THE IN-FORMALIZATION OF HERITAGE The Ottoman Town, Alexandria, Egypt Yasser Aref Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty

of Engineering, Menofeya University, Egypt The Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt e-mail: yasser.aref@bibalex.org, yaref@hotmail.com

Summary
Alexandria is facing a severe housing problem. It is estimated that about 40% of the population of the city is living in informal housing. This is equal to approximately 1,363,800 persons. The phenomena started in the 1960s, increased in the 1970s and flourished in the 1980s. These informal districts were built on the outskirts of city without legal authorization and in the absence of building permission. Moreover, informality was not only in the fringes of the city but it was also witnessed in the old historic districts of the city where heritage was disgraced and dishonored and the historic urban fabric was disfigured. This situation of informality caused many problems to these districts such as an overloaded infrastructure, deterioration of the built environment, urban poverty, as well as social and economic problems. With this situation, heritage is at grave risk. The Ottoman Town, which dates back to the 17th century, represents a distinctive native style of architecture. With its narrow and winding alleys and low rise dense built-forms, unique buildings typologies such as hammams and wekalas, the Ottoman Town is a unique urban feature of the city. Within the previous framework, the following paper aims at studying the current threats, problems and potentials for preservation of the historic districts of Alexandria namely, the Ottoman Town.

"Many consider it, [Alexandria], to be the first city of the civilized world, and it is certainly far ahead of all the rest in elegance, size, riches and luxury." Diodorus of Sicily from his book The Library of History, 1st century BCE.

Introduction
Historic districts comprise an integral part of the city's charm and appeal, and their visual and functional qualities are an important element of the city's image and identity. But as in many parts of the developing world these districts are not always appreciated and valued. This is because they are always seen as a liability rather than an asset.1 Moreover, historic districts are always under threat from the expansion of the city and the pressure of development. With the pretext of modernization, historic districts lose their original features and characteristics. Along with overpopulation, they are the areas with more accumulated problems. They always face densification, crowding and land use problems as well as problems associated with traffic congestion and expired and/or overloaded infrastructure. The Ottoman Town of Alexandria is no exception. It is the oldest part of the city, the district with the highest population density and also many historic and archeological attractions.

Historical Development of the Ottoman Town

Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, Alexandria consisted of a small village called Rakouda on the mainland and at a distance a small island called Pharos Island. Later, the two parts was connected by a bridge called the heptastadiam. Overtime, silt accumulated on both sides of the bridge, eventually, connecting the mainland to the island, creating the Eastern Harbor and the Western Harbor. The two harbors enclose a strip of land between them that became later the Ottoman Town named after the Ottoman Sultan Selim I who conquered Egypt in 1517.2 The Ottoman Town soon grew to occupy the whole of the isthmus north of the medieval city and it became the main center of the city with housing districts for fishermen, mosques, a commercial area and the port. Later by 1820, Mohamed Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, transformed Alexandria by establishing a new European city just to the south of the Ottoman Town. The European city was laid out following the European planning schemes with wide avenues lined with trees, rectangular blocks and grand squares like Mansheya Square making the city appear more like a European town than a traditional Arabic one.3 (Fig. 1).

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Figure 1: Satellite image of the Ottoman Town illustrating major historic attractions

Latent Potential of the Ottoman Town

The Ottoman Town possesses many latent potentials and many urban resources which can,if properly utilized, revitalize the area and provide impetus for its upgrading and renewal. A - Traditional Markets One of the main arterials of the Ottoman Town is Fransa Street. The street has several historic buildings such as mosques, wekalas and hammams. The street is lined with traditional markets. The markets were the principal commercial area of the city during the 18th and 19th centuries. They are composed of very narrow alleyways intersected by broad commercial streets. Today, the markets are organized by commercial corridors which specialize in textiles, spices, embroidery and jewelry. 4 There are varieties of commercial activities in the historical commercial zone. They are geographically divided into a number of commercial corridors each of which is supporting a specific commercial activity. This division helped in conserving the main features of this historical area and supported its ability to adapt to new city developments to some extend and also made them a destination to shoppers from other parts of the city. These activities are extended through a network of movement corridors. 5 (Fig. 2)

