Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ain Shams Engineering Journal

journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com

Heritage conservation management in Egypt

A review of the current and proposed situation to amend it
Khaled Abdul-Aziz Osman
Misr International University (MIU), Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The study at hand is a review of the non-democratic administrative system to the heritage conservation
Received 14 May 2018 in Egypt, and includes an analysis and re-drafting of this system to address current situation’s problems.
Revised 5 September 2018 The research methodology is based on a theoretical foundation and a practical one. It defines and reviews
Accepted 8 October 2018
the heritage conservation management in Egypt. In order to achieve an effective democratic system to the
Available online xxxx
heritage conservation management in Egypt, the study defines the following: The heritage sites conser-
vation problems, the specific legislation and laws governing the process of heritage conservation in Egypt,
Keywords:
most of the administrative bodies concerned with such sites, the current status of the management of
Heritage conservation
Heritage conservation management
heritage conservation in Egypt, and, finally, the modification of this system on its three levels: strategic,
Partnership planning, and site management. The study also discusses the findings in order to give insight into the
topic.
Ó 2018 Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction the framework of the local administrative system. The governor

The idea of reviving Historic Cairo dominated the interests of
many strategies and urban policies due to its cultural importance
and its urban components. Over the past six decades, many studies,
projects, and conferences were organized and legislations were
issued for that purpose. However, most of them were not imple-
mented [1]. This indicates the importance of taking practical and
administrative measures necessary to maintain this wealth [2].
The administrative bodies concerned with heritage sites conser-
vation in Egypt, both on the central or local levels, are heavily bur-
dened. Maintaining the urban environment is one of these burdens.
But maintaining the distinguished heritage sites does not have the
same level of priority in most cases, as it is mostly regarded from a
broader urban frame subject to the same local administrative body
without being allocated the same importance [3]. Some heritage
sites are sometimes also subject to more than one administrative
body that does not deal with each of them consistently. These her-
itage sites need special expertise to manage their urban heritage
that may not be required for managing others. The availability of
such expertise in these bodies is very low [4].
As for the current administrative interventions, these areas
represent effective administrative authorities for many of the
executive authorities headed by the governorate and within
Peer review under responsibility of Ain Shams University.
E-mail address: Khaled.abdelaziz@miuegypt.edu.eg
has the president’s authorities in the area from the point of
implementation only to guarantee him the presidency over the
representatives of other executive bodies [2]. In addition to that,
the popular council represents the population of the area,
which has the right to accept or reject the plan before its
implementation. Thus, these special sites include Luxor,
where a decision was made to separate it from the local admin-
istration to be on the same administrative level with the gover-
norate [5].
2. The Methodology
The methods used in collecting data and analyses are as
follows:
First: To review the administrative system and most of the
administrative bodies concerned with heritage sites in Egypt, per-
sonal interviews had been conducted with the competent author-
ities, such as the Ministry of State for Antiquities (2015) and the
National Organization of Urban Harmony. Also, an analysis of a
case study on the administrative system in Egypt by Mahmoud
Youssry and others (2003) in the Faculty of Regional Planning at
Cairo University was employed.
Second: To review certain legislations and laws governing the
process of heritage conservation in Egypt, an analysis for Egyptian
laws, such as Law No. 117 of 1989 about antiquities and Law No. 43
of 1979 about the local administrative system, was carried out.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2018.10.002
2090-4479/Ó 2018 Ain Shams University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
2 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
Third: The methodology of conserving heritage sites respects
the heretical roots and the environmental factors. The research
intends to make an approximation towards a model on how to
achieve an effective democratic system to the heritage conserva-
tion management in Egypt. This model avoids the non-
democratic system of the governmental administrative bodies con-
cerned with heritage sites.
3. The current heritage conservation management in Egypt
3.1. Heritage sites in Egypt and the mechanism of their choice
One of the most important steps of any program for conserva-
tion management is to determine what will be kept first. In this
case, these are heritage conservation areas. In the case of Egypt’s
cultural heritage, which includes many great writings describing
the cultural heritage, the first step of conservation management
is a review of all writings and all heritage sites, and the second is
the creation of a cultural heritage centre in which all these writings
are placed. This should comprise the main database in the list of
national registration that includes all the documents for the mon-
uments and the heritage sites [6].
The Egyptian Cultural Heritage sites include a wide range of
types that span prehistoric to modern times. They must be defined
carefully, and criteria by which to determine the extent of their
importance should be developed. For example, there are important
historic places but they do not carry any evidence that indicates
their importance, yet are known through writings or oral tradition.
These include places that have political importance, like the battle-
field that witnessed the Ottomans’ triumph in 1517, which turned
Egypt into part of the Ottoman Empire. According to CULTNAT
(2001) this battle occurred at a site called the Al-Rydaniah desert,
which is now known as East Abbasia, and other sites that should be
identified and documented [7].
3.2. Conservation problems for heritage sites
In February 2014, the leader of the National Organization for
Urban Harmony, Samir Gharib, said, ‘‘Since 2011, we’ve been living
in the time of the Great Downfall of Egyptian urbanization”. How-
ever, Egypt’s cultural heritage has been in decline some time before
2011; the revolution has only exacerbated prior issues [8]. The
problems affecting cultural heritage sites are many, and they vary.
