Actif de 1740 à 1786, année de sa mort, Yūḥannā al Armanī al-Qudsī fut l’un des plus prolifiques peintres d’icônes que l’Égypte ottomane ait pu connaître. Bénéficiant d’un renouveau politique et économique, les chrétiens d’Égypte ont pu restaurer et mettre en valeur leur patrimoine religieux, notamment en faisant réaliser de nombreuses icônes pour décorer les églises. Yūḥannā al Armanī et son proche collègue Ibrāhīm al-Nāsiḫ répondirent à cet appel en développant de grands ateliers prêts à répondre à ces commandes. Le résultat est si spectaculaire que, encore aujourd’hui, il est difficile de ne pas visiter une église copte du Caire sans voir un panneau réalisé par l’un ou l’autre de ces hommes. La réunion d’un corpus de plus de quatre cents icônes permet désormais d’envisager l’ampleur du travail qui résulta de ce tandem. Le style des peintres est également ce qui fait la grande originalité de cette production. Souvent indéfinissable, comme le remarquait déjà en son temps A. J. Butler à la fin du XIXe siècle, celui-ci illustre les multiples sources qui ont été utilisées. On y trouve à la fois, pêle-mêle, des inspirations des traditions chrétiennes locales, des évocations de tissus ottomans ou des compositions issues de tableaux européens. Cette particularité tient dans un fait bien concret. Yūḥannā al Armanī, comme son nom l’indique, est issu d’une famille arménienne. Bien qu’étant né en Égypte et ayant épousé une Égyptienne copte, il n’en demeure pas moins très attaché à ses racines, aussi bien par son lieu d’habitation au Caire – proche de l’église arménienne – que par la sociabilité qu’il développe. Afin de mieux cerner ce peintre atypique et son œuvre, il convient de cerner les réseaux qui existent au Caire dans la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle. Ses sources d’inspiration ont ainsi pu notamment être découvertes au détour d’ouvrages liturgiques imprimés en Europe ou à la Nouvelle-Djoulfa et retrouvés dans la bibliothèque des pères franciscains du Mūski au Caire. Comprendre l’art de Yūḥannā al Armanī permet ainsi de mieux cerner la diffusion des iconographies chrétiennes en Afrique et au Proche-Orient, voguant, au gré des courants de la mer Méditerranée. Son œuvre montre qu’il n’est pas simplement entre Orient et Occident, il est au croisement de circulations complexes qui font éclater cette problématique. / Active from 1740 to 1786, the year of his death, Yūḥannā al Armanī al-Qudsī was one of the most prolific icon painters that Ottoman Egypt has ever known. Benefiting from a political and economic renewal, the Christians of Egypt have been able to restore and enhance their religious heritage, in particular by having many icons made to decorate churches. Yūḥannā al Armanī and his close colleague Ibrāhīm al-Nāsiḫ responded to this call by developing large workshops ready to respond to these orders. The result is so spectacular that, even today, it is difficult not to visit a Coptic church in Cairo without seeing a panel made by one or the other of these men. The gathering of a corpus of more than four hundred icons now makes it possible to consider the extent of the work that resulted from this tandem. The style of the painters is also what makes this production so original. Often undefinable, as already noted in his time A. J. Butler at the end of the 19th century, this one illustrates the many sources that have been used. There are both, jumbled together, inspirations from local Christian traditions, evocations of Ottoman fabrics or compositions from European paintings. This particularity is based on a very concrete fact. Yūḥannā al Armanī, as its name suggests, comes from an Armenian family. Although he was born in Egypt and married a Coptic Egyptian, he remains very attached to his roots, both by his place of residence in Cairo - close to the Armenian church - and by the sociability he develops. In order to better understand this atypical painter and his work, it is necessary to understand the networks that existed in Cairo in the second half of the 18th century. His sources of inspiration have been discovered in liturgical works printed in Europe or New Julfa and found in the Franciscan's Library at Mūski in Cairo. Understanding the art of Yūḥannā al Armanī thus makes it possible to better understand the diffusion of Christian iconographies in Africa and the Near East, sailing, according to the currents of the Mediterranean Sea. His work shows that he is not simply between East and West, he is at the crossroads of complex circulations that make this problem explode.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The concept of "delinquencty area" denotes a social phenomenon. It is generally defined as an area of a city marked by an abnormal delinquency rate as compared with other areas of the city of similar size and population. Such areas are located in zones of transition, and are marked by industrial buildings, waterfronts and railroads, deteriorated buildings, and population of mixed nationalities. In spite of the criticisms of the concept of "delinquency area," it appears to serve a useful purpose. There is a danger that the concept may be used as an oversimplification of the problem of delinquency and crime, because of the extreme complexity of delinquency and crime causation and the inconclusive nature of most statistical data on this subject. Probably the concept of "delinquency area," if refined, would be of increasing use in research. However, it should be noted that delinquency may be of various types. Some of these types may exist in certain areas, and others may breed in other areas. If we wish to find out the dynamic factors that may cause a type or types of delinquent behavior, the concept will provide us with a starting point from which to look for these factors. For example: We may be able to find out the reasons why certain types of delinquency occur in others; or why they occur more often in certain areas than in other areas of the same city. [TRUNCATED]

