Al-Azhar Park

Al-Azhar Park is a major park in Cairo's Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood in Egypt. It was inaugurated in May 2005.

Among several honors, this park is listed as one of the world's sixty great public spaces by Project for Public Spaces (PPS). The Park was created by the Historic Cities Support Programme (HCSP) of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), an entity of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The park, developed at a cost in access of US$30 million, was a gift to Cairo from the Aga Khan. It is interesting to note that the city of Cairo was founded in the year 969 by the Fatimid Imam-Caliphs who were ancestors of the Aga Khan.

The park project was not only the development of the park, but also included aspects of archeology (12th century Ayyubid wall), historic building rehabilitation (14th Century Umm Sultan Shaban Mosque, the 13th century Khayrbek complex, and the Darb Shoughlan School) and several quality of life improvement initiatives. Those initiatives included skills training, area rehabilitation, microfinance, and support in the areas of health and education among others.

References

• Historic Cities Support Programme
• Project Page - AKTC Historic Cities Support Programme — Cairo / Al-Azhar Park
• The Aga Khan Trust for Culture
• The Aga Khan Development Network
• The Al-Azhar Park
• Listing in 60 of the World's Great Places