About Ezbet Abu Qarn
The informal area of Ezbet Abu Qarn is located in Misr AlQadima (Al-Fustat) district. It lies within the borders of Al-Dyoura Sheikdom according to the formal governmental maps of the district. The total area of Ezbet Abu Qarn is about 11 hectares. It does not have any official borders. The area nowadays expands behind Amr Ibn Al-As Mosque to the north-east to reach Salah Salem Street.
The borders of Misr Al-Qadima district, according to the Cairo governorate, lies between the Khayala Street and Nagah Street from the east, the river Nile in the Baseline district from the west, Al-Nagah Street from the south and Magra Al-Oyoun Wall from the north. The whole area of AlFustat was the home of handmade pottery craft workers. This craftwork was neglected for a long time and disappeared from the area, which caused the informal urban development to expand over the area with new activities.
According to residents’ narrations as well as to the maps of 1940s and 50s, the historical development of Ezbet Abu Qarn started to appear and expand after industrial revolution and the urbanization in Egypt, which is similar to many other informal areas. At that time many framers and residents of Upper-Egypt started to immigrate to Cairo seeking better work opportunities.
Location
The area is bounded by some important landmarks and main roads. From the north, it is located on Salah Salem Road, an important arterial street which connects southeast Cairo and ends at the Cairo International Airport in northeast Cairo. In addition, AlFustat Public Park bounds the area from the northeast, and runs all the way to Amr Ibn Al-As Mosque in the south and expands to the Jewish cemetery and Hassan AlAnwar Street from the west. The southern border is Al-Fustat Ruins and the religious compound and the Christian quarter.
EZBET’s southwest border is Amr Ibn Al-As Mosque, the Muslim Cemetery and a formal residential area, Misr AlQadima. From the east, the border is a part of Al-Fustat Ruins and an inapplicable area for development, which is owned by the Antiquities and Monuments Ministry. In the northeast, there is also a formal residential district and the Al-Fustat Park, none of which are connected with Ezbet Abu Qarn.
Land Uses
Ezbet Abu Qarn has some facility buildings, however their efficiency and condition of the equipment are low. There are two schools (one primary and the other one secondary school) and a medical center with very simple equipment, which needs to be developed. These facility buildings are a good resource and could prove to be strong potential properties for the future sustainable development.
The school does not have enough resources and is in a bad condition. Furthermore the youth and sport centre within the area includes a well-maintained football field, as well as different several gymnastic and sport rooms. Another wide-spread activity is a recycling area and storage buildings for paper and metal recycling. The existing recycling materials could be a help in developing innovative ideas for the current community centre building. Directly located on Salah Salem Street is a historical mosque, a tomb and a small green area.
These rich land-uses and facilities could initiate significant urban spaces and relationships in the interval spaces and could encourage the interaction of the different facilities of and around the currently developing community center.
