From Dump to Park in Cairo

Cairo's first new green space in more than 100 years has opened -- on top of a 500-year old garbage dump.

1 minute read

May 7, 2008, 9:00 AM PDT

"Amid Cairo's sprawling cityscape, there's a lush retreat where Egyptians can find some breathing space."

"Like New York's Central Park, the 74-acre Al-Azhar Park is a green getaway for the city's 17 million residents. But less than a decade ago, Al-Azhar Park was little more than a mound of dirt and trash - a 500-year-old garbage dump."

"'It was the shame of the city,' says Thomas Taha Rassam Culhane, founder of Solar Cities, a group that is installing environment-friendly solar hot-water heaters in Cairo's slums."

"At a cost of $30 million, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture hired world-class Egyptian, European and American architects who worked with the city and local residents to create Cairo's first new green space in more than a century."

FULL STORY: Slow but Sure Environmental Progress in Cairo

Sunday, May 4, 2008 in NPR

Environment History / Preservation Land Use Africa Public Spaces Public Parks Egypt Cairo Dumps View More

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