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ANCIENT TRASH DUMP: Cairo's new 74-acre park, Al Azhar, is located on what was a centuries-old rubbish heap in the middle of Cairo's historic old city.SARAH GAUCH
Egypt gets its own 'central park'
By Sarah Gauch | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

Bi-'smi Llahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Rahim
Madame Mubarak, Excellencies, Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Twenty-one years ago we had a vision that launched us on a journey of inquiry, exploration and discovery that took us through some 1,000 years of history of this extraordinary city.

It was a journey in which we engaged with historians, archeologists, architects and horticulturalists. We worked with engineers, statisticians, sociologists and urban planners. We met with neighbourhood residents and businessmen, artisans and entrepreneurs, young people and old.

Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Ottri on Monday received Rahim Agha Khan, Son of His Highness Prince Karim Agha Khan.The two sides reviewed programs and activities of the Agha Khan Network for developing cooperation between the Network and Syria in the fields of financing and establishing projects for preservation of archeological sites, rural development projects and small loans, in addition to other development cultural and tourist projects.
The two sides also discussed establishing a project for culture and tourist marketing in Damascus.

The Al-Azhar Park has risen through the Cairo smog 20 years after being given the green light, Nevine El-Aref reportsMrs Mubarak and Aga Khan at the official opening of Al-Azhar Park
Spreading over a hill in the heart of Islamic Cairo, the new Al-Azhar Park offers 15 million Cairenes, as well as tourists, some much needed leisure and recreational space with magnificent views of historic Cairo's countless architectural treasures.

Looking across Al-Azhar park, your eye is immediately drawn to the stark brown walls of the citadel and the jaunty domes of the Muhammad Ali mosque. But as you look off to the west, the city drops below the horizon, leaving only a surreal panorama of scattered minarets floating behind a grassy foreground.

Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the 49th hereditary Imam of the 15 million Nizari Ismailis scattered throughout Asia (particularly India and Pakistan), North and East Africa, the Middle East and the West. The scion of an illustrious and glamorous dynasty, he is one of the most prominent philanthropists in the world.

The park was financed by the Aga Khan Trust for CultureA 30-hectare park built from scratch on what used to be a 500-year-old garbage dump topping one of Cairo's poorest neighbourhoods is ready for inauguration.
The opening ceremony on Friday will be presided over by Imam Aga Khan, the 68-year-old spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims who first devised the project more than 20 years ago.

While Al Azhar Park may be a novel project in the Cairo of today, a hundred years ago it would have been one cultivated green space among many. In the 19th century, Cairo was being modeled after European cities, and parks were part of the plan conceived carried out by Viceroy Muhammad Ali and his successors, especially Khedive Ismail, for creating a sophisticated, modern urban space. Today, however, most of the old parks are only a fraction of their original size and dim reflections of their illustrious beginnings, due to neglect and shifting concerns of the state.

This vast landscaping and urban renewal project has also uncovered Saladin's walls. An enormous rubbish heap in the centre of Cairo, has been turned into a park thanks to the Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim, and it is to be inaugurated this month. He is well known for his interest in the architecture of Islam, and this is an exceptionally ambitious project by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) that has involved also restoring parts of the ancient city walls, the Darb al-Ahmar area in a socially responsible way.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has transformed an enormous rubbish heap in the medieval center of Cairo into an oasis, called Al-Azhar Park.
The trust set by Aga Khan IV, leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim sect, is world renowned for its architectural projects. The Al-Azhar Park reclamation includes restoration of part of the ancient city walls and the impoverished Darab al-Ahmar area of the city. The park site had been the main rubbish heap of Cairo since late Mamluk times, some 500 years ago.

His Highness the Aga Khan speaking with the First Lady of Egypt, Madame Mubarak, during the Al-Azhar Park inauguration ceremonies.The Park as a Catalyst for Social, Economic and Cultural Renewal

Fondation de la mosquée al-Azar sous Al-Muizz

Conquete de l'Egyte par l'Imam al-Muiz