Description
Shari‘a al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah is a long thoroughfare that snakes through the heart of Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Egypt’s premier tourist destinations. In the wake of the January 25th Revolution of 2011, the street underwent a profound sociospatial transformation due to the collapse of the country’s tourism sector and a security vacuum stemming from the retreat of the police: historic structures were vandalized and looted, motorized vehicles reclaimed the once-pedestrianized street, vendors opened stalls in front of registered “monuments”, and mosque courtyards were converted into parking lots or cafes. Following the military coup of 2013, the authorities responded to these “encroachments” with the “Cleaning Al-Mu‘izz Street Campaign.” This initiative aimed to re-pedestrianize the street, repair damaged structures, and clear garbage, graffiti, and vendors. It also sought to re-securitize the route via the establishment of a police unit to manage traffic as well as the construction of security stations. In this paper, I query this initiative, focusing on how tourism was mobilized as part of the campaign to “clean up” al-Mu‘izz,. Through this analysis, I demonstrate how the restoration of the country’s tourism sector was used to justify a broader state effort to increase surveillance and intervention in Cairo–and thus re-assert physical and symbolic control over the city and, by extension, Egypt, after the upheaval of 2011-2013.