But the delayed action towards them may increase the cost of
addressing these problems [9]. The problems include the limited
financial abilities of the residents of heritage sites, the design of
the urban fabric that was not appropriate to recent changes and
updates, the invasion of the interfering elements that were
imposed due to the nature of the area, the poor environmental sit-
uation in general and particularly in urban heritage, and the scarce
maintenance for the buildings [5]. The most evident problems and
difficulties confronting heritage conservation in Egypt will be tack-
led in this area:
First: The majority of the residents in these areas have very
limited financial abilities, and the conservation process requires
a huge capital that might be a burden on the society. Hence,
the responsibilities should be identified and should be clear
[10].
Second: Some of the nation’s socially noteworthy property has
been entirely dismissed. The instance of Al-Sakakını Palace in al-
Ẓāhir provides us with one case of this endemic state disregard
for architectural heritage in Egypt. The royal residence, which
was developed in 1897, is critical to the inhabitants, not only
because of its tasteful excellence, but also because it constitutes
the nucleus of the area’s urban design as eight principle roads
Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
branch out from where the building is situated. Since the death
of its owner in 1923, businessman Gabrıl Habıb al-Sakakını, the
palace has fallen into disrepair due inattention from the govern-
ment, and today, the palace stands as a shadow of its past glory.
Too many of Egypt’s cultural sites have suffered the same fate,
and many have been formally closed due to lack of maintenance
[8].
Third: These areas were exposed to variables, changes, and
updates that were not considered when designing the urban fabric.
Such variables include infrastructure, and number of cars. So, the
replacement process was largely affected by these variables, as
buildings of historic value and areas of historic fabric that were,
for a certain period of time, not of interest, remained to be dealt
with away from the perception of historical and cultural value that
denote them [3].
Fourth: The laws particularly outfitted towards protecting
Egypt’s built heritage (Laws No. 117/1983, No. 178/1961 and No.
144/2006) have also led to the endangerment and sometimes
demolition of historic houses due to ambiguous legal jargon. Antiq-
uities in general are protected by Law No. 117 of 1983 and build-
ings of architectural value and historical importance are
protected by Law No. 178 of 1961. Law No. 144 of 2006 regulates
demolition licenses and is concerned with protecting buildings of
recognized architectural value. According to Law No. 117, buildings
are classified as ‘‘historic” if they can be attributed to one of Egypt’s
essential cultural influences (Greek, Christian, Islamic, or Ancient
Egyptian). Law No. 144, by contrast, leaves the ‘‘heritage” classifi-
cation much more ambiguous, and there is no ministry or state
institution that is explicitly responsible for the official classifica-
tion or protection of heritage buildings. Because of these loopholes,
property owners who aim to demolish a heritage building need
only to request consent from a heritage committee consisting of
specialists and representatives from the governorate and the Min-
istry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities. These rulings
essentially remove all legal barriers that protect these buildings
from demolition [8].
Fifth: These areas were exposed to the invasion of the interfer-
ing elements that were imposed due to the nature of the area, their
proximity to the central works in Cairo and the increase of some
harmful activities such as marble workshops which result in liquid
or solid waste that is left in the alleys, or residues stored in the
spread areas [11].
Sixth: Another impact of the instability brought on by the rev-
olution is the increase in incidents of vandalism and looting of
Egyptian archaeological sites and museums. The most referred to
incident is the looting of the Malawi Museum in Minya: at the
beginning of August 2013, looters broke into the museum and took
more than one thousand objects. This significant increase in loot-
ing has been attributed to both the economic downturn and the
weak security with regards to guarding the nation’s exhibition
halls and archaeological sites [8].
Seventh: The environmental situation generally and in urban
heritage particularly is poor, and the maintenance for buildings is
scarce. Recently, the problems increased when the water supply
networks were connected, which exposed these areas to
the increase of ground water that affected their historical facilities
[2].
All of these problems facing the cultural heritage sites are
expected to escalate due to the importance of such unique sites,
which increases the land request and the land value. However,
the deteriorating urban situation exposes these sites to
replacement processes that are not aimed at protecting the historic
areas from randomness and pollution. Moreover, the vital site of
these areas within the urban mass makes them an attractive loca-
tion for service and investment activities in trading and services
[10].
 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
3.3. Laws and legislation governing the management of heritage sites
The voice of cultural heritage management cannot be heard
without the appropriate supporting legislation. The Egyptian law
has been developed to deal with monuments (buildings or other
structures erected to commemorate a famous person or event)
and antiquities (objects of the ancient past). Nevertheless, this
law is several steps behind compared to its counterparts elsewhere
in the world [7]. Therefore, we must develop and define the legal
framework for the cultural heritage management strategy. It is
essential that this framework includes transparency and clarity.
In addition, to cover all aspects of the implementation of this strat-
egy, it is also necessary to apply this strategy to all levels of man-
agement [12].
The law governing the protection of cultural heritage is Law No.
117 of 1983, which covers the concept of protected property that
must be preserved in paragraphs 1 and 2; the system of ownership
in paragraphs 6, 8, 9, 16, and 35; and also, the extension of protec-
tion and conservation operations as follows: [7]
 Registration and documentation in paragraphs 2, 8, 9, 16, and
35;
 Rights and duties of the owner of the historic properties as well
as people who have the authority to control such properties in
paragraphs 2, 9, 10, 13, 26, and 28;
 Organize ways of dealing with monuments and antiquities in
paragraphs 7 and 8;
 Export rules in paragraphs 9 and 13;
 Accidental discoveries and discoveries made by chance in para-
graph 24;
 Archaeological excavations in paragraphs 5, 31, and 37;
 Regulations of punishments in paragraphs 40 and 47; and
 Authorities responsible for conservation operations in para-
graph 5.
