MONUMENTA, in collaboration with Ms. Despina Tzova, an official of the Greek Embassy in Cairo and its member, began the registration of the buildings that house bodies and associations of the Greek Community of Cairo (GCC), as well as those that are either managed or used by the Greek Neighborhood Associations in Cairo, with the consent of the GCC.

The aim is to record the remains of the residential past and present of the above entities, both through taking photographs and interviews, and through the archival study of files concerning the evolution of their use and the way they relate to the socio-political reality of each era and clearly to the residential and urban development in Cairo from the late 19th century until the 1960s.

In the late 19th century, Cairo was a garden city with mansions and gardens that reached the banks of the Nile.Sparsely populated and quiet, it was delimited by the canals and ponds created by the waters of the river.From 1900 to 1950, intensive construction was observed where various architectural styles and designs created buildings of unparalleled beauty. Dominant styles are Baroque, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Khedive Rococo, Colonial, Bauhaus, Italian Renaissance, Arabesque and Neo-Pharaonic.

Buildings are not only material capital, but they are living witnesses of their time and the course of the people who created the buildings but also lived and worked in them and who ultimately shaped the existing building capital.

In an era of economic prosperity and the penetration of foreign capital in Egypt, an urban elite was created that sought modern places of residence and entertainment. The old villas no longer served this purpose, while the new modern apartments, ballrooms and cinemas were points of contact for society and the exchange of views.

The years of prosperity passed and new socio-political and economic conditions led to the decline of many of these important architectural landmarks.Some are being renovated and reused.Others are being demolished and concrete blocks are being erected in their place. Over the past 100 years, GCC has acquired architectural gems.

For the recording and architectural documentation, MONUMENTA's expertise is used, as it has been formed in the context of the systematic scientific recording of buildings that it has been carrying out since 2013, as well as the relevant bibliography on the evolution of architecture and the urban fabric of Cairo.The original archival study of the Archives of the GCC is expected to bring to light important elements about the history of the buildings and the history of the CySEC over time.

MONUMENTA invites members and the general public who have a relationship with the buildings of the CySEC in Cairo to participate in the collection of information, oral testimonies, archival material and to send it to the email: info@monumenta.org​