This thesis explores how low-income women in Cairo respond to gender inequalities in their daily lives, both in the household and in the informal labour market. The aim is to generate knowledge about the diversity of gender relations and ideologies in the Egyptian context and to contribute to broader theoretical debates regarding gender and resistance, with a view to informing both policy and feminist activism. The thesis argues that a modified concept of "everyday forms of resistance" provides a way forward for a more nuanced and contextualized understanding of women's responses to their positions of relative subordination, than do either Marxist approaches to power and consciousness, or the a-historical usage of the notion of patriarchy. The study is based on participant observation and in-depth interviews in four low-income neighbourhoods in Cairo over a period of 15 months. Within the household, research focused on four specific arrangements: pre-marital expectations, marriage negotiations, sexuality, and intra-household decision making. With the labour market, two types of women's work were explored; home-based piece-work, and waged work in small-scale workshops. The links between women's options in workplace and in the household were examined. Results of this exploratory study show that women's perceptions and responses are varied, complex, contradictory and in continuous flux as they interact with broader socio-economic conjunctures. Women displayed both defiance and compliance, both a lack of articulated awareness of their self-interest, and high levels of awareness of some of the injustices against them as women. Sometimes, their actions were pragmatic seeking immediate relief. At other times, they sought more medium or longer-term gains. In some instances, they acted individually and covertly and at other times they acted collectively and articulated their discontent forcefully. Any single conclusion about women's agency would thus be erroneous. Attempts to advance women's interests are also bound to be varied and complex.

In Haram City, amidst Egypt's 2011-2013 revolutionary period, two visions of the city in the Global South come together within shared walls. In this private suburban development marketed as affordable housing, aspirational middle class homebuyers embellish properties for privilege and safety. They also come to share grounds with resettled urban poor who transform their surroundings to sustain basic livelihoods. With legality in disarray and under private administration, residents originally from Duweiqa - perhaps Cairo's poorest neighbourhood - claim the right to squat vacant homes, while homebuyers complain of a slum in the gated community. What was only desert in 2005 has since become a forum for vivid public contestation over the relationship between morality, ownership, and order in space - struggles over what ought to be common in a compound. This ethnography explores residents' own legal geographies in relation to property amidst public-private partnership urbanism: how do competing normative discourses draw community lines in the sand, and how are they applied to assert ownership where the scales of 'official' legitimacy have been tipped? In other words: in a city built from scratch amidst a revolution, how is legality invented? Like the compound itself, sections of the thesis are divided into an A-area and a B-area. Shifting from side to side, four papers examine the lives of squatters and then of homeowners and company management acting in their name. Zooming in and out within sides, they depict discourses over moral ownership and then interpret practices asserting a concomitant vision of order. First, in Chapter 4, squatters invoke notions of a moral economy and practical virtue to justify 'informal' ownership claims against perceptions of developer-state corruption. Next, Chapter 5 illustrates how squatters define 'rights' as debt, a notion put into practice by ethical outlaws: the Sayi' - commonly meaning 'down-and-out' or 'bum' - brokers 'rights' to coordinate group ownership claims. Shifting sides, Chapter 6 observes middle class homeowners' aspirations for "internal emigration" to suburbs as part of an incitement to propertied autonomy, and details widespread dialogue over suburban selfhood in relationship to property, self-interest, and conviviality. Lastly, Chapter 7 documents authoritarian private governance of the urban poor that centres on "behavioural training." Free from accountability and operating like a city-state, managers simulate urban law to inculcate subjective norms, evoking both Cairene histories and global policy circulations of poverty management. Towards detailing how notions of ownership and property constitute visions and assertions of urban law, this project combines central themes in ethnographies of Cairo with legal geography on suburbs of the Global North. It therefore interrogates some key topics in urban studies of the Global South (gated communities, affordable housing, public-private partnerships, eviction-resettlement, informality, local governance, and squatting), as Cairo's 'new city' urban poor and middle classes do themselves, through comparative principles and amidst promotion of similar private low-income cities internationally. While presenting a micro-history of one project, it is also offers an alternative account of 2011-2013 revolutionary period, witnessed from the desert developments through which Egyptian leaders habitually promise social progress.