As for the Egyptian law that regulates the local administration,
the establishment of the non-governmental organizations and
their roles and responsibilities is as follows:
 Law No. 32 of 1964 that concerns non-governmental organi-
zations and the updated amended law; this law does not
extend to the rules governing the management of sites or
buildings or premises for economic projects, due to the strong
definitions and direct supervision of the Ministry of Social
Affairs;
 Law No. 106 of 1976, as amended by law No. 101 of 1996, that
organizes the demolition and removal of buildings; this law did
not refer to cultural areas;
 Law No. 43 of 1979 that organizes local administration process,
the governors, administrators of cities, the heads of the people’s
congresses and local centres and put their respective roles and
responsibilities. Although this law extends the legislation to
the organization of cities and residential areas, such as giving
permits to remove buildings or sites, it did not touch upon
the issues in areas containing any cultural heritage buildings
[13]; and
 Law no. 117 of 1983 that is concerned with the process of deter-
mining and registering the Egyptian monuments: The first para-
graph stipulates that ‘‘it shall be deemed an antique any
property or disposal produced by the various civilizations or
made by the arts, science, or religions from the prehistoric era
and throughout the successive eras until before one hundred
years whenever it has a value, importance whether on historical
or antiques level as a manifestation of various civilizations that
were founded on Egypt or was related to its history, also the
remains and the beings lived with it” [14].
Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
3
Major defects were found, in particular with the section related
to the one hundred years, as the Egyptian present confirms the
presence of heritage areas that are rich with cultural and artistic
means in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Cairo, Alexandria,
Luxor, Assiut, and Bani Swif, which have a lot of special buildings
in the European style with local effects that have their own special
characteristics that shall be conserved. How should this be done if
the life span of these buildings did not exceed one hundred years?
[11].
The last updated law about conservation, Law No. 144 of 2006,
is concerned with the organization of the demolition of buildings
and the preservation of the architectural heritage. Based on this
law, many committees composed of faculty members and a repre-
sentative from the province were created [15]. These committees’
task was to keep a record of the heritage buildings and recommend
any decisions concerning the demolition of the buildings, yet they
were only consultants and were unable to fulfil the real role they
were required for [2].
3.4. The administrative bodies concerned with the heritage
conservation in Egypt
For a long time, Egyptian heritage sites have been suffering ‘‘due
to the crumbled states of their environment and the absence of a
maintained support” as the Egyptian heritage conservation sector
has kept on confronting challenges [8]. These have just worsened
after January 2011. State carelessness, illicit infringements, con-
tamination and expanded episodes of plundering keep on nega-
tively affecting heritage sites. As the revolution articulated an
aggregate interest for a more equitable and just society, not just
as far as political portrayal or even political framework, yet in all
aspects of society, a more extensive assortment of on-screen char-
acters from society, private divisions, scholarly associations, and
state foundations are occupied with characterizing, creating, and
ensuring Egypt’s social legacy [8].
These bodies are responsible for urban development work
within the framework of national policies, which makes it difficult
for those bodies to affect these policies. The standards and budgets
are developed on the basis of the national development goals
instead of the needs of the local community. In addition, the terms
of responsibilities of the bodies are determined in urban and polit-
ical considerations, more than on their economic or administrative
effectiveness [2].
These bodies suffer from a number of planning and organiza-
tional problems that weaken their efficiency [4]. The Ministry of
State for Antiquities and the Supreme Council of Culture, in addi-
tion to some of the council’s sub-committees, are the only govern-
mental bodies responsible for heritage conservation in Egypt [2].
Following is a review of the bodies responsible for heritage conser-
vation in Egypt (see Table 1):
3.4.1. The Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) (National Level)
In January 2011, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
became an independent ministry and its name was changed to
the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA). The principal mission
of the Ministry of State for Antiquities is to protect and promote
the cultural heritage of Egypt, both independently and in coopera-
tion with national and international organizations. To achieve its
goals, it formulates and implements all policies concerned with
antiquities; issues guidelines and permits for the excavation,
restoration, conservation, documentation, and study of sites and
monuments; and manages a country-wide system of antiquities’
museums. In addition, it oversees the publication of journals and
books on archaeology and cultural heritage, and finances its own
archaeological excavation, documentation, and conservation
4 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
Table 1
The roles of each body that identifies linkages and administrative clashes.
The administrave
bodies
The roles of each
administrave body
Formulating and implementing all policies & strategies
concerned with antiquities and heritage sites
Issuing guidelines and permits for excavation, restoration,
conservation, and documentation of monuments & heritage
sites
Protecting the rich legacy of all of Egypt’s eras, from
prehistory through the Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, and
Islamic periods
Building awareness of the Egyptian heritage among members
of the local community through media or other means
Reformulating the aesthetic vision for all parts of the country,
especially for Urban Spaces such as parks, streets, &
sidewalks
Training experts and those interested in the preservation and
documentation of cultural and natural heritage
The owner of most of the Islamic monuments in Egypt
projects. The MSA is responsible for the protection of the rich
legacy of all of Egypt’s eras, from the prehistoric era through the
Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, and Islamic periods and into the
modern age [16].
The MSA is a governmental body responsible for the conserva-
tion and restoration operations in all the conservation areas in
Egypt. Since 1995, the restoration projects have been assigned, in
terms of implementation, to certified contractors under the super-
vision of engineers and archaeologists from the SCA (Now MSA).
The Ministry is composed of the general secretariat, which over-
sees the documentation, the information and statistics unit, the
advertisements unit, the planning unit, the research and studies
unit, the heritage revival centre unit, and the training unit [16].
