Egypt's oldest Armenian cemetery renovated
3,147 views · Published 12 November 2018 · 4:29 · Indexed 10 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(7 Nov 2018) LEADIN: In Cairo, the restoration of Egypt's oldest Armenian cemetery is coming to an end after four years of work. Located in the Sayeda Zeinab, it dates back to the 17th century. STORYLINE: A stone figure watches over the dead. This is the Armenian cemetery in Cairo's Sayeda Zeinab neighbourhood, the oldest Armenian graveyard in the capital. There are around 3,000 tombstones spread over 3,500 square metres here. And the place has been given a face lift after four years of restoration work. Nairy Hampikian, the archaeologist in charge of the restoration, says the cemetery was established in 1684 but underwent a "big widening" in the 19th century. She says it expanded even further in 1924 when the Armenian community bought another plot of land. The most modern part is built on a land that used to be called 'Tall al Arman' - the hills of the Armenians - a place where an Armenian presence has been recorded since the 15th century. Work on the cemetery began in 2014 and is almost finished. Funding from the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate allowed Hampikian and her team to carry out what she calls a 'facelift' of the cemetery in order to open it to the public in future. "The idea was just to keep whatever is left and not polish but clean, stabilise, add a small touch here, a small touch there," she says. "I definitely believe that Egypt needs this kind of heritage now, as well as the Pharaonic, the Islamic, the Coptic, the Greco-Roman. It has to deal also with the heritage of the minorities that are here, and amongst them the Armenian." The number of Armenians in Egypt rose following the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. They claim it as a genocide, saying 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Turkey, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, vehemently rejects that the deaths constitute genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest. Kevork Erzingatzian, president of the Goganian Armenian cultural association, says there were up to 40,000 Armenians in Egypt during the 1940s. "A lot of them left Egypt, and more generally the Middle East. They travelled abroad. Today we are only 3,000 or 4,000 members left in the community so it is important for us to protect the heritage of Armenians," he says. "Naturally we know that in 30, 40 or 50 years this community could keep on shrinking, according to the financial situation, so we care about keeping the heritage." Now to open the site to the public, the cemetery hopes to become a registered monument with the approval of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5a490acc292918bcebb18e585e3be905