Figure 2: A typical shopping street of the Ottoman Town. B - Urban Character and Architectural Style The planning of the Ottoman Town reflects the traditional planning schemes of Arab cities in terms of the dense built form and narrow irregular alleyways and streets. Its narrow streets were made to feel even narrower by overhanging upper storeys, supported by wooden beams, in order to provide shade for pedestrians. On the other hand, the architectural style of the Ottoman Town is a representation of the mix of traditional Islamic architecture and classical influences that are inspired from the nearby European city, forming what is known as the Ottoman style. Buildings have a limited height and are usually 2 or 3 storeys. Roofs are flat and are made of wooden beams that are covered with wooden planks. Narrow openings are screened with shutters that provide privacy and protection against the sun and have exposed wooden lintels. C - Visual Qualities There are few urban open spaces of the Ottoman Town due to its compact planning scheme. Public spaces have a simple irregular geometrical shape which is defined by the surrounding buildings. These buildings are uniform in color, height and materials. Their architectural style implies harmony and unity of the space as well as a sense of enclosure. This simple form with its human scale conveys the feeling of calmness and serenity. The streets pattern starts gradually from main to secondary to the smallest unit which is the alleyway. Minarets act as landmarks guiding pedestrians through the district. Also the specialized markets act as districts with special character that lead pedestrians from one zone to the other and also enforce their feeling of perception and visual and sensual recognition of space.6 D - Historic Monuments

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The Ottoman Town posses several historic monuments that date back to the 17th century. The most important monuments are Terbana and El Shorbagui Mosques. Terbana Mosque was founded by a Moroccan merchant in 1685. The raised mosque with arcades and terraces accommodates several unique architectural elements such as the doorway with its red and black painted "mangur" bricks which exhibits the traditional delta style and the minaret which is elevated on two Corinthian style columns that were recycled from old ruins of the classical city. In addition to this, the Shorbagui Mosque was also built by a North African descendant in 1757. It has a praying area that occupies the upper floor while the ground is used by shops. Shops are rented to generate income that supports the maintenance and upkeep of the mosque. Adjoining the two mosques are two wekalas, namely Wekalat Terbana and Wekalat El Shorbagui. Wekalas are a unique type of building that combine accommodation facilities with a trading place. They consist of 2 or 3 storeys with an inner courtyard. The courtyard is surrounded by shops on the ground floor and accommodation for merchants on the upper floors. Unfortunately, the two wekalas are in a very bad condition and in desperate need of conservation. Hammams, or public baths, are a unique building type. The Ottoman Town used to have many hammams. Today very few remain such as Hammam El Sheikh Ibrahim. This hammam dates back to 1840s and is no longer in use and abandoned and in a deteriorated condition.7 This is besides the existence of many old houses and residential buildings.

Figure 3: El Shorbagui Mosque and the food market E - Social Life and Activities The area of the Ottoman Town is alive and vibrant. This is due to the high population density of the area and the concentration of commercial activities and traditional markets. Added to this, is the existence of the traditional urban characteristics of the district and the concentration of old mosques and shrines of holy sheikhs. All these resources make the area a magnet for residents as well as visitors who are interested and aspire to relive traditions. The area is of special interest during religious events as the holy month of Ramadan and feasts. Street life and everyday practices create a specific spirit and atmosphere to the area. Workshops of traditional handicrafts, local street cafes and seafood outlets, the sounds of the sellers advertising their goods, all create an overall unique experience for visitors. 6|Page