3.4.2. National Organization for Urban Harmony – The Ministry of
Culture
Based on the Presidential Decree No. 37 of 2001, a national body
called the ‘National Organization for Urban Harmony’ was estab-
lished in Cairo. The Organization is responsible for the following:
Reformulation of the aesthetic vision for all parts of the country;
preparation of a comprehensive database of all the ancient build-
ings, palaces, and villas; development of controls to ensure that
there are no changes to the current architectural form; develop-
ment of the rules for dealing with urban spaces such as parks,
streets, and sidewalks; establishment of the conditions necessary
for the form of advertisements and banners in terms of size, height,
colour, and the place in which the banners are placed; re-
formulation of the public squares according to an architectural
and visual vision that is consistent with the distinctive character
of each region; expression of opinion about the draft laws and reg-
ulations that contribute to achieving urban harmony; approval of
the action plans of the Organization; approval of the organizational
Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
The Ministry of Endowments
National Council for Culture,
National Organization for
The Ministry of State for
National Center for doc.
Antiquities (MSA)
Arts & Literature
Urban Harmony
(CULTNAT)
Consult Advice
2%
98%
structure of the Organization, development of the agenda and the
regulations for workers; approval of the annual budget; and accep-
tance of donations to the Organization [5].
3.4.3. The Ministry of Endowments (National Level)
This Ministry can be regarded as the owner of most of the Isla-
mic monuments in Egypt as the Ministry of State for Antiquities
does not have the right to legal disposal except for only 2% of the
total Islamic monuments, while the Ministry of Endowments con-
trols the rest. The Ministry of Endowments is also specialized in
determining the private property of the buildings and land. It is
also a body that intervenes in the management, uses, and utilities
of Islamic buildings [17].
3.4.4. National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature
The National Council for Culture, Arts, and Literature falls under
the supervision of the Specialized National Councils, which, in turn,
falls under the supervision of the presidency. It works through a set
of committees that collaborate together. Each one of these commit-
tees is specialized in one of the fields covered by the Council. The
Council is composed of the ministers concerned, namely the min-
isters of culture, youth and sports, and education as well as the
well-experienced individuals in the areas covered by the Council.
These individuals include academics, public figures, chairmen of
bodies, committees, and representatives of relevant government
associations, chairmen of relevant unions, and chairmen of the Par-
liament committees whose work relates to the terms of reference
of the Council. The Council spreads cultural and aesthetic aware-
ness, works on improving the various arts, proposes the plans
and mechanisms that achieve the objectives of the Council, and
provides advice and opinion for the decision-makers [5].
 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
3.4.5. National Centre for Documentation of Cultural and Natural
Heritage (CULTNAT)
The Centre was established under the supervision of the Min-
istry of Communications and Information as part of the national
project of technological renaissance in Egypt. It is one of the good
starting points for the electronic documentation of the Egyptian
Cultural Heritage. The centre is also specialized in documenting
all the elements of the Egyptian cultural heritage, in terms of the
different features and its concrete or intangible facts and docu-
mentation of natural heritage elements. It is also specialized in
the application of the national plan for implementing the docu-
mentation and registry program using the latest available informa-
tion technologies in cooperation with the specialized national and
international organizations. The Centre is additionally specialized
in building awareness of the Egyptian heritage among members
of the local community, whether through media or other means,
and training experts and those interested in the preservation and
documentation of cultural and natural heritage [7].
Some committees were established for the purpose of conserva-
tion. These committees, such as the Ministerial Committee for
Studying the Development of Historical Cairo, have stopped work-
ing now. This Ministerial Committee was in charge of supervising
the implementation of the development of Historical Cairo. How-
ever, most of the committees involved with conservation are not
independent. They fall under the supervision of the Minister of Cul-
ture, the Supreme Council for Culture, or the Prime Minister, which
reduces their independence and affects their performance [5].
Some NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) for conserva-
tion also existed, such as the Urban Development Association in
Cairo, Al-’Asheerah Al-Muhammadiyah Association, Assalah Asso-
ciation for Heritage Conservation, and Al-Ghoury Artists Associa-
tion [5]. There are also some virtual organization like professors
of architecture and planning Egypt, Egyptian council of architec-
ture EAC. They compose virtual groups of university PhD holders
and professors which discuss and try to solve heritage and urban
problems. However, the biggest shortcomings of these associations
are that they were not democratic in terms of planning, they lacked
the supervision of a community partnership, and they lacked coor-
dination among them, since there was no definite body that orga-
nized the works of these associations or determined the tasks and
functions of each one [11].
3.5. A Review of the current situation of the heritage conservation
management in Egypt
The administrative mechanism of the non-democratic system of
heritage conservation in Egypt indicates that the Ministry of State
for Antiquities is primarily responsible for the policies and strate-
gies related to the valuable areas. This is in terms of issuing the
decisions concerning these areas, identifying these areas, identify-
ing the work priorities in these areas, assigning the General
Authority for Urban Planning or the consultancy offices the task
of putting forward the development plans for these areas under
its supervision, funding these plans and projects, assigning con-
tractors to carry out these plans, managing, monitoring, following
up, and continuously maintaining the sites of these areas [18].
The Ministry involved in one of the following areas must coor-
dinate with other ministries with regard to these issues. In the
event of any interference by the ministries concerned with these
areas, which may include lands or properties, the ministries
involved are the Ministry of Endowments or ministries that care
about the need to preserve these places in order to add sources
of income to the state, such as the Ministry of Tourism. The min-
istries must also coordinate if certain areas are their joint focus,
such as the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Environment.
If the areas in question are part of the urban construction, the min-
Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
5
istry involved is the Ministry of Housing and Urban Communities.
