The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the inaugural ceremony of the “Lahadat” Project, which is supervised by the National Organization for Urban Coordination in the Arab Republic of Egypt, under the patronage of Dr. Inès Abdel Daim, Egyptian Minister of Culture, as part of Celebration of Cairo, Culture Capital in the Islamic World, and in observance of the World Heritage Day.

“Lahadat” is the fourth project launched by the National Organization for Urban Coordination, headed by Eng. Mohamed Abu Saada, as part of the series on the city’s memory to define and document the Egyptian cities, within the framework of the initiative “Our heritage is our identity, let us safeguard it together.”

It documents the landmarks of heritage cities, the course of the Nile and the ponds that resulted from the river’s floods, and the impact of these ponds on the method of construction with hard stone and buildings in Egyptian architecture.
The ceremony screened a documentary on the architectural spaces of Al-Ratli Pond, which used to exist in the center of the current city of Cairo. Eng. Abu Saada explained that the National Organization for Urban Coordination launched this project as part of the activities of the Celebration of Cairo, Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, noting that the project has a special website to introduce the history of this site and how it turned from a water pond to its current form.

At the end of the ceremony, the National Organization for Urban Coordination honored three heritage figures for the year 2022, namely Dr. Muhammad Al-Kahlawi, Professor of Archeology and Islamic Architecture at Cairo University, President of the Union of Arab Archaeologists; Dr. Alaa Al-Habashi, Professor of Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, Founder of Bait Yakun for the Preservation of Architectural and Urban Heritage in Historic Cairo and Heritage Crafts; and Dr. Jamal Al Shaer, Writer and Media Figure interested in heritage affairs.

Dr. Sally Mabrouk, Head of the Office of ICESCO Director-General, represented the Organization in this ceremony, which brought together several officials, architects, university architecture students and those interested in urban heritage in Egypt.