Egypt to build 'Cemetery of the Immortals' for remains transferred from City of the Dead

Government has faced criticism over the demolition of tombs of prominent Egyptians to make way for infrastructure projects

A tomb in the northern part of the City of the Dead necropolis in Cairo. Dana Smillie for The National

Following repeated outcries from the public over the removal of the tombs of renowned Egyptians from Cairo’s old Islamic quarter to make way for state development projects, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced on Monday that a new cemetery would be built to house the remains of “Egypt’s symbols and greats”.

The new cemetery will be named the “Cemetery of the Immortals” and will include a museum to highlight the achievements of those buried within, according to a statement from the presidency’s spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.

The location of the cemetery is yet to be announced. However, satellite cities such as 10th of Ramadan and 15th of May are the most likely options given that several families have already moved the remains of their loved ones to newly built cemeteries in both cities at the government’s behest.

Mr El Sisi also ordered the setting up of a committee chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to review development plans affecting two of the Islamic quarter’s most prominent cemeteries – Sayeda Nafisa and Al Imam Al Shafie.

Both cemeteries, which are part of the larger Unesco heritage site known as the City of the Dead, house the remains of some of Egypt's most prominent writers, artists, statesmen and aristocrats. The area is also home to a number of Mamluk mausoleums and is where many members of Egypt’s last royal family are buried.

The committee, comprising representatives from the relevant government authorities, archaeologists and state engineering consultants, will have which tombs need to be make way for the development project and which ones can be spared. Their decision is expected to be announced by July 1.

More than 2,700 tombs in the City of the Dead's southern half, which historically was were the common people were buried, are scheduled for removal to make way for developments, an official at Cairo’s municipal government told The National.

The families of those buried there have been told that their tombs will demolished unless they move them elsewhere at their own cost.

The building of a road network to relieve congestion in Cairo Islamic quarter has been under way since 2018, when a number of families with relatives buried in the area were asked to move their remains elsewhere to make way for the Jehan Sadat corridor.

Over the past year, the government has come under fire for approving the demolition of the tombs of renowned authors Taha Hussein and Yahya Haqqi, among many others.

Haqqi's daughter said last month that she had moved the writer's remains to a new cemetery in the nearby 10th of Ramadan city after his tomb in Sayeda Nafisa was marked with a red “x”, a sign used by municipal authorities to tell demolition teams which tombs should be removed.

Taha Hussein's tomb was similarly marked for demolition last year but was spared following a particularly vocal wave of outrage on Egyptian social media channels.

Hussein’s granddaughter Maha Aon told The National on Tuesday that the tomb, which sustained significant damage because of construction work around it, was recently renovated by the government.

“They fixed the walls, painted, installed new steps. Almost a complete rehaul,” Ms Aon said.

Ironically, a construction team in Sayeda Nafisa unearthed the remains of a Mamluk well earlier this week, which they happened upon by accident while bulldozing a mound of earth near the area’s main square.

Found inside the well was a pharaonic cartouche made of quartzite stone, a Mamluk construction custom.