If these areas require development in the transport and communi-
cations system, they fall under the supervision of the Ministry of
Transport and Communications [4].
Dealing with these overlapping and sensitive details calls for a
careful and scientific perception [9]. In fact, dividing these respon-
sibilities among many bodies must be leading to institutional con-
fusion and an inability to combine all the efforts to perform the
needed work. (see Table 1) There is a one possible solution to that
problem. The solution is to issue one piece of legislation that estab-
lishes one body with supreme authorities over all the other bodies.
This body could, for example, be named ‘The Development of His-
toric Areas Authority’. Such legislation will avoid the overlap of
authorities, and will divide the costs and benefits among the vari-
ous parties [19] (see Fig. 1).
4. The proposed democratic heritage conservation management
in Egypt
The freedom to express and participate in cultural practices and
to communicate and spread cultural traditions, knowledge, and
practices is an attribute of a functional democracy. Without the free-
dom to practice and express one’s culture, there can be no true
democracy [20]. Democracy extols the virtues of freedom to beliefs,
knowledge, and expression, and the right to information. Democracy
also presupposes the existence of opportunity of access to informa-
tion as well as free and lively media. Thus, the media, whether writ-
ten or audio-visual, has to be in a position to spread culture to all
categories of the population and, along these lines, contribute effec-
tively to the procedures of democracy. The media should guarantee
that culture does not remain a benefit of the elite [20].
Based on the above concept of democracy and review of the
problems of heritage conservation management system in Egypt,
the government might advance and promote the democratization
of all institutions in a manner that engenders cultural harmony
and tolerance [4]. This research has identified an alternative her-
itage conservation management system for Egypt that requires
the following key changes to the current institutional structures.
It has to be restructured to three interrelated and independent
levels at the same time. The ‘‘Heritage Conservation Management
Levels” are: (a) the Policies and Strategies Level; (b) the Planning
and Implementation Level; and (c) the Site Management Level.
The Ministry might bring together all the parties concerned
with the valuable areas to take over all tasks and activities, includ-
ing the development of public policies and strategies for the con-
servation for each area. This will be handled by a higher
committee in the first level of the senior management. This Higher
Committee will participate with the Ministry, the local administra-
tions for the valuable areas, and the investors in providing funding,
or the associations, organizations, and NGOs which drive public
participation, or even participate with the local community and
the organizational structure that represents a partnership with
these parties for each conservation area.
There is still a need for a supervisory department to follow up
on and control all tasks mentioned above. Regarding the third level
of management, it will be partnerships that include the above-
mentioned partnership structure with specialized companies.
These partnerships are in the field of conservation, urban manage-
ment of these areas in the long term, on-going maintenance, and
control of the investment operations [4].
The Ministry of State for Antiquities shall take the decisions
within its own discretion in relation to the projects within valuable
areas. It shall have its financial resources and will enjoy the freedom
of accepting aid from local or international official organizations;
such as the support of international experts in construction manage-
ment, conservation, restoration, maintenance, and developing public
utilities [20].
6 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx

Fig. 1. The current heritage conservation management in Egypt. Source: The Author.

Through this process, the Ministry of State for Antiquities could
be restructured in terms of its organizational structure, its legal
requirements, or its financial resources, instead of establishing a
new body altogether. Following is a review of the management
levels (see Fig. 2):
4.1. Policies and strategies: the supreme committee for heritage
management
The government can make appropriate legislation to encourage
the key actors dealing with culture. The key actors work together

Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx 7

Fig. 2. The proposed democratic heritage conservation management in Egypt. Source: The Author.

Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
8 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
in ensuring the successful implementation of the Culture and Her-
itage Policy. This Committee can be formed as per the following
organizational structure:
 The Chairman of the Committee shall be the Prime Minister
who reports directly to the President;
 the ministers concerned with the conservation areas who inter-
vene directly in the process of developing policies and strategies
for the conservation areas, namely the Ministers of Culture,
Tourism, Environment, Endowments, Transport, Communica-
tions and Information Technology, and Education;
 the governors of the provinces which include areas that must be
preserved;
 the chairmen of the private enterprises concerned with apply-
ing the idea of conservation; headed by the Ministry of State
for Antiquities; and
 Members with considerable experience in the field of conserva-
tion who must be chosen from the Egyptian faculty members,
namely the chairmen of the restoration of monuments projects,
chairmen of municipalities, development, and recycling, chair-
men of the rehabilitation projects, chairmen of the projects for
upgrading the community, and the Technical Secretariat which
is responsible for holding various meetings as well as communi-
cating with the ministers, chairmen, and members of the con-
servation projects based on the guidance of the Chairman of
the Committee.
This structure will achieve the highest level of coordination and
cooperation among all the relevant ministries. In addition, the
decisions of this Committee shall spread easily within the govern-
mental system.
The Committee shall approve all the policies and strategies con-
cerning the different kinds of valuable areas, whether these poli-
cies are touristic, cultural, environmental, or educational. It shall
determine the geographical borders of the conservation areas
through defining their borders and registering them as areas that
must be protected, issuing conservation decisions for each area,
and developing all the policies and strategies for all the conserva-
tion areas in the country which aim to maintain the general char-
acter of each area. The Committee shall also develop the policies
and strategies of funding, investment, and management that are
necessary to attract national and international support [11].
4.2. Planning, execution, and application
A legal authority can be formed to manage the conservation.
This could be conducted through restructuring of the Ministry of
State for Antiquities and renaming it as the Egyptian Authority
for Conservation Management to cover all the scopes of value on
the national level, not just for the antiques and historic areas only.
