The Restoration and Conservation of Islamic Monuments in Egypt Edited by Jere L. Bacharach. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 1995, ix + 194 pp.

Abstract

This book is about the care of the Islamic architectural heritage in
Egypt. The book's salient ideas amount to an argwnent for the necessity of
care based on the implied quality of significance attached to monwnents
and urban districts as material testimonies to the country's history and culture
through successive Islamic periods. The argument is supported by a
series of papers dealing with the causes of physical deterioration of these
testimonies and the strategies and procedures for preserving them.
That existing buildings endure deterioration in their structural and
material integrity over time poses no question. Familiar climatic elements,
such as temperature and humidity, as well as normal use, dictate an incessant
rate of deterioration. But eminent dangers, especially for historic buildings,
stem from the oppressive acts of humans and nature. Widespread
industry, population growth, land development, and wars all contribute to
hwnan-generated building threat and deterioration; floods, hurricanes, and
earthquakes, on the other hand, spearhead a gamut of natural forces of
building deterioration.
Relishing the value of architectural heritage and recognizing the need
for its protection have prompted many nations to develop plans and programs
of protection. To clarify issues crucial to protection efforts, debate
intensified, particularly in Western Europe and the United States, since
the early years of the twentieth century. These issues revolved around
such sweeping questions as why (rationale), what (scope), and how
(means and methods) to protect historic buildings. The "why" debate resolutions
shaped the philosophy of preservation, and such a philosophy
shaped, in tum and at least in principle, the answers for the "what" and
"how" questions.
Architectural heritage protection endeavors entered the international
arena during the 1960s. Worldly conventions, charters, and organizations
came into existence in order to foster cooperation between world members
in the area of preservation. This situation presented opportunities, often for
the first time, for developing countries to initiate or strengthen preservation
efforts at home. These opportunities were enhanced through programs of
international bodies, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council on
Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). However, opportunities to strengthen ...