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History
The inhabitants of the region associate the name “Stabl Antar” (The Stables of Antar[1]) with Antar Ibn Shadaad claiming that he kept his horses in the area. However, this area is better known as “Gabakhana”, a fortress believed to have been built by Sultan Salah Al Deen and used to store cannons and ammunition. At the time of Mohammad Ali the Gabakhana was used as a gun powder factory.
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The houses in the region were built over Al Zahraa rock, part of the Moqatam rock face in Cairo. The 2005 research carried out by the Centre for Construction and Housing Research showed that the 20 metre high rock face is made of limestone and marl. The cliff face has longitudinal and larger latitudinal faults. Soil analysis of the cliff face showed that it contains a high percentage of the shale or sand making it susceptible to collapse especially if exposed to sewage water.
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| The rocks of the cliff face change position, hence why there are many large boulders separated from the cliff itself. These boulders weigh around half a tonne each and can roll down without warning on the steep surface from a height of 14 metres, threatening the lives of many citizens [2] |
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Basic information on the region
The study focuses on two regions: Stabl Antar and Ezbet Kheir-allah in Zahraa Misr Al Qadima district. The study area comprises of shantytowns built at the foot of the cliff face over 40 years ago, and also includes the shantytowns on the slopes of the two Zahraa hills that were built 15 years ago.
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| Most homes are one or two floors high, built of old and used bricks with a hole-like room below ground for human waste. This room is not properly sealed and as a result dampness from the sewage water is absorbed into the walls and affects the sturdiness of homes built on the lower levels of the slope. The homes are not fit for human residence, badly ventilated and do not allow the sun in. Most dwellings are subdivided into rooms one or two of which is rented out per family. The bathroom is shared. |
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The newer homes are built up of red brick. They remain poorly ventilated, damp and also do not have a sanitary drainage system. Electricity is illegally installed since the residents have no legal ownership. Moreover, the wall surrounding al Gabakhana near Al Nour Mosque serves as a waste dump despite its historic importance. In front of the mosque is our newly built football ground for the children to play in as previously children spent their time in garbage piles often catching scorpions. At the regions situated at the top of the mountain the following important services are absent:
- Clean water- We have installed water pipes and motors to help provide water to this area. However these are not officially installed pipes and so the best solution we could achieve was distributing water to one or two hours per house per day, to ensure that everyone has access given our limited resources.
- Sanitary drainage system- The inhabitants use waste disposal wells that is cleaned up by the help of sanitary waste disposal vehicles. A sanitary waste disposal vehicle cannot reach all dwellings, thus drainage overflow inside and outside homes is considered a daily occurrence. Some homes are without sanitary wells nor sanitary drainage system, instead they use barrels to hold waste, which must be emptied regularly into a large common cesspool using buckets.
All the roads are extremely narrow, winding and unpaved except Sa’ada street next to Gabakhana at the end of which their is a large waste dump. The dumpster is the only place for the dwellers to get rid of their waste. Similarly there is a large dumpsite in Al Jabal Al Thani and similar winding roads. There is no means of transportation in the entire region and there are no numbers distinguishing houses.
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Potentials and available resources
With district authority approval, both dump sites can be removed and transformed into a useful community space beneficial to all. There are no natural, agricultural, or industrial resources available in the area. In addition, the human labour force is both illiterate and unskilled.
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The empty spaces around three inactive mosques in the Sa’ada street can be better utilised.
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[1] Antar is a folkloric valiant warrior well known for his courage and horsemanship.
[2] Akhbaar al Youm, February 5th, 2005
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Stabl Antar