It shall be issued by a presidential decree to restructure and
rename it. The Authority could be directly under the supervision
of the President or at least the Prime Minister. The general objec-
tive of this Authority is to conserve, protect, and develop all scopes
of value of different types and manage the conservation through
developing plans.
An authority following the below organizational structure
should be formed: Chairman of the Authority; the Minister of State
for Antiquities, representatives of the member-ministries; heads of
the main departments which are receiving instructions and direc-
tions on vertical and horizontal levels. The authority could receive
the vertical instructions (strategic directions) from the ministries’
representatives affiliated with and specialized in specific direc-
tions, while the horizontal instructions (technical directions) could
be from the heads of the specialized projects in any conservation
projects, so that all the administrative and political points are
Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
covered vertically and all the technical points are covered
horizontally.
The authority departments shall be as follows: Cultural devel-
opment and building management; management of tourism devel-
opment; management of environmental development; department
of antiquities, endowments, public relations and media; manage-
ment of public utilities and services; management of research
and documentation; management training and guidance
management of popular participation; and a special management
of the financial and legal affairs, which directly follows the presi-
dent of the authority that controls all the financial and legal affairs
[21].
The authority in cooperation with the CULTNAT should con-
tinue the preparation of a comprehensive database for all areas,
its buildings, and valuable palaces through information technol-
ogy, such as the registration via computer, Internet, or GIS. The
authority should also be involved in the adoption and expression
of opinion on the laws and regulations that contribute to the
preservation of such scope projects. The authority is primarily
responsible for the reception and distribution of available capital
through the legal and financial management, and is the key
assistant in attracting expertise and skills available on both
national and international levels. Finally, it should provide train-
ing and guidance to all leaders and employees in order to equip
them with new skills and to develop technical and managerial
skills [21].
The legal requirements for forming such authority include the
necessity of having the authority fall under the supervision of the
president of the republic directly, or at least under that of the
prime minister. This can also ensure political support and make
the authority’s decision binding to all concerned parties. It could
include in its management all the conservation areas in the repub-
lic. The funding could be independent from the budget of the gov-
ernment [22]. The legal basis for such independence lies in law no.
27 of 1981 in paragraph no. 118 which stipulates that ‘The admin-
istrative units may, after the consent of the minister of finance, cre-
ate a special account in the Central Bank or another bank for the
grants, support, denotations or any financial contributions’; so,
such account will not be part of the state budget.
The finance authority resources are the provisions allocated by
the state in its general budget to achieve the objectives of the
authority. The aid, donations, and grants to the authority should
be accepted, as well as loans to be held in its favour, proceeds from
the sale of publications, pictures, and artistic performances in valu-
able areas, tourist visits’ fees to the sites of value, in addition to the
museums available in the state, and the yield from the investment
of funds [23].
The conservation project management model: A partnership
model could be conducted for each registered conservation area
among the public sector represented in the Egyptian Authority
for Conservation Management, the representatives of the local
administration of each region, the people/community sector repre-
sented by members of the local community or their representa-
tives from associations or community leaders, non-governmental
organizations, and, finally, the private/investment sector repre-
sented by organizations and companies involved in operations of
conservation either from within or outside Egypt [22].
This structure aims at developing the conservation of this
region schemes in light of the strategies set by the High Commit-
tee, in addition to the policies of this area developed by the author-
ity. It also aims at developing ways to finance these schemes, both
in the before design or after, or even in the implementation phase
of the scheme. Finally, this structure is primarily responsible for
the various implementations of the schemes in place to conserve
this area. The implementation of these works shall be assigned to
contractors [24].
 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
4.3. Site management
After developing and implementing the conservation plan for
any valuable area, a system for on-going conservation must be
developed so as to avoid the deterioration of the site in the
future [25]. It is important to note that there is a possibility to
use the same system, which is called ‘‘Site Management”, for
any valuable area in a stable condition for which there is no
developmental plan. Site Management is the third level of the
proposed administrative mechanism, which should be imple-
mented locally, but with central monitoring by the Egyptian
Authority, or a semi-centralized monitoring by the above-
mentioned joint structure. At this level, a partnership, or more,
will be established [26].
This Partnership will have the following tasks:
 Determining the main objectives of sites’ management. The
partnership’s administration may study the ideal ways for
reducing the impact of tourists and visitors on the conserva-
tion areas, monuments, or valuable buildings. It could be
responsible for the development of an effective and integrated
system for securing and guarding the movable monuments
against theft;
 Developing an integrated program for on-going maintenance,
such as on-going removal of wastes and the providing of
required safety standards. Restoration operations must be car-
ried out to prevent the deterioration of the site [26];
 Developing a program for touristic visits to the area, controlling
the number of visitors and directing them, and organizing the
tourist’s visits and activities in order to prevent and reduce
the damage that may affect these sites. The visits’ program must
also contain the financial returns from visitors through the sale
of books, posters, maps, and the entry fee [26];
 Preparing a program for continuous guidance to individuals and
the population and teaching them how to maintain all the ele-
ments of the site. This is necessary for gaining public support for
the exerted conservation efforts and encouraging the individu-
als to participate in these efforts; and
 Developing a program for training all the administrative staff in
the Partnership so as to create a distinguished group of site
managers and those who perform the restoration and conserva-
tion works [25].
5. Methods of implementation: the validation of the proposed
model
Like any other executable management model, the proposed
model needs to coordinate essential logical undertakings with offi-
cial measures to understand its objectives. There are various rules
with respect to how this integration (between scientific research
and executive procedures) could be achieved. The creation of a
high quality research body of various specializations is essential.
