The Queen enters the City of the Dead to listen to the living

Less than two kilometers from Khan el-Khalili, Cairo's grand bazaar, lies the Sultan Al-Ashraf Mosque in Qait Bay . Nestled in a vast Islamic cemetery measuring eight square kilometers, this place, forgotten by local authorities and rarely visited by tourists, is home to life and death. Hence the name City of the Dead, because this vast necropolis is home to one and a half million people.

The contrast is remarkable. Cairo stretches eastward, and suddenly, the bustle of the city transforms into a labyrinth of mausoleums, Mamluk domes, and forgotten mosques. It was only in the 20th century , when, faced with a lack of housing in the city, that poorer Egyptian families settled here, and the cemetery became a vibrant neighborhood. Since then, tens of thousands of people have found shelter among centuries-old tombs, some of them belonging to the most influential figures in Egyptian history.

Among its mausoleums are the funerary complexes of Mamluk sultans such as Qaytbay and Barsbay , architectural gems that combine mosques, madrasas, and tombs in a single complex. Fatimid caliphs, princes, emirs, and high-ranking Ottoman officials also rest here, along with ulema and Sufi mystics whose graves were the subject of pilgrimage for centuries.

The Egyptians who live here have adapted these mausoleums as homes. Some families live directly with the remains, while others adapt the courtyards and rooms of these cemeteries as living quarters. And, as in any neighborhood, the City of the Dead also has schools, small businesses, and even craft workshops , which have emerged over the years from the needs of any urban center.

The Queen traveled here this morning. While the King chaired the Egypt-Spain business forum , Queen Letizia, along with the First Lady, learned about the project "to improve the socioeconomic and cultural development opportunities for women and children in the City of the Dead in Cairo," which the Spanish Cooperation Agency is carrying out in a neighborhood inhabited by thousands of families who have breathed new life into spaces designed for eternity. And as much as this necropolis is a true monumental archive of Egypt's medieval elite, one cannot romanticize a social reality: that people live in tombs because they have nowhere else to do so.

"Although it has a very rich heritage, it is a marginal neighborhood with high vulnerability," Eva Suárez , from the Technical Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Aecid), explains to ABC. She adds: "The intention is to recover the heritage space with activities for children and women at risk of vulnerability." They are offered training in crafts, such as jewelry making or leatherworking. Men are offered jobs related to glass and building renovation . To keep them off the streets, the children receive language training while participating in sports.

This project, which began in late 2024 with an investment of €150,000, also includes a cultural component. An area of ​​the Sultan Al-Ashraf Qait Bay Mosque complex has been renovated as a cultural center, with the aim of hosting exhibitions and music concerts. Here, Queen Letizia inaugurated a photography exhibition by an Egyptian and a Spanish man, showing how "life and death coexist side by side," according to the exhibition's presentation.

The City of the Dead reflects the contradictions of Cairo: a place where the grandeur of the sultans coexists with the precariousness of thousands of families who have made the cemetery their home. The Spanish Cooperation project seeks to bridge the gap between this monumental legacy and the most urgent needs of its inhabitants. Because what's at stake here is the dignity of those who keep alive a space that was born to honor the dead. That's why Aecid (Association of the American Civil Liberties Union) is developing its activities here with the Sultan Foundation, which was created in 2016 to facilitate access to culture for disadvantaged segments of Egyptian society in Cairo by creating and restoring spaces that promote art and culture, which has a very positive impact on the most vulnerable sectors of society.

The Queen toured some of the streets of the City of the Dead, inaugurated the photography exhibition, enjoyed a drum concert by the neighborhood's youngest children, and visited a leather goods store, where she spoke with the workshop staff, who are beginning to see a future thanks to these types of initiatives. As a gesture of support and to raise awareness of this forgotten area of ​​Cairo, Queen Letizia wore long earrings made by one of these workshops during the visit. They sell their pieces in the Mishka store, which also gives its name to the workshop and is located in the main square of the City of the Dead, next to the mosque. On a state visit with a marked political context, the Queen's agenda allowed her to learn about another project carried out by Spanish Cooperation, but this time white replaced the red of the aid worker's vest.