Historic Cairo cemetery faces destruction from new highways as Egypt’s government reshapes the city

By LEE KEATH and SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Preservationists say highway construction by the Egyptian government threatens to destroy Cairo’s City of the Dead, a vast historic cemetery that has been in use for more than 1,000 years. Authorities have already razed hundreds of tombs and mausoleums as they carry out plans to build a network of multilane highways through the cemetery. The cemetery houses the graves of major Islamic figures and prominent Egyptian politicians, artists and scholars, as well as the families of ordinary Egyptians. The government says alternative burial sites will be provided and historic tombs moved to new locations, but the destruction has sparked an unusual outcry.