Adaptable and focused interdisciplinary teams responsive to the
proposed model needs can be maintained and advanced for the
proliferation of huge and complex research projects. The proposed
model tries to build up appropriate channels of communication
between the research body and decision-makers. This model is a
national management model that needs governmental endorse-
ment in order to maximize the strategic output and keep up the
pioneer positioning in international competitiveness. This model
needs governmental support to be implemented successfully. Deci-
sion makers must adopt the idea of restructuring some ministries
to achieve the objectives of this model. Also, independent entities
should be established to directly lead the decision making process
without any administrative obstacles.
Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
9
6. Conclusions and recommendations
In Egypt, the non-democratic system of heritage sites conserva-
tion shows the importance of the Ministry of State for Antiquities.
It is the only entity responsible for the policies and strategies that
control valuable areas in terms of:
 Issuing decisions concerning these areas;
 Identifying and prioritizing them;
 Assigning the general authority for urban planning or advisory
offices to develop plans for such areas under its supervision;
 Funding these schemes and projects through the state’s
resources and from its own budget;
 Assigning contractors to implement these schemes; and
 Following up, doing on-going maintenance developing conser-
vation programs, and managing any interference from the min-
istries concerned with these areas.
The government could promote the democratization of all insti-
tutions. The proposed democratic administrative mechanism
depends on restructuring the Ministry of State for Antiquities to
work on three levels. These levels are policies & strategies, applica-
tion, planning, & implementation, and, finally, site management.
The Ministry will assemble all concerned parties of the valuable
areas. All conservation management functions, activities, policies,
and general strategies of conservation will be assigned by a high
committee on the first level. The committee shall be called the
higher management.
The heritage conservation management involves a wide range
of actors, such as governmental organizations, non-governmental
organizations, and private interests. However, the government’s
associations must act as supreme managers. To perform this sus-
tainable and democratic duty, the state must set up the right
strategies. They are balanced between development and conserva-
tion to induce, arrange, and execute the essential protection activ-
ities, and to protect these activities against the interests of people.
Achieving a partnership among the Ministry, local administra-
tions, investors, and non-governmental organizations to each con-
servation area is very necessary. It involves many tasks, such as
developing programs, funding, implementing projects [22]. This
will be assigned on the second level. It shall be called the medium
management.
As for the third level which includes the sub-management, the
Ministry will form a special partnership with each heritage site. It
includes specialized partnerships in the field of conservation and
construction. They will manage these areas in the long term, main-
tain the on-going management, and control the investment opera-
tions to be continuously conserved.
The missions/activities could be explained, whether on the
technical, financial, training or control levels, and suggested by
the researcher and conducted by the parties joining the adminis-
trative process as an aggregate matrix, and, through it, the ele-
ments of partnership, roles, and tasks for each conservation
territory in other future researches can be defined.
References
[1] Abdul-Baky Ibrahim. Idarat al-irtiqa’ bi-l-qahera al-tarikhiyya [management of
the up-grading of the historic Cairo.]. Paper presented at the 9th conference for
the Egyptian architects union: architectural heritage and urban development,
18–19 April, 1999. Cairo, Egypt: Society of Egyptian architects; 1999.
[2] UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization). Urban regeneration project for historic Cairo (URHC): report
about works from July 2012 to November 2014 (Report No. 1). Cairo: Egypt;
2014. Retrieved from: <whc.unesco.org/document/120190> [access date 5/8/
2018].
10 K.A.-A. Osman / Ain Shams Engineering Journal xxx (2018) xxx–xxx
[3] Nairy Hampikian. Challenges facing conservation projects in historical Cairo.
Paper presented at the 9th Conference for the Egyptian Architects
Union. Cairo: Architectural Heritage and Planning Development; 1999. April.
[4] ElGamal Mohammed-Anis. Understanding the gap between heritage
conservation and local development in Egypt: Towards an integrated
strategic model for Pompey’s pillar and the Catacombs area in Alexandria
[M.Sc. diss.]. Egypt: Ain Shams University and University of Stuttgart; 2014.
Retrieved from: <https://iusd.asu.edu.eg/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/
2ndInt_Aniss1.pdf> [access date 5/8/2018].
[5] Youssry Mahmoud et al. Al-Talawwuth al-mar’I bi-l-qahera al-kubra: Dirasat
halat daffatai nahr an-nil [Visual Pollution in Greater Cairo, The Case of the Nile
Front, ASRT]. Egypt: Housing and Building Research Centre (HBRC); 2003.
[6] UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization). A new international instrument: the proposed UNESCO
recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL). Report to the
Intergovernmental Committee of Experts, UNESCO; 2011. Retrieved from:
<http://landscapes.icomos.org/images/members/UNESCO_Recommendation_
on_the_Historic_Urban_Landscape_Nov_2011.pdf> [access date 5/8/2018].
[7] CULTNAT, (National Centre for Documentation of Cultural & Natural Heritage).
Strategic Approach to Egypt’s Cultural Heritage: final report,
[Microform].. Cairo: Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology, National Centre for Documentation of Cultural &Natural
Heritage; 2001.
[8] Urban Heritage Activism in Egypt. Tadamun; n.d. Retrieved from: <http://
www.tadamun.co/?post_type=initiative&p=9149&lang=en&lang=en#.
W13IZNIzZdg> [access date 5/8/2018].
[9] Bandarin Francesco. A new international instrument: the proposed UNESCO
recommendation for the conservation of historic urban landscapes.
