sultan Selim to Napoleon. Authored by the late Dr. Chahinda Karim, an esteemed adjunct professor of Islamic art and architecture at The American University in Cairo, in collaboration with Menna El Mahy, current adjunct instructor at AUC, this seminal work offers a comprehensive study of Cairo’s Ottoman religious buildings, inviting listeners to explore the city’s evolution after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Through meticulous descriptions and captivating visuals, this talk illuminates Cairo’s architectural transition from the capital of the Islamic empire to a thriving provincial city.

Urban conservation has transcended the mere restoration and preservation of cultural and natural assets. It is a multidisciplinary process incorporating all aspects of heritage management processes spanning from meticulous documentation to adaptive reuse, fostering community engagement. 

Join the thought-provoking discussion led by Dr. Ahmed Sedky, Urbanist, Heritage Management Consultant, and AUC Press author of Living with Heritage in Cairo: Area Conservation in the Arab-Islamic City, Dr. Sedky will introduce a comprehensive process designed to achieve sustainable development adhering to SDGs principles and the UN’s new urban agenda, alongside local communities’ interests and aspirations. He will highlight the progress made in Cairo thus far and outline essential steps for further advancement.

Streets, bridges, squares, places, and spaces all have names, yet we rarely consider the origin or significance of these names in our daily lives. This talk, featuring Lesley Lababidi, an active and well-traveled blogger, will cover 30 years from 1989 to 2019, of writing about Cairo. Beginning with anecdotes about Cairo the Field Guide and Cairo’s Street Stories the discussion will explore The Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo as a unique method to uncover Cairo’s history through street names.

This talk will feature Lesley Lababidi, an active and well-traveled blogger, and is scheduled as part of the Tahrir Cultural Festival organized by the American University in Cairo and will cover 30 years, from 1989 to 2019, of writing about Cairo. Beginning with antidotes about The Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo and Cairo’s Street Stories, the talk will turn to The Field Guide as a unique method to explore Cairo’s history through the street naming way.

Learn more about the books:

The Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo by Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi (AUC Press, 2018)

Cairo’s Street Stories by Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi (AUC Press, 2008)

In this talk, “Heritage for the Living in the City of the Dead”, Agnieszka Dobrowolska will examine how the conservation and preservation of historic heritage can serve as a vehicle for social and economic development for the present and future. 

She will present the work that ARCHiNOS Architecture, which she directs, carries out in Cairo’s culturally rich but impoverished and underprivileged Sultan Qaitbey neighborhood. The project, primarily funded by the European Union, combines heritage preservation, urban upgrade, social development work, and contemporary art and culture promotion.
The Sultan’s Fountain: An Imperial Story of Cairo, Istanbul, and Amsterdam by Agnieszka Dobrowolska (AUC Press, 2012)