The purpose of this research was to develop a framework for Egyptian urban housing strategies, based on an understanding and consideration of critical factors that affect the success or failure of strategies. It is intended as a contribution toward modeling and demonstrating a necessary pattern of holistic strategic thinking. The need for the research in terms of the Egyptian housing situation and the varied approaches to the resolution of the housing problem is demonstrated. Also introduced are the general methodology and organization of the work. An integrated concept of housing as a need, a process and a product is presented and developed into a housing model applicable to Egypt and possibly other developing countries with similar circumstances. A main feature of the model is the critical impacting factors that affect the progression of housing strategies and which may ultimately determine their success or failure. The model and the methodological procedures derived from it, were applied to the Egyptian housing situation. Through reconnaissance of the Egyptian environment, historic analysis of past experience, and assessment of the current situation, a set of impacting factors were identified and analyzed. Implications of the research are discussed in relation to Egypt and other developing countries, and few personal recommendations are also presented. / Ph. D. / Page 123 missing.

The khanka or monastic mosque, was first established in Cairo by Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, in 1171. Prior to this time, residents of the khanka, better known as Sufis - the ascetics of Islam were a group of mobile mystics who travelled widely seeking knowledge and truth of divinity and creation. It was during the Mamluk period (1250-1517) however, that the khanka gained popularity. It was normally constructed as part of a larger complex which housed other pious functions. It became commonplace among Mamluk sultans to attach their mausoleums to these khanka complexes, thus giving the khanka ultimate social and religious significance.Due to this significance, khankas, were among the first building types to face destruction upon the downfall of Mamluk rule. Unfortunatley, the deterioration of the khanka, institution has continued to this present day. In fact the khanka, institution and its architecture are slowly disappearing.In an effort to help preserve the vanishing architecture of the khanka institution, the khanka, of Sultan Al-Ashraf Barsbay, one of great architectural significance, was selected for the topic of this thesis. A reconstruction and restoration proposal is presented following complete historical, social and arcitectural research and documentaion. This proposal is based on a research methodology established for application to this and other historical buildings which may be approached for documentation and analysis.The reconstruction of the missing portions of the complex is important for the preservation of an almost extinct building type. The Khanka of Al-Ashraf Barsbay presents an interesting challenge in several repects: understanding the elements of Mamluk architecture as a distinct building style, identifying elements of islamic architecture, and finally applying this knowledge of architecture to the process of reconstruction within the framework of national and international preservation standards. / Department of Architecture

This dissertation investigates the ways in which the natural and the social overlap in the symbolic center of human activity, cities. Cities are full of living organisms, existing not in a perfect state of equilibrium but rather in states of constant flux. The cycles of life moving through the city of Cairo, Egypt are dependent on water as a vital component and scarce resource in systems of biological exchange, as well as one among many pieces of infrastructure that the city requires to survive. This dissertation looks at the informal systems that residents of a squatter settlement in Cairo, Egypt called Ezbet Khairallah have created to make life possible, as well as their attempts to get the state to formally provide these services; work that is done at collective scales and in everyday practices. The dissertation also looks at what happens when areas such as Ezba are successful in getting the state to recognize them and institutionalize utility services, what the hidden costs and unintended consequences are of becoming formal end users of state systems. The dissertation provides an overview of the forces at work in shaping Cairo, highlighting the rural to urban migration patterns and shifting urban policy over the course of the 20th century that have funneled so many into informal housing settlements. In addition, the dissertation highlights the particular material history of Ezbet Khairallah, and how that has shaped the social and material circumstances of residents. It examines the material and affective implications of being unable to escape waste, of bodies that bear signs of systems that both make life possible and make life difficult. By studying the institutional framework in which these questions get worked out in Egypt, we can better situate the struggles of those living in the urban margins of the global south, such as those in Ezbet Khairallah. / text

The goal of this study is to apply the extraordinarily rich set of historical cartographic and remote sensing data of Cairo, Egypt to the analysis of the problem of informal development in the twentieth century. Remote sensing of urban areas has been dominated in recent years by multispectral analysis of Landsat imagery. This restricts studies both temporally and in spatial resolution. In this study an aerial photo interpretation methodology is applied to images and maps spanning two centuries of Cairo’s history at a spatial resolution on the scale of individual buildings. From these techniques insights can be obtained of the political and social forces shaping the development of Cairo.

