Egyptians Take to Social Media to Express Anger Over Demolition of Cairo Cemetery and Heritage Sites
Images of half-demolished tombs have been circulating on Facebook all morning with people expressing their fury at the destruction of Egypt’s heritage, as well as of people’s graves, to build the new Al-Firdous axis. The path for the new axis is set to begin from Taki Square in Al-Waili, passing through Al-Firdous Square and Al-Ghafir Cemeteries, reaching Al-Tayaran Street. A field visit was reportedly conducted to identify the obstacles to the path of the new axis.
People explained that these tombs are registered as World Heritage sites and should be protected, some even questioned whether archaeological sites such as the dome of Abu Sa’id Qansuh would also be destroyed.
The City of the Dead, also known as Al-Qarafa Cairo Necropolis, is the oldest Muslim cemetery in Egypt, with many tombs belonging to Mamluk leaders and important figures, as well as Egypt’s civilian population.
Hours after the pictures had made their way onto our social media feeds, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities responded in a statement on their Facebook page clarifying that no heritage sites have been demolished, and that the images that have gone viral are modern tombs and not those listed as Islamic and Coptic heritage.
