Thousands of Visitors Flock to Cairo’s Historic ‘Al-Muizz Street’ in Ramadan

A bazaar on Al-Mu'izz al-Din Illah Street, one of the most
important historical streets in the Islamic quarter of Cairo. — Photo
by AFP
A bazaar on Al-Mu'izz al-Din Illah Street, one of the most important historical streets in the Islamic quarter of Cairo. — Photo by AFP
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Thousands of Visitors Flock to Cairo’s Historic ‘Al-Muizz Street’ in Ramadan

A bazaar on Al-Mu'izz al-Din Illah Street, one of the most
important historical streets in the Islamic quarter of Cairo. — Photo
by AFP
A bazaar on Al-Mu'izz al-Din Illah Street, one of the most important historical streets in the Islamic quarter of Cairo. — Photo by AFP

The ‘Al-Muizz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi Street’ in the heart of Cairo was like many other streets with closed and neglected antiquities. However, in the past few years, the street has become a favorite destination for the fans of Islamic antiquities, especially during Ramadan, after the restoration and development works that turned it into an open Islamic museum.

During a tour in the historic street this Ramadan, Asharq Al-Awsat observed thousands of visitors flocking every night to enjoy its warm ambiances and take pictures of its huge historic buildings with the help of photographers who offer their services for little money.

In the absence of professional musicians and groups, the ‘Al-Muizz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi Street’ has been hosting amateurs who try to create joyful ambiances.

‘Al-Muizz’ street includes 38 rare sites that highlight the aesthetics of the Islamic architecture over nine centuries, from the Fatimid Caliphate to the end of the Ottoman Empire.

Dr. Raafat al-Nabrawi, professor of Islamic antiquities, said ‘Al-Muizz’ street is the richest Islamic antiquities street in the world, “featuring two rare historic complexes: The Sultan Qansuh Al-Ghuri and the Sultan Qalawun, in addition to historic mosques that are still being used for prayers.”

Nabrawi attributes the crowds in the historic street to the awareness that has grown over the past few years for the importance of heritage among Egyptians, especially the younger ones. He has also called the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to rapidly restore the antiquities that need an urgent intervention, prevent all kinds of violations, and ban the auto rickshaws that distort the visual and historic identity of the area.

In 2021, the ministry concluded a project that installed and upgraded the lightning systems in the historic street, equipping the facades and squares of historic buildings with high-end lamps.

‘Al-Muizz’ street is known with its unique archaeological buildings, some of which have turned into centers for artistic and cultural creativity, including the “House of Suhaymi”, the Sultan Qalawun complex featuring a mosque, a school and a dome inspired by the Mamluki architecture, and “Bab al-Futuh”, one of several famous gates in historic Cairo, as well as many ancient mosques including Al-Hakim Mosque, Al Muayyed Mosque, and the Aqmar Mosque.

While the northern part of the street (Al-Azhar Street: Bab al-Futuh) lures the largest number of visitors with its cafes, bazaars, and shops, the southern part, which stretches from Al-Azhar Street to “Bab Zuweila”, seems less popular. Despite featuring many antiquities, such as the Al- Muayyad Mosque and the lane of Muhammad Ali, its shops mostly sell clothes, fabrics and mattresses, and it is always crowded with people and rickshaws. Some of its ancient buildings also need restoration and external lighting, like those deployed in the northern part.

It’s worth noting that “Bab Zuweila” saw major historic events such as the hanging of the heads of messengers sent by Hulagu, leader of the Tatars, and the execution of the last Mamluk sultan, Tuman Bay. “Bab al-Futuh” was built by Jawhar al-Siqilli in 1087, and renewed by Prince Badr al-Jamali.