Sexual harassment in Cairo's public spaces is a symptom of infringement upon women’s rights in Egypt. Which is ingrained in the socioeconomic context, cultural, and traditional norms of the society. This grant proposal and background research proposes the construction of an extensive anti-sexual harassment infrastructure base in Egypt. The infrastructure platform is built on an evidence-based strategy and guided by recognized best practices. The platform is geared towards alleviating the symptoms of sexual harassment in Cairo's public spaces by constructing the urgently required, but currently missing, national mechanisms which are necessary to prevent, report, prosecute, and provide survivor services for victims of sexual harassment. In addition to the immediate perceived causes and effects of sexual harassment in Egypt there is also deep-rooted ecological factors that must be considered. These ecological factors, on an individual level, both biological and personal, include the fact that approximately 97% of Egyptian girls witness female gentile mutilation (FGM) in a publicized fashion between the ages 4 & 10. The practice of FGM, may have indoctrinated little boys and little girls, from an early age, that it is socially acceptable to inflict physical and psychological pain and suffering upon the female. FGM carried out at this age, as opposed to male circumcision, which is carried out during early infancy, allows for the neurological trauma that is generated leaves a lasting imprint. On a family level, 49% of adolescent rural girls marry before the age of 16. Marriage at this age is internationally recognized as sexual abuse, yet is common practice in rural Egypt. This practice sets a negative precedence for accommodating women's voices, this precedence may last a lifetime. On a community level, based on the most recent statistically significant surveys, approximately 70% of youth, both male and female, believe women are subordinate to men. This dictates that male must exercise control of resources and decision-making. And, that a girl must do what her brother says, even if he is younger. On a society level, 86% of surveyed male respondents indicated they would do “nothing” to try and stop sexual harassment if they witnessed it happening to a stranger in public. And finally, even from the moment they are born, the large majority of women in Egypt, because of religious dictates, inherit only half of what a male sibling would. Ceteris paribus, women in Egypt, just by virtue of being female, based on inheritance, are only able to afford a living standard, for themselves and their family that is only half as high as that of their male siblings living standard, unless of course their male sibling is benevolent enough to bestow upon them his own wealth. All these factors invariable, where they apply, undermine women's status in society and negatively impact attitudes of protecting women from harm and violence, in all its forms, which includes sexual harassment in public spaces.

Land subsidence and coastal erosion are worldwide problems, particularly in densely populated deltas. The Nile Delta is no exception. Currently, it is undergoing land subsidence and is simultaneously experiencing retreat of its coastline. The impacts of these long-term interrelated geomorphic problems are heightened by the economic, social and historical importance of the delta to Egypt. Unfortunately, the current measures of the rates of subsidence and coastal erosion in the delta are rough estimates at best. Sustainable development of the delta requires accurate and detailed spatial and temporal measures of subsidence and coastal retreat rates. Radar interferometry is a unique remote sensing approach that can be used to map topography with 1 m vertical accuracy and measure surface deformation with 1 mm level accuracy. Radar interferometry has been employed in this dissertation to measure urban subsidence and coastal change in the Nile Delta. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data of 5.66 cm wavelength acquired by the European Radar Satellites (ERS-1 and ERS- 2) spanning eight years (1993-2000) have been used in this investigation. The ERS data have been selected because the spatial and temporal coverage, as well as the short wavelength, are appropriate to measure the slow rate of subsidence in the delta. The ERS tandem coherence images are also appropriate for coastal change detection. The magnitude and pattern of subsidence are detected and measured using Permanent Scatterer interferometry. The measured rates of subsidence in greater Cairo, Mansura, and Mahala are 7, 9, and 5 mm yr-1, respectively. Areas of erosion and accretion in the eastern side of the delta are detected using the ERS tandem coherence and the ERS amplitude images. The average measured rates of erosion and accretion are -9.57 and +5.44 m yr-1, respectively. These measured rates pose an urgent need of regular monitoring of subsidence and coastline retreat in the delta. This study highlighted the feasibility of applying Permanent Scatterer interferometry in inappropriate environment for conventional SAR interferometry. The study addressed possibilities and limitations for successful use of SAR interferometry within the densely vegetated delta and introduced alternative strategies for further improvement of SAR interferometric measurements in the delta.