In cooperation with Al-Nahda Scientific and Cultural Association by Jezweet Cairo, the initiative was founded by a group of young people interested in reviving Egypt’s cultural heritage that started in October 2020 and launched in June 2021, where they made field visits to the neighborhood and met with its residents for a deeper look into the area’s history.
“We work with the residents of the Zahir area, to raise awareness of its importance through holding community development workshops and documentaries with show nights accompanied by tours of the most important landmarks of the neighborhood,” said the project’s coordinator Hadeer Ramadan to “Trendify”.
It was one of the most distinguished areas for cinema and the filming industry, where it housed 5 different movie theatres and had several cinematic films shot in it such as “Om Al-Arosa” and “Fi Baytena Ragol”, as well as studio “Nasebyan” was a landmark for cinema back in the day.
It even houses “Al-Zahir” Mosque, that belonged to the “Mamluk Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars” built in 1268, as well as the Sakakini Palace built in 1897 by the head of the Syrian Sakakini family, Gabriel Habib Sakakini Pacha. It also includes a collection of churches from different sects which makes it a unique touristic area.
Unfortunately, the neighborhood suffers from negligence and many houses are to be taken down. “The buildings of unique architectural designs are currently being used as storage areas for different businesses, which is a waste of culture,” explained Ramadan and added that the “Ez-har we Ban” Initiative aims to provide the area with enough recognition to hopefully turn it into an open-air museum, and liven it up once more.
“The residents of Al-Zahir were extremely welcoming and were great hosts. They were keen on telling their stories and experiences in their neighborhood,” said Ramadan. She added that the way they spoke showed how connected they are to the area.
What did the initiative do so far?
A photo gallery of all the distinguished locations in the neighborhood, which we hope to present at any open gallery we could.
A handbook titled “Bosta Masreya”, that tells five stories of some of the residents and their different cultural backgrounds.
An agenda that contains the consecutive dates of all the historical landmarks and events that exist or happened in the neighborhood.
A short documentary about the neighborhood.
A short film that covers four of the distinguished movies that were filmed in Al-Zahir streets and the “Nasebyan” Studio during the 1960s.
A notebook inspired by the décor and designs of the area’s architecture.
“At first we aimed to film a long detailed documentary about the area, but unfortunately we got infected with the Coronavirus. So we decided to film a short documentary that shows a walk-around tour of the neighborhood,” said the project’s art director Marwa Abdelmoniem to “Trendify”.
“We also had a mobile photography workshop where the young people in the area would go out and photograph it themselves,” added Abdelmoniem, but since it was during the month of Ramadan, not many attended. Therefore, they decided to hire a photographer and create the photo gallery themselves.
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