SpaceX Rocket Cargo Project Puts Pacific Seabirds in Jeopardy

Sooty terns fill the skies as they return to Johnston Island within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to establish their breeding colony in July 2021. Eric Baker/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Handout via REUTERS
Sooty terns fill the skies as they return to Johnston Island within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to establish their breeding colony in July 2021. Eric Baker/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Handout via REUTERS
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SpaceX Rocket Cargo Project Puts Pacific Seabirds in Jeopardy

Sooty terns fill the skies as they return to Johnston Island within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to establish their breeding colony in July 2021. Eric Baker/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Handout via REUTERS
Sooty terns fill the skies as they return to Johnston Island within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to establish their breeding colony in July 2021. Eric Baker/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Handout via REUTERS

A project proposed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the US Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them. It would not be the first time that SpaceX's activities have affected protected birds. A SpaceX launch of its Starship rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, last year involved a blast that destroyed nests and eggs of plover shorebirds, landing the billionaire Musk's company in legal trouble and leading him to remark jokingly that he would refrain from eating omelets for a week to compensate, Reuters reported.

The Air Force announced in March that it has selected Johnston Atoll, a US territory in the central Pacific Ocean located nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) southwest of the state of Hawaii, as the site to test the Rocket Cargo Vanguard program it is developing with SpaceX.

The project involves test landing rocket re-entry vehicles designed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about 90 minutes. It would be a breakthrough for military logistics by making it easier to move supplies quickly into distant locations.

According to biologists and experts who have worked on the one-square-mile (2.6 square km) atoll - designated as a US National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument - the project could be too much for the island's 14 species of tropical birds to withstand.

Roughly a million seabirds use the atoll, home to a variety of wildlife, throughout the year, up from just a few thousand in the 1980s. The bird species include red-tailed tropicbirds, red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, which have eight-foot (2-1/2 meter) wingspans.

"Any sort of aviation that happens to the island is going to have an impact at this point," said Hawaii-based biologist Steven Minamishin, who works for the National Wildlife Refuge System, part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The biggest issue this will bring is the sound of the rocket flushing birds off of their nests and having them so anxious and unsure as to not return to their nest, resulting in a loss of generation," said University of Texas wildlife biologist Ryan Rash, who spent nearly a year on Johnston.

The project would involve construction of two landing pads and the relanding of 10 rockets over four years.

The Air Force and SpaceX are preparing an environmental assessment of the project in the coming weeks for public comment. The assessment is a requirement under a law called the National Environmental Policy Act before the Air Force can proceed with the project, which it wants to start this year.

The Air Force in a Federal Register notice in March said the project was unlikely to have a significant environmental impact but noted it could harm migratory birds.

A spokesperson for the US Air Force said it is closely consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Fisheries Service, "to assess impacts and develop necessary measures for avoiding, minimizing and/or mitigating potential environmental impacts."

Space X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk is serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump as they work to downsize and remake the federal government and eliminate thousands of employees.

'ALL THAT'S LEFT'

In the Pacific, where unpopulated land is scarce and threatened by sea level rise, the birds depend on Johnston for their nesting and survival, according to the biologists interviewed by Reuters.

This makes the protection of these birds essential, said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit group focused on protecting US National Wildlife Refuge System.

"These little remote oceanic islands are all that's left for them," Sorenson-Groves said. "We've invested a lot of money as a country to bring back wildlife to these places."

Johnston Atoll, closed to the public, is administered by the Air Force and managed by Fish and Wildlife Service. The island was used for nuclear testing from the late 1950s to 1962, and to stockpile chemical munitions including Agent Orange from 1972 to 1975.

The Air Force completed a clean-up of the atoll in 2004, and it has served as a haven for nesting seabirds and migrating shore birds since. Visits by people to the island have been highly controlled to avoid disturbing the birds.

The Fish and Wildlife Service led an effort to eradicate yellow-crazy ants, an invasive species, on the atoll after it was declared a refuge, sending crews for six-month stints starting in 2010 and ending in 2021. Crews brought their clothing in sealed bags, had their equipment frozen and sanitized, and used separate island shoes to prevent new species from invading the atoll, said Eric Baker, a Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer and wildlife photographer who spent a year on Johnston.

"The basic rule was cause no or as little disturbance as possible," Baker said.

Baker said he is worried that the SpaceX project will undo all the painstaking conservation efforts over the years.

"The nests and the birds there are just going to be kind of vaporized," Baker said.