The historic cemetery ofCairo is a condensed, complex and extreme example of other cases ofmultifunctional cemeteries. Its study can potentially contribute significantinsight into what is a regional urban type. Furthermore its study feeds intothe more universal issue of how to understand and represent historic areaswhere conflicting claims of history, art, religion, social and economicnecessity are at play.
This extraordinary cemetery,described as a significant site in the Egyptian government decree declaringIslamic Cairo as a world heritage site, is not within the official borders ofthe world heritage site. Even more incredible is the fact that to this veryday, no cadastral maps of the cemetery, definitive maps of ownership or rent,or even an official population count exist. Furthermore, the majority of itslisted buildings are poorly documented and are outside the focus of almost allongoing conservation projects in Islamic Cairo, whether local or international.
It is not possible to includethe whole cemetery (which includes over 120 listed monuments within close to 6sq. km) within this project. Therefore, one section of it has been chosen as apilot study, al-Suyuti cemetery. Al-Suyuti Cemetery (normally referred to as Tombs of the Mamluks inwestern travel literature) is the north-eastern section of the southerncemetery, the oldest of Cairo’s cemeteries. Its area contains nine monuments and what we term an infill oftombstones, cenotaphs, streets and squares. The monuments are:
- Mausoleum ofBadr al-Din al-Qarafi (founder Aydughmish Amir Akhur - pre 1323; mon. no. 297)
- Funerary complexof Sayf al-Din Qusun (c. 1330; mon. nos. 290, 291, 293)
- Mausoleum ofal-Sawabi (founder Sawab al-Din Rukni – pre 1335; mon. no. 296)
- Mausoleum ofal-Sultaniyya (founder Mother of Sultan Nasir Hasan – r. 1356-2; mon. no. 288,289)
- Mausoleum ofSudun al-‘ajami (c. 1505; mon. no. 294)
- IwanRayhan(founder NawruzKikhya al-Jawishiyya – 1534; mon. no. 297)
- Mosque of MasihPasha (1575, mon. no. 160)
- Mausoleum ofMustafa Agha Jaliq (1667, mon. no. 295)
- Mausoleum ofJalal al-Din al-Suyuti (1796-7; not listed)
Thistwo-year study is a collaborative effort between three scholars whosemulti-disciplinary experiences encompass the fields of art and architecturalhistory, urban history, epigraphy and conservation. One of the core members has written her PhDdissertation on the cemetery of Cairo. All three have worked both individuallyand collectively on subjects that touch on the issues at hand such as:implementation of conservation projects in the cemetery of Cairo, studies ofcemeteries in other temporal and culture frameworks, and supervision of PhDdissertations that touch on issues of sacred geography and cemeteries. Duringthe first year of the project, these Core Members collaborated with sixAssociate Scholars from other fields (history, law, religion, socialanthropology, archaeology and popular culture) and the result was a mapping,survey and architectural documentation of the area and its significantbuildings (carried out by the core team), in addition to reports by theassociate team members (each on their area of specialization). During thesecond year, the material was synthesized, to be disseminated through thiswebsite, and through an academic monograph.