Living With the Past: Old Cairo – Documentary

Cairo is one of the few medieval cities in the world that remains relatively intact. LIVING WITH THE PAST is a filmic portrait of Darb al-Ahmar, a neighborhood in the heart of the old city now facing a process of radical change. Produced by Elizabeth Fernea (producer of the Women in the Middle East Series) this film documents a unique approach to historic preservation, one that combines social and economic development with monument restoration. LIVING WITH THE PAST follows several restoration projects in progress in Darb al-Ahmar, including: the Great Gate of Bab Zuwayla (1092 A.D.), the Mosque of Emir Qijmas al-Ishaqi (1481 A.D.), the Church of the Virgin (600 A.D.), the Walls of Saladin (11th & 12th centuries A.D.). These projects have been incorporated into a mammoth social, cultural and economic neighborhood improvement scheme. Across the globe monument preservation often means that people are displaced, and surrounding neighborhoods are demolished. Not so in Cairo, where efforts