page_title: Muizz Street
section_title: Rehabilitation project
hierarchical_section_title: Muizz Street / Rehabilitation project
caption_attribution_description: English: Muizz Street in the old Islamic Cairo district. Mashrabiya (wooden grilles) on balcony windows. The Sabil of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda is in backround.
context_page_description: Al-Muizz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi Street, or al-Muizz street for short, is a major north-to-south street in the walled city of historic Cairo, Egypt. It is one of Cairo's oldest streets as it dates back to the foundation of the city by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century, under their fourth caliph, Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah.
  Historically, it was the most important artery of the city and was often referred to as the Qasaba. It constituted the main axis of the city's economic zones where its souqs were concentrated. The street's prestige also attracted the construction of many monumental religious and charitable buildings commissioned by Egypt's rulers and elites, making it a dense repository of historic Islamic architecture in Cairo. This is especially evident in the Bayn al-Qasrayn area, which is lined with some of the most important monuments of Islamic Cairo.
context_section_description: Starting in 1997, the national government carried out extensive renovations to the historical buildings, modern buildings, paving, and sewerage to turn the street into an "open-air museum". On April 24, 2008, Al-Muizz Street was rededicated as a pedestrian only zone between 8:00 am and 11:00 pm; cargo traffic is allowed outside of these hours.
  One of the aims of the renovations is to approximate the original appearance of the street. Buildings higher than the level of monuments have been brought down in height and painted an appropriate colour, while the street has been repaved in the original style. 34 monuments along the street and some 67 nearby have been restored. On the other hand, the nighttime appearance of the street has been modernised by the installation of state of the art refined exterior lighting on buildings. To prevent the accumulation of subterranean water – the principal threat to Islamic Cairo – a state of the art drainage system has been installed.
caption: AL-Muizz Street today, in the centre of historic Cairo.
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