January 2023 – ongoing; funded by The British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The aim of this project is threefold: 

• Salvage interventions to save the Mamluk dome of Safiyy al-Din Jawhar and the Fatimid shrine of Yahya al-Shabih. The former is located in al-Khalifa Street and the latter in al-Imam al-Shaf’i’i cemetery. Both buildings are at risk from climate change and repairs cover common types of climate-change related damage to masonry structures in Egypt 
• Production of a conservation manual detailing conservation techniques for the most common types of climate change related damage to historic buildings. This is linked to onsite, offsite and online training to improve capacities in Egypt to protect heritage from climate change.  
• Urban improvement, community education on heritage and climate change around the two sites, with a focus of salvaging and using groundwater extracted from around the two sites for the benefit of the community.  

Yahya al-Shabih Shrine is one of a cluster of Fatimid shrines all dedicated to the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. Yahya al-Shabih was called ‘the lookalike’ due to his resemblance to the prophet. Conservation work in Yahya al-Shabih Shrine focuses on structural repairs to masonry foundations and superstructures, roof repairs and dampproofing, ventilation and drainage, and conservation of wood, marble and stucco decorative elements. 

Safiyy al-Din Jawhar Dome is known for the unusual carved stucco windows cutting through the walls of its rick dome. Conservation work in Safiyy al-Din Jawhar Dome focuses on dewatering, masonry repairs, and conservation of wood, stucco and stone decorative elements. 

The climate change action component in this project is the culmination of a growing linkage in the work of Athar Lina between heritage and the environment. The manual is the first of its kind and is a set of instructional videos with a companion online publication. In addition to offering onsite training, further training is offered in cities at the frontline of Climate Change action on the Egyptian coast and in Upper Egypt. Community work connects the community to its heritage through direct benefit from site upgrade, signage and greening and through educational outreach activities teaching all about heritage and climate change.

This project is carried out under the supervision of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities with funding from the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which supports projects which protect cultural heritage at risk due to conflict or climate change, mainly in the Middle East and parts of North and East Africa.