2023 - Documenting Historic Buildings in Girga
This project worked to establish what needed to be done to safeguard the historic buildings of Girga in Egypt. Girga was an important site in the medieval period; when the Sinai became too dangerous due to Crusaders, new pilgrimage roads to Hijaz appeared, and many intersected in Girga. Its importance remained throughout the Ottoman period, when its governor was considered the governor of all Upper Egypt. But important as people may have considered it, the Nile showed less reverence. The city was destroyed and rebuilt many times due to floods. Many important mosques have completely disappeared due to the floods, and others have been damaged. It has a rich architectural history, but this has suffered from neglect in the last few decades since the city has declined.
This project was an emergency to help save the remaining historic buildings of this remarkable city. The team of art historians surveyed the whole of Historic Girga by ground, searching for any remaining historic buildings and taking updates on any that were already known, carefully mapping out the area. The team of conservators then took this acquired information and visited each building to assess the state of conservation. With all this information gathered, they produced a final report in both Arabic and English for the action that needed to be taken with clear prioritisations.
To aid the local community, the team also trained two young art historians based in Girga in the field of documentation and conservation, allowing them to gain first-hand experience through the project.
