Ancient Coptic city unearthed in Western Desert
Located in Ain al-Kharab archaeological site some 5km north of the city of all-Kharga, the unearthed ancient city offers rare insight into Egypt's transition to Christianity.
Among the findings are the ruins of residential structures, churches, and cemeteries, also a mural depicting Christ healing a sick person.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, described the discovery as a testament to the depth and diversity of Egyptian civilisation during one of its most transformative periods. 'This find enriches our understanding of religious transition in Egypt,' he said.
'This discovery is considered a valuable window into early Christian life in Egypt,' asserted Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the SCA. 'Kharga Oasis played a key role as a religious and social hub throughout many historical periods,' he said.
Mr Khaled explained that the unearthed structures include mudbrick homes with plastered walls, service areas fitted with ovens, and storage spaces containing large fixed pottery jars once used for preserving food and grain. The mission also recovered ostraca, pottery fragments, glass and stone artefacts, burial remains, and a vivid mural illustrating Christ performing a healing miracle.
Findings from previous excavation seasons, Mr Khaled added, indicate that the site was used continuously throughout several centuries. Roman-era buildings were later adapted for use during the early Coptic period and again in the Islamic era.
Seham Ismail, Director General of Antiquities in Kharga and head of the mission, revealed that the team also uncovered the remains of two churches. One, she explained, is a large basilica-style church featuring a central hall flanked by two aisles, separated by rows of square columns, with service buildings to the south. The second church is smaller, she said, rectangular in shape, with remnants of seven exterior columns and Coptic inscriptions still visible on its interior walls. Additional service structures were found on its western side.
According to archaeology expert Abdel-Rehim Rihan, member of the SCA's History and Antiquities Commission, al-Kharga Oasis some 600km southwest Cairo, saw large incoming waves of Christians in the 3rd century AD, apparently fleeing to Kharga from Roman persecution. The numbers swelled to the point where the Alexandria Church installed a Bishop in Kharga. Christians were able to practise their faith and worship freely there, far from the eyes of the Roman authorities. They left behind towns, churches, cemeteries, and monasteries. The famous Bagawat necropolis in Kharga, believed to be the cemetery of the recently discovered city, is considered one of the oldest and best-preserved Christian cemeteries in the world. It dates back to the 3rd to 7th centuries AD and contains hundreds of mud-brick tombs, some with elaborate frescoes depicting biblical scenes.
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Al-Ahram Weekly
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Two Islamic domes restored in Historic Cairo - Heritage - Al-Ahram Weekly
In the heart of Historic Cairo, the domes of Yehia Al-Shabih and Safieddin Jawhar have been brought back to life after decades of negligence and environmental exposure. Their restoration is more than a conservation success; it represents a broader national and international effort to preserve Egypt's Islamic shrines while empowering local communities and responding to the challenges of climate change. Both mediaeval domes, officially inaugurated by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy, Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber, British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley, and Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Mohamed Ismail Khaled, have now been fully restored after two years of hiding under scaffolding with restorers and workmen polishing and strengthening their walls. 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The third objective focused on enhancing urban and community awareness on heritage and climate change around the two sites, including initiatives to repurpose extracted groundwater for community benefit. The conservation work at the Yehia Al-Shabih dome included comprehensive documentation, the repair of structural foundations and cracks, masonry conservation and roof works, the drainage of groundwater, and the conservation of cenotaphs, marble columns, stucco prayer niches, and epigraphic wooden and marble elements. At the Safieddin Jawhar dome, the conservation works similarly encompassed documentation, structural foundation work, crack and masonry repair, and roof works. It also included the lowering of the groundwater, the conservation of decorative wood items, and the repair of stone and metal elements and carved stucco windows. This was in addition to harvesting the groundwater and reusing it for greening, urban farming, municipal cleaning, and firefighting. 'The climate-change action component in this project is the culmination of a growing linkage in the work of Athar Lina between heritage and the environment,' said Al-Ibrashy. She continued that the manual is the first of its kind and comes with a set of instructional videos with a companion online publication. In addition to offering onsite training, further training was offered in Alexandria, Port Said, and Luxor as cities at the frontline of climate change action on the coast and in Upper Egypt. Community work connects the community to its heritage through direct benefits from site upgrading, new signage, and greening, and through educational outreach activities teaching about heritage and climate change. 