From the midst of the 19th century onward, the ruling elite in Egypt adopted Western ways. While a select few abandoned their traditional Arab houses for European-style villas and apartments built in the new districts of Zamalek, Heliopolis, Garden City and Maadi, the middle-classes remained in Old Cairo where one can still admire stunning examples of Islamic architecture.
Islam stresses the importance of the privacy of one’s home, which is seen as a safe haven, a peaceful refuge from the outside world. In fact, “sakan” a word related to peace and purity, is one of the Arabic names for house. The door guarantees the sanctity of a family’s living quarters; it protects the intimate atmosphere of a house and shields it from unwanted visitors.
The beautifully decorated entrances in Old Cairo never fail to impress any passerby. During the end of the 19th century, doorways were built in stone, a tradition inspired by the Mamluk and Ottoman architecture. These doorways were further embellished with beautiful carvings.
The oldest entrances are decorated with geometrical and vegetal motifs. The most common designs include plant leaves, petals or hexagonal flower shapes, garlands, as well as pear and star shaped motifs. Some entrances are also engraved with Quranic verses.
“From medieval times to the 20th century, the Quranic verse from Surat Al-Hijr 46, Udkhuluha bi-salamin aminin, (enter in peace and security) was inscribed on the lintels of both religious and secular buildings, hence the particular importance of doorways in Egypt’s buildings,” says Ahmed Abdel Gawad, the author of “The Doorways of Cairo Homes 1872-1950” published by AUC Press.
From the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, Egypt underwent a series of political and economic reforms, which had far reaching consequences. The changes started during the reign of Khedive Ismail who wanted to Westernize his country.
The ruling elite gradually abandoned their traditional Arab homes for European-style residences. As a result, carpenters, woodcarvers and master builders lost their patrons and eventually their livelihood. The craftsmen who managed to keep their jobs lost their traditional customers but found instead a new breed of clients: Tourists and expatriates, attracted by the exotic charm of a foreign culture.
A strong interest in the oriental world led non-Arabs to reinterpret the history and the art of what was known as the Orient. Edward Said defined Orientalism as “a system of representation framed by a whole set of forces that brought the Orient into Western learning, Western consciousness and, later, Western empire.”
This curiosity and fascination for the Orient contributed to the development of a neo-Islamic style also known as the Arabesque style which can be seen in the newer as well as the older districts of Cairo.
During the first half of the 20th century, the architecture of Old Cairo followed the building trends of the new quarters. Traditional architecture gradually disappeared and craftsmen began to adorn doors and entrances with Greco-Roman or art nouveau decorative elements. This period is also marked by an increasing use of wrought iron. “This technique soon prevailed, spreading in both the old and the new districts of Cairo and in dwellings irrespective of social class,” explains Abdel Gawad.
The doorways built during that time frequently feature serpents and crescents. The serpent, a pharaonic motif and the Islamic crescent, symbolized the country’s unity, an important theme for the nationalist movement, which led to the 1919 Revolution.
The beautiful doorways built in Cairo during the 19th and the first half of the 20th century express a love of tradition and a deep nostalgia for the past as well as a growing desire for change. The door, more than any outside architectural element, truly echoes the hidden forces of the inside. As Hassan Fathy, one of Egypt’s greatest architects, said so rightly, “Arab architecture begins with the interior and goes to the exterior.”
