Re-Constructing Old Mahmal Procession Route through Consulting Contemporary Visual Sources

While the Journey of the Holy Family is considered a world heritage cultural route, the procession of the Holy Carpet and Pilgrimage to Mecca may as well be considered an Arab world heritage cultural route. This paper will shed light on an understudied part of the cultural heritage of Egypt, which is the procession of the Holy Carpet through Egypt. The majority of the studies only dealt with its history through the writings of early travelers but no one tried to trail it through analyzing the photographs, old maps, and documents. This study aims to show through above mentioned sources the untold stories about the ceremonies of the Holy Carpet through Egypt, draw a visual map of the route trailing the procession, noting the changes that occurred in the twentieth century. It will also highlight the importance of raising the cultural heritage knowledge and awareness of these official ceremonies. With the rehabilitation of heritage sites being essential to the promotion of heritage tourism, it is recommended to rehabilitate “the Khedive Kiosk” in Saladin square to accommodate a photo exhibition of the procession and its ceremonies.

One day the celebration of the Mahmal was one of the most important and famous festival for the Egyptians as an honor and a sign of Egyptian sovereignty. The ceremonies of sending the Kiswa to Mecca gained its importance from “Hajj” the pilgrimage. For the unique status of Egypt among the Islamic world, its caravan was chosen to be sent to Mecca as it ignited the imagination of many European travelers. The festival was source of amusement for the travelers and many photographer accompanied the Hajj, wrote about it and documented it through their photos which published in their literary works or newspapers or even postcards for tourists. Accordingly, through their photos one can visualize the days of the festival and re construct the old Mahmal route. it is recommended as a development of citadel area to revive the course of the Mahmal procession. Starting from the Khedive Kiosk/ Mahmal Mastaba near Saladin Citadel, Dar al Khurunfish near al Mo’aiz Street, and link this with the rare examples of the Mahmal palanquin in the museums in Cairo or even around Egypt; the Ethnographic museum in the Geographic Society, NEMIC museum, Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Suez museum.