'This project is a significant step forward in the drive to integrate heritage within its environment and to utilise the practice of conservation not just to preserve the past but to guide humanity towards a better future,' Al-Ibrashy said. 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By combining preservation with innovation, the project offers a powerful model for the future of heritage conservation in Egypt — one that values historical integrity, empowers communities, and responds to the environmental challenges of our time. * A version of this article appears in print in the 6 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
5 hours ago
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Islamic domes restored - Heritage - Al-Ahram Weekly
In the heart of Historic Cairo, the domes of Yehia Al-Shabih and Safieddin Jawhar have been brought back to life after decades of negligence and environmental exposure. Their restoration is more than a conservation success; it represents a broader national and international effort to preserve Egypt's Islamic shrines while empowering local communities and responding to the challenges of climate change. Both mediaeval domes, officially inaugurated by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy, Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber, British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley, and Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Mohamed Ismail Khaled, have now been fully restored after two years of hiding under scaffolding with restorers and workmen polishing and strengthening their walls. The project was implemented by the conservation group Megawra's Athar Lina Initiative under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the SCA with funding from the British Council's Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The conservation works were part of the larger ERTH-Athar Lina Heritage and Climate Project launched in 2023 that aims to promote resilience to climate change while preserving historic structures and combining technical restoration with community development, educational activities, and sustainable environmental practices. The domes were suffering from a range of persistent and increasingly pressing structural challenges, including rising groundwater levels and high levels of humidity, salt crystallisation, structural decay, and sinkholes in the ground. The restoration approach emphasised minimal interventions, relying on traditional materials and locally developed techniques to ensure the preservation of the domes' architectural integrity and respecting the layers of historical adaptation accumulated over centuries. May Al-Ibrashy, project coordinator and chair of the Megawra Built Environment Collective, explained that the project had three main objectives. The first involved salvage interventions to save both domes, at risk from climate change and common types of climate-change related damage to masonry structures in Egypt. The second was to develop a conservation manual detailing techniques for the most common types of climate change-related damage to historic buildings. 'This is linked to onsite, offsite and online training to improve capacities in Egypt to protect heritage from climate change,' Al-Ibrashy said. The third objective focused on enhancing urban and community awareness on heritage and climate change around the two sites, including initiatives to repurpose extracted groundwater for community benefit. The conservation work at the Yehia Al-Shabih dome included comprehensive documentation, the repair of structural foundations and cracks, masonry conservation and roof works, the drainage of groundwater, and the conservation of cenotaphs, marble columns, stucco prayer niches, and epigraphic wooden and marble elements. At the Safieddin Jawhar dome, the conservation works similarly encompassed documentation, structural foundation work, crack and masonry repair, and roof works. It also included the lowering of the groundwater, the conservation of decorative wood items, and the repair of stone and metal elements and carved stucco windows. This was in addition to harvesting the groundwater and reusing it for greening, urban farming, municipal cleaning, and firefighting. 'The climate-change action component in this project is the culmination of a growing linkage in the work of Athar Lina between heritage and the environment,' said Al-Ibrashy. She continued that the manual is the first of its kind and comes with a set of instructional videos with a companion online publication. In addition to offering onsite training, further training was offered in Alexandria, Port Said, and Luxor as cities at the frontline of climate change action on the coast and in Upper Egypt. Community work connects the community to its heritage through direct benefits from site upgrading, new signage, and greening, and through educational outreach activities teaching about heritage and climate change. 