Administrative Framework and Statistics Alexandria Governorate is officially divided into six administrative districts and the satellite city of Borg El Arab. The Ottoman Town is officially under the direction of the El Gommrok district. The area of the district is around 5.24 km2 which represents about 0.228 % of the total area of Alexandria Governorate and a population of about 194,416 persons.8 There are four organizations which are responsible for the maintenance of the buildings and streets of the Ottoman Town. These organizations are: 1- Alexandria Governorate, represented by El Gommrok district, which is responsible for granting building permissions and approval for renewal, modifications and demolishing. 2- The Ministry of Endowments (El Awqaf) which owns many old buildings and mosques. Some of these buildings are registered as historic monuments or buildings with architectural merit identified by law 144/2006, while many others are not listed. The Ministry of Endowments is responsible for the maintenance of these buildings. 3- The Supreme Council of Antiquities which is responsible for the listing and conservation of monuments such as Terbana and El Shorbagui Mosques. 4 - The National Organization of Urban Harmony which is responsible for protection of listed buildings with architectural merit identified by law 144/2006 that are worthy of conservation. Aspects of Informality There many aspects of informality in the historic district of the Ottoman Town. This informality threatens its wealth of old buildings, traditional architecture and domestic planning schemes. These aspects are: 1- The area is not identified as a historic district that must have its own building restrictions and design guidelines. The same building codes which are applied to non historic districts of the city are applied to the Ottoman Town. 2- With the rapid pace of urbanization of the city and the population increase since the 1970s, the Ottoman Town has been invaded by modern structures that have replaced the original buildings, where old and historic houses have been demolished to give space to new structures. The new buildings with their tasteless architectural style, height, color and building materials are in total contrast to the original buildings and they disturb the traditional urban fabric and undermine the architectural quality of the area as well as the whole image of the district. Moreover, the new high-rise buildings undermine the original visual landmarks such as minarets and domes of mosques that used to dominate the skyline of the district and accentuate the relationship between the buildings and the sky, changing the skyline of the area. (Fig. 4)

Figure 4: The intrusion of high-rise buildings with conventional architectural style alongside traditional houses. 3- As a result of the high-rise buildings and the increasing immigration from rural areas to the city, the Ottoman Town is densely populated. This has resulted in overloading the infrastructure, the shortage of public services, and the rise of social problems such as poverty and unemployment. 4- Streets have deteriorated and are occupied by illegal street merchants. Moreover, shops and workshops extend their working space to the pavement irritating pedestrians and forcing them to squash into the narrow streets. 5- The lack of maintenance and regular upkeep has caused informalization of the historicity of old buildings. In addition to this, more floors have been added to existing buildings that are visually, aesthetically and structurally incompatible. 6- The misuse of historic buildings such as Wekalat Terbana and Wekalat El Shorbagui which are occupied by workshops that abuse the buildings and devalue their architectural merits, causes deterioration and threatens the integrity of the structure system of the building and the destruction of its historic fabric. 7 - The informalization of land uses due to the absence of the local administrative governorate (in this case El Gommrok district). There is no control to regulate land uses. As a result, houses, shops, workshops and small industries are all mixed together with no zoning and ordinance regulations.

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Conclusions 1- Today the Ottoman Town is a densely populated district with a unique urban fabric incorporating mosques, traditional markets, bazaars, handicraft workshops and a fishermen's quarter. Therefore, the area should be conserved and upgraded and used as a dignified historic tourist district. 2- The area should be perceived by officials as a historic district that should have a special type of management and building regulations. 3- The latent potentials of the Ottoman Town should be fully utilized in terms of creating a historic tourist district where tourism would be the economic base of the district. 4- It is imperative to reduce the population of the Ottoman Town and minimize the density that overloads the infrastructure and give more space for tourist related activities that would generate income and working opportunities for local residents. 5- Building and planning codes should be enforced in order to control and stop violation to the built environment in terms of stopping the destruction of old buildings and controlling new constructions. 6- The commercial sense of the area should be magnified parallel to encouraging and sustaining the development of the local and traditional handicrafts and activities. References

Tiesdell, Steven, Oc Taner, Heath Tim, Revitalizing Historic Urban Quarters, Architectural Press, London, 1997, p. 70.
2

Empereur, Jean-Yves. Alexandria Past, Present and Future, Thames & Hudson Ltd, London, 2002, p. 77, p. 101 Illbert, Robert, From Alexandria to Cairo 1830-1930, UIA International Architect, Issue 7, (no date), pp. 1415.
3

Cultural Routes of Alexandria, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center, 2006, Map no. 1.
5

Al Hagla, Khaled S., Cultural Sustainability: An Asset of Cultural Tourism Industry, Working Paper Series, Departimento di Economia" S. Cognetti de Martiis", Turin University working paper No. 06/2005.
6

Masoed, Osama, Revitalization of Old Regions in Egypt District of El Gommrok, MSc. thesis, University of Alexandria, 1985, p. unmarked.
7

Abd El Hafeez, Mohamed, New Study of Alexandria's Hammams in the Era of Mohamed Ali, Mohamed Ali and The World Conference, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, 15-17 November, 2005.
8

Alexandria Governorate Information Center, 2005.