Egypt - Aga Khan Development Network

About Us Frequent Questions His Highness the Aga Khan About the AKDN AKDN Agencies

What's New General News Press Releases Speeches Spotlights Publications In the Media E-mail Bulletin Archives Photographs & Slide Shows Videos Podcasts Awards received by AKDN Agencies

Aga Khan Academies (AKA) Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) Aga Khan Planning and Building Services (AKPBS) Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) Aga Khan University (AKU) Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) University of Central Asia (UCA)

Architecture Civil Society Culture Economic Development Enabling Environment Education Health Historic Cities Humanitarian Assistance Microfinance Music Planning & Building Rural Development

Programmes in Egypt began with the creation of 30-hectare (74-acre) Al-Azhar park on the site of what had been a rubble dump for 500 years. Today, the project has evolved well beyond the Park to include the restoration of 1.5 kilometres of the 12th century Ayyubid wall and several landmark buildings, as well as socio-economic initiatives in the neighbouring Darb al-Ahmar district. These include housing rehabilitation, microfinance, apprenticeships and healthcare. Nurse’s training and early childhood education programmes are also underway in Aswan.

News Archives

A "Green Lung" for Cairo
30 September 2009 - In 1984, His Highness the Aga Khan announced his decision to finance the creation of a park for the citizens of the Egyptian capital. The only central location that was of suitable scale was the derelict Darassa site, a 30-hectare (74-acre) mound of rubble that had been a debris dump for 500 years. Al-Azhar Park, undertaken by the AKTC, has since proven to be both a popular open space for the people of Cairo and a powerful catalyst for urban renewal in the neighbouring district of Darb al-Ahmar.

Al-Azhar Park: A Garden in Cairo
23 April 2009 - In 1984, His Highness the Aga Khan announced his decision to finance the creation of a park for the citizens of the Egyptian capital. The only central location that was of suitable scale was the derelict Darassa site, a 30-hectare (74-acre) mound of rubble that had been a debris dump for 500 years. Al-Azhar Park, undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, has since proven to be both a popular open space for the people of Cairo and a powerful catalyst for urban renewal in the neighbouring district of Darb al-Ahmar -- once one of the poorest districts in Cairo. This video, narrated by Brad Pitt, is a shorter version of a film that appeared on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in the United States in 2008. For more information, please see PBS.org or "Season Three" of the e2 series (http://www.e2-series.com/).

Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance Expands in Egypt
27 October 2008 - AKAM Partners with USAID to Expand in Aswan; Holds AKAM/Deutsche Bank Microfinance Forum in Cairo

Quick links