Visitors to Cairo's old quarter can look in any direction and see a derelict building, an empty plot of land or a mound of debris.
These would be the remains of homes – some more than 200 years old – in the medieval or Islamic quarter of Egypt's capital.
Now, they are eyesores that contrast with the majestic Mamluk and Ottoman-era monuments dotting the area, which is also home to the 1,000-year-old Al Azhar mosque – the world's primary seat of Sunni Islamic learning – and the fabled Khan El Khalili bazaar.
“Those houses once provided the urban or human fabric complementing the palatial homes, majestic mosques and ornate schools,” says Omniya Abdel Barr, a Belgian and French-educated historian, architect and conservationist who has made the preservation and revival of old Cairo her chief mission for more than a decade.
“These homes are now old and derelict and collapsing at a fast pace. They are 100, 200 and 300 years old, but no one knows what to do with them. They once served as the buffer zone around the monuments, but they have zero protection.
“When they are demolished, we are left with empty plots. The best that can happen to them is they are turned into parking lots. There's no new construction allowed in the old city.”
Any attempt by private investors to restore an old house faces an array of difficulties, including the mystery that surrounds their legal ownership and the squatting artisans who use the spaces as workshops.
The government has no funds to restore them because they are not listed as monuments or heritage sites, Dr Abdel Barr told The National as she strolled along the area's road, amid the almost constant noise of tuk-tuks.
What should, in theory, be an open-air museum of Mamluk and Ottoman architecture dating back to the 13th century and beyond, is really a noisy, overcrowded district buzzing with chaotic commercial and industrial activity, where the air is filled with exhaust fumes.
This commercial activity is not entirely obvious to those who are not looking for it.
The old houses that seem about to collapse host small manufacturing businesses, such as shoemakers or woodworkers, that testify to the entrepreneurial spirit of the area's residents.
“I have a vocation but I don't have resources,” says Ahmed Hassan, who makes men's summer footwear in two rooms inside one of the larger houses.
“I have been working here for 37 years, but I am financially crushed by the retailers who buy my product,” he adds, holding up a pair of blue summer shoes.
“They buy these for 170 pounds [$3.20] and sell them for 800 or more.”
The possibility of being evicted is a constant source of worry, Mr Hassan adds.
Essam Ali, who runs a fabric business in El Khayamiyah – part of the Darb Al Ahmar district where the monuments are located – is better off than Mr Al Hassan, but believes things could be a lot better.
He complains that he and others who make pillowcases and duvet covers embroidered with Islamic motifs are left out of the itinerary selected by tour companies for their foreign clients.
“The few tourists we get here are the ones who are running away from the harassment of the street hawkers in Khan El Khalili,” says Mr Ali. “They are mostly seasoned travellers who have heard about the tentmakers, as we are widely known.”
“We want to protect and improve the area but we don't want the people to leave. People are the essence of the place,” Dr Abdel Barr says.
The squatters, whether living in abandoned old residences or working there, are hoping that if they hang on long enough, the government will eventually find them alternative spaces with suitable amenities.
But accomplishing Dr Abdel Barr's vision will not be easy.
The chaos and lawlessness that followed Egypt's 2011 uprising afforded landlords in the area an opportunity to breach building codes by adding three or four more floors to apartment buildings.
“The last 10 years have been miserable for this area,” Dr Abdel Barr says. “You still see old homes standing, but they will collapse one day soon if nothing is done to protect them. Without them, the area's grand monuments will be like islands contrasted against unpleasing structures that don't fit.
“We are trying to restore and revive the area, not for the visitors who come, take a look and leave. We don't have pyramids here. We are trying to do this for the area's residents to enjoy life in their own neighbourhood, and secondly to be beneficial for visitors.”