'This project is a significant step forward in the drive to integrate heritage within its environment and to utilise the practice of conservation not just to preserve the past but to guide humanity towards a better future,' Al-Ibrashy said. Fathy expressed his deep appreciation of the project's collaborative spirit, calling it 'a model of constructive partnership with supporting institutions.' He thanked the SCA, Megawra, the British Embassy in Cairo, and the British Council for their roles in delivering the project. He reiterated the government's full commitment to heritage preservation, emphasising the importance of balancing monument protection with strategies for sustainable cultural tourism. 'What has been achieved in this project reflects the care and dedication being invested in protecting our archaeological sites,' Fathy said. He announced that the restoration project will be featured on the ministry's newly launched e-training platform and that both domes will be added to the official visitor map of archaeological attractions in an effort to diversify Egypt's tourism offerings and promote lesser-known sites. Khaled asserted that the restoration had followed strict international standards. Extensive documentation and structural analysis preceded the work to ensure authenticity and accuracy. He noted that during the restoration, several previously hidden architectural and decorative elements were uncovered and that these will soon be featured in a dedicated exhibition to further highlight the domes' artistic and historical significance. Bayley expressed his pride in supporting the project, calling Historic Cairo 'the beating heart of the capital' and praising the collaboration as an example of heritage protection driven by both local and international cooperation. He stressed the importance of community engagement in safeguarding cultural heritage and expressed his admiration for Egypt's rich Islamic architecture. According to a note by Cathy Costain, the British Council's Head of Arts (Egypt), on the British Council Facebook page, 'I remember when the neighbours of Yehia Al-Shabih leaned over their balconies and joined in the conversations we were having about the work that was being done.' 'During the formal launch of the dome and garden of Safieddin Jawhar, the neighbours there celebrated with us as we helped ourselves to the basil and mint that were growing in pots around the neighbourhood, using the groundwater pumped out of the site. The whole area — streets and rooftops — is awash with greenery. This project is a wonderful example of not just community engagement, but also of how the current occupants of an area are just a small part of the journey a monument goes through during its lifetime and how each generation has a part to play.' The dome of Yehia Al-Shabih, located at the Al-Imam Al-Shafei cemetery, is one of a cluster of Fatimid shrines dedicated to the descendants of the Prophet Mohamed. Al-Shabih was called 'the lookalike' (al-shabih). due to his resemblance to the prophet. The dome was built between 1145 and 1160 CE by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Zafir Bi-Amr Allah, and it is believed to enshrine the tomb of Yehia Ibn Al-Qasim, a descendant of the Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq. Also interred within are several members of his family, including Sayeda Um Al-Hurriya and Sayed Yehia ibn Al-Hassan Al-Anwar. The dome of Safieddin Jawhar was constructed in 1314 CE by Jawhar Al-Nassiri, a prominent Mameluke official under Sultan Al-Nassir Mohamed Ibn Qalawoun. Located in the Al-Khalifa district, it is known for its striking architectural elements, including triangular stucco windows inlaid with coloured glass. The structure is a rare surviving example of early 14th-century Mameluke funerary architecture. By combining preservation with innovation, the project offers a powerful model for the future of heritage conservation in Egypt — one that values historical integrity, empowers communities, and responds to the environmental challenges of our time. * A version of this article appears in print in the 6 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Mada
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Dozens of Egyptians still missing after migrant boat sinks off Tobruk coast
Dozens of Egyptian migrants remain missing after a Europe-bound boat capsized off the Libyan coast in the early hours of July 24. Some of the migrants' families told Mada Masr that identifying and obtaining information about their relatives' whereabouts has been difficult to navigate and that the official response has been slow. Omar Fathy, who buried one of his cousins on Tuesday and is still searching for another, described the process of identifying victims and repatriating their bodies to Egypt as 'haphazard.' The boat, which carried 81 migrants, sank off the coast of Tobruk in Libya on July 24, the city's Maritime Search and Rescue Office announced. Ten people were rescued — including eight Egyptian nationals. A total of 18 bodies were retrieved over the course of the ensuing days, of whom only six have been identified, according to the office's statement. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Tuesday that roughly 50 people are still missing. 