destruction of Cairo’s historic cemeteries

The removal of Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery to build a multi-story parking garage is a new crime against the city’s heritage

In recent years, the term “development” in Old Cairo has become synonymous with the destruction of parts of the city’s rich cultural heritage. When the bulldozers move in, it’s not just buildings that are lost — it’s fragments of history, traces of lives, and remnants of a thousand-year-old civilization. Today, the government’s development projects are targeting the Bab Al-Nasr Cemetery, one of Cairo’s oldest walled burial grounds, established over 900 years ago. This cemetery, like others before it, faces the threat of demolition in favor of a multi-story parking garage to cater to tourists, a decision that has sparked outrage among conservationists and historians alike.