Informationen zur Raumentwicklung Heft 2011;3/4:179–82. Retrieved from:
<http://www.bbsr.bund.de/BBSR/EN/Publications/IzR/2011/%20Download/
DL_Bandarin.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2> [access date 5/8/2018].
[10] El-Rashidi Seif. Urban conservation in historic Cairo: An analysis of challenges
and opportunities, and lessons learned from urban conservation in historic
Cairo and the UK. Cairo: UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC); 2012.
Retrieved from: <http://www.urhcproject.org/Content/studies/7_
rashidi_management.pdf> [accessed 5/8/2018].
[11] Abdul-Aziz Khaled. Enhancing conservation management: a model for
management, finance and implementation of conservation projects PhD
diss.. Egypt: University of Cairo; 2004.
[12] Zhou Jian (Ed.), Asia-Pacific region training course on historic urban landscape.
Shanghai: China Tongji University; 2015. Retrieved from: <http://www.
historicurbanlandscape.com/themes/196/userfiles/download/2015/12/29/
g1vk9dg6vuggu01.pdf> [access date 5/8/2018].
[13] Law No. ‘43’ (1979). Qanun nizam al-idara al-mahalliyya [The Local
Administrative System in Egypt]. The General Authority for Al-Amiria
Printing House; 1998.
[14] Law No. ‘117’ (1989). Isdar qanun himayat al-athar wa-inshaa’ hay’at al-athar
al-misriyya tibqan li-ahdath al-ta’dilat [The Enactment of the Protection of
Monuments and the Creation of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority]. 3rd
ed. The General Authority for Al-Amiria Printing House; 1996.
[15] Law No. ‘144’. Al-La’eha al-tanfithiyya le-l-qanoun bi sha’n tantheem hadm al-
mabany wa-l-monsha’at ghayr al-‘aiylah le-l-sekout wal hefaz ‘ala-l-turath al-
me’mary [The Executive By-law for the Law Regulating the Demolition of Non
Falling Establishments and Buildings and the Preservation of Architectural
Heritage]. The General Authority for Al-Amiria Printing House; 2006.
[16] Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA); n.d. Retrieved from: <http://www.sca-
egypt.org/eng/main.htm> [access date 5/8/2018].
Please cite this article in press as: Osman K-AA. Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Eng J (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
asej.2018.10.002
[17] Rabat Nasser, Madbouly Mustafa, El-Sheikh Tarek. Al-Tarmeem fi-l-qahera al-
Islamiyya: Kayf, lematha wa-leman [Restoration in Islamic Cairo: How and
why and for whom?]Al-Tarmeem fi-l-qahera al-Islamiyya: Kayf, lematha wa-
leman [Restoration in Islamic Cairo: How and why and for whom?]. Training
course: Developing effective mechanisms for managing the maintenance and
rehabilitation of valuable areas. Netherlands & Cairo: Housing and Building
research Centre in cooperation with the Centre for housing studies (UTI);
2001.
[18] Keyrouz Bachir. Arabic conservation methodologies. European Scientific
Journal 2014;2(e):380–8. Retrieved from: <http://eujournal.org/index.php/
esj/article/viewFile/3732/3585> [access date 5/8/2018].
[19] Serageldin Ismail. Revive the historical cities. Giza: Akhbar Al-Youm Printing
House; 2002.
[20] Ministry of State for National Heritage and Culture. National policy on culture
and heritage. Nairobi: The Government Printer; 2009.
[21] UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization). New life for historic cities: the historic urban landscape
approach explained (HUL); 2013. Retrieved from: <http://whc.unesco.org/en/
activities/727/> [access date 5/8/2018].
[22] Fu Chao-Ching. Conserving historic urban landscape for the future generation
– beyond old streets preservation and cultural districts conservation in
Taiwan. Int J of Social Science and Humanity 2016:382–6. doi:10.7763/
IJSSH.2016.V6.676. Retrieved from: <http://www.ijssh.org/vol6/676-CH399.
pdf> [access date 5/8/2018].
[23] Serageldin Ismail, Brown Martin, editors. Culture in sustainable development:
investing in cultural & natural endowments. Washington: Conference
sponsored by The World Bank & the UNESCO, The international bank for
reconstruction & development/the World Bank; 1999.
[24] Stolton S, Dudley N, editors. Partnerships for protection: new strategies for
planning & management for protected areas. London, UK: Earth scan
Publications Ltd.; 1999.
[25] Serageldin Mona. Al-Takhtit wa-l-agghezah al-tanfetheyah le -l-tanmeyah al-
hadareyah, [Planning and Executive Bodies of Urban Development], Agha Khan
Award in Architecture, Challenges of Urbanization Expansion – Cairo. Agha
Khan Awards; 1986.
[26] Abulnour Adham. Protecting the Egyptian monuments Fundamentals of
proficiency. Alexand Eng J 2013;52:779–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.
2013.09.003. Retrieved from: <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2013.09.003>
[access date 5/8/2018].
Khaled Abdul-Aziz Osman obtained his BSc in Archi-
tecture in 1995 from Cairo University, Egypt. In 1999, he
holds his MScD in Urban Design. In 2004, he holds his
PhD in Urban Design (Urban Conservation) from the
same university he graduated from. Since then, he acted
as lecturer in Cairo University (Fauoum branch) and
then associate professor at Misr International University
(MIU) teaching and supervising multidisciplinary topics.
He has published numerous papers. He is a member of
Quality Assurance Unit in the faculty of engineering,
Misr International University (MIU). He can be reached
by e-mail at: Khaled.abdelaziz@miuegypt.edu.eg.