'Three of the six were from our hometown in Badary, Assiut, two were from Sharqiya and one was from Minya,' Fathy said. The Egyptian vice consul told Fathy that three identified bodies — including that of his cousin — were to be repatriated via the land crossing between Libya and Egypt on Sunday. But on his way to Salloum, the official contacted Fathy again to say that there had been a mistake and that his cousin's body had been sent with a dozen unidentified bodies to the morgue in the Libyan city of Derna. The family completed the required procedures — including a National Security Agency interrogation of the victim's brother at the Salloum border crossing — before their relative's body was shipped the following day. Throughout the process, most of the information the families have received came via the Tobruk-based Abereen Foundation and the Tobruk search and rescue office rather than from Egyptian authorities, according to Fathy. The two entities were responsible for informing families when bodies were identified. Relatives then travelled independently to the western border city of Salloum to retrieve their loved ones. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued its first statement on the matter on Wednesday, a week after the incident, stating that it is following up on the survivors' cases in preparation for their repatriation from Libya. The statement did not mention the number of fatalities or survivors, but said the ministry is overseeing the transfer of the identified bodies and is participating in efforts to identify the remaining victims. But with around a dozen bodies still unidentified, Fathy believes that Egyptian authorities' delayed and sparse communication with the families has contributed to the ongoing confusion. Families only began on Tuesday to submit DNA samples to the Cairo forensic authority to assist in the identification process, a source at the Egyptian agency told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. This was after substantial confusion had already taken place. At one point, the Tobruk search and rescue office mistakenly stated it had found and identified the body of Fathy's other cousin, only to retract their announcement after one of the survivors recognized the body in question. A similar mistake was repeated with another body, according to the office's statements. To try and find Fathy's missing cousin, his family submitted a DNA sample at Cairo's central labs on Wednesday. The families first had to obtain a letter from the Foreign Ministry before having samples taken at the Cairo forensic authority, which then coordinates the delivery of the results to the Libyan forensic authorities, the agency source said. The eight Egyptian survivors were held by Libyan authorities until Wednesday, but were later released by the western Tobruk prosecution. They are set to be handed over to Egyptian authorities once deportation procedures are complete. Mostafa Nassir, a relative of three Egyptians who are still missing, told Mada Masr that Libyan authorities rely on survivors to help identify the recovered bodies, which is why they are being held until search and recovery operations conclude. Egyptian authorities could hold them in custody for a few additional days while they file illegal migration reports before releasing them, Nassir explained, citing his past experience having attempted irregular migration himself. According to Nassir, one of the survivors rescued in the afternoon of July 24 said the boat they departed in was in very poor condition, capsizing around eight kilometers into the voyage. The survivor said most of those on board were from the governorates of Assiut, Minya and Sharqia, along with South Sudanese nationals, according to Nassir. Nassir said that five people from Assiut's Badary are thought to be missing, while Ibrahim Mohamed, who is searching for his two nephews, told Mada Masr that 22 young men from his hometown of Bilbeis in Sharqiya are still missing. The bodies of another three Bilbeis residents have been identified. Like many other families who spoke to Mada Masr, the Bilbeis families have been unable to reach the Egyptian intermediaries who convinced their sons to make the journey. Brokers tell the young men that they will be going to a good place with decent housing, the families say, but that is seldom the case. 'Once they arrive in Libya, they're met with humiliation and torture at the hands of smugglers,' Nassir said. 'And when they die, the brokers turn off their phones and disappear.' The IOM described the tragedy as 'a stark reminder of the deadly risks people are forced to take in search of safety and opportunity.' The organization also stressed that Libya continues to serve as a key transit point for migrants and refugees, who face 'exploitation, abuse and life-threatening journeys.' It renewed its call for greater regional cooperation to establish 'safe, regular and dignified migration pathways.' According to the IOM's latest Libya migrant report, covering data from March to April, Egyptian nationals now account for 19 percent of all migrants attempting to reach Europe via Libya. The total number of migrants in Libya has risen to over 867,000, representing 44 nationalities — a 20 percent increase compared to the same period last year, in an upward trend that has continued since December 2023, according to the report. Just this month, weekly reports documented intercepted boats carrying a total of 1,717 migrants.
