The City of the Dead, or Cairo Necropolis, also referred to as the , is a series of vast Islamic-era necropolises and cemeteries in Cairo, Egypt. They extend to the north and to the south of the Cairo Citadel, below the Mokattam Hills and outside the historic city walls, covering an area roughly long. They are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Historic Cairo".
The necropolis is separated roughly into two regions: the Northern Cemetery to the north of the Citadel (also called the Eastern Cemetery or Qarafat ash-sharq in Arabic because it is east of the old city walls), and the older Southern Cemetery to the south of the Citadel. There is also another smaller cemetery north of Bab al-Nasr.
The necropolis that makes up "the City of the Dead" has been developed over many centuries and contains both the graves of Cairo's common population as well as the elaborate mausoleums of many of its historical rulers and elites. It started with the early city of Fustat (founded in 642 CE) and arguably reached its apogee, in terms of prestige and monumentality, during the Mamluk era (13th–15th centuries). Throughout their history, the necropolises were home to various types of living inhabitants as well. These included the workers whose professions were tied to the cemeteries (e.g. gravediggers, tomb custodians), the Sufis and religious scholars studying in the religious complexes built by sultans and other wealthy patrons, and the regular inhabitants of small urban settlements and villages in the area. This population grew and shrank according to circumstances in different eras. However, starting in the late 19th century and increasing in the 20th century, the pressure of Cairo's intensive urbanization and its ensuing housing shortage led to a large increase in the number of people living in the necropolis zones. Some people resorted to squatting within the mausoleums and tomb enclosures and turning them into improvised housing; however, these "tomb-dwellers" remained a small fraction of the overall population in the area. This phenomenon led to much media commentary and popular imagination about the condition of those living in the necropolises, linking them symbolically to Cairo's much-discussed overpopulation problems and sometimes leading to exaggerated estimates of the number of people squatting in the mausoleums.
Since 2020, the Egyptian government has demolished some historic tombs in the cemeteries for the purpose of building new highways and infrastructure through the area, eliciting protests and objections from locals and conservationists.
Name and etymology While the "City of the Dead" is a designation frequently used in English, the Arabic name is "al-Qarafa" (). The name is a toponym said to derive from the Banu Qarafa ibn Ghusn ibn Wali clan, a Yemeni clan descended from the Banu Ma'afir tribe, which once had a plot of land in the city of Fustat (the predecessor of Cairo). Among other possible origins, a 13th-century Arabic Christian source suggests that the name was derived from a Greek word meaning "writer" or "copyist" (). The land became abandoned and disused following a famine in the 11th century and was probably then used as a burial ground, which led to the name Qarafa being used to denote Cairo's urban cemeteries in general. The term appears to be specific to this context, and is not used to denote cemeteries in other places like the countryside, nor is it necessarily used in other Arabic dialects.
History Early history (7th–10th centuries)
The beginnings of Cairo's necropolis date back to the foundation and subsequent growth of the city of Fustat, founded in 642 CE by 'Amr ibn al-'As, the Arab Muslim commander who led the conquest of Egypt. The early Muslim city was divided into multiple khittat or plots of land that were allocated to different tribes, and each tribe in turn built their own cemetery and funerary district – often including a mosque – in the desert area to the east of the city. The area where the Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi'i currently stands was once the cemetery of the Quraysh tribe, the tribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and one of the most prestigious, and this area likely lay at the center of the cemeteries which subsequently spread north and south around it. In the mid-8th century, just before the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, the city's necropolis is said to have covered about 300 hectares, though its exact boundaries are unclear, other than the fact that it was outside the eastern city walls.
Under Abbasid rule (starting in 750 CE), the center of government shifted to a new city founded just northeast of Fustat, called al-'Askar, and then again to another city, al-Qata'i, built by the semi-independent governor Ahmad Ibn Tulun in the 9th century. The development of the necropolis thus moved northeast, mirroring these new centers of power. For example, Ibn Tulun himself was likely buried in a newly developed cemetery south of al-Qata'i (south of the still preserved Ibn Tulun Mosque), though his tomb can no longer be found today. Importantly, that area also became the site of many important tombs belonging to a number of the Prophet's descendants who emigrated to Egypt in this period, some of which, like those of Sayyida Ruqayya, Sayyida Nafisa and Sayyida Aisha, are still present today. Further south, Imam al-Shafi'i, a Sunni religious scholar of major importance and founder of the Shafi'i madhhab, was buried in the middle of the cemetery in the early 9th century on the site of the early Quraysh cemetery. His tomb became one of the most important sites in the cemeteries even up to the present day, attracting many pilgrims and spurring development in the area at different periods.
By the end of Abbasid rule in Egypt in the 10th century, the necropolis is reported to have covered an enormous area stretching several kilometers from the southern edge of al-Qata'i (close to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and the later Citadel of Salah ad-Din) to the former lake of Birkat al-Habash (just south of the modern Ring Road today in the Basatin district). Some historians believe that the necropolis zone was divided into two cemeteries: the Qarafat al-Sughra, or "Smaller Qarafa", located further north, and the Qarafat al-Kubra, or "Greater Qarafa", spreading over a large area further south. In any case, however, these terms would be used in various ways later on.
In this early period, monumental mausoleums were quite rare, graves were unadorned, and only the most important tombs might have had some distinguishing structure at all, as early Islam discouraged ostentatious tombs. The tradition of building domed mausoleums only evolved from the Fatimid period onward.
Fatimid period (969–1171 CE)
The Fatimid dynasty revived or reintroduced ancient Egyptian traditions of building monumental mausoleums and of visiting ancestors' graves, which subsequently changed the character of the cemeteries. One impetus for this was the presence of the tombs of a number of descendants of Muhammad and of 'Ali buried here earlier. These were especially important to the Shi'i version of Islam of which the Fatimids were adherents. The Fatimids even built three shrines which were intended to house the remains of Muhammad and of the first two Shi'a caliphs/imams, but the remains were never moved here. A number of other Fatimid-era mausoleums survive today in the area between the Mosques of Ibn Tulun and of Sayyida Nafisa, such as the Mausoleum of Sayyida Ruqayya. During this period, the name al-Qarafat al-Kubra ("Greater Qarafa") appears to have designated the vast cemeteries associated with Fustat, which may not have merged yet with the Abbasid-era cemeteries of al-'Askar and al-Qata'i.
The Fatimids built a number of palaces and residences within the Greater Qarafa cemetery and along the roads between Fustat and their new royal city of al-Qahira (from which the name "Cairo" originates) to the northeast. These did not supplant the Great Palaces (located on the site of Bayn al-Qasrayn today), but served as leisurely retreats from the city and as places to stay while visiting the tombs of Muhammad's descendants. Along with their palaces, the Fatimids also built mosques, madrasas, and ribats for religious instruction and activities, all of which required the creation of infrastructure for water and other necessities. Among other measures, the Aqueduct of Ibn Tulun, built to provide water to al-Qata'i and passing through this area, was repaired. The most important of the constructions in the Qarafa appears to have been a monumental palace complex called "al-Andalus", built in 977 by Durzan (or Taghrid), the mother of Caliph al-'Aziz. Caliph al-Amir (reigned 1100–1130) also reportedly resided in the palace. Durzan also built a large mosque, possibly comparable in size and layout to the Mosque of al-Azhar, described by contemporary chroniclers and known simply as the Qarafa Mosque. The palace was later destroyed by Salah ad-Din and the mosque is no longer extant today.
These developments and practices during the Fatimid era led to the emergence, or resurgence, of the popular traditions of visiting the graves of family members and ancestors for holidays and vacations. It also set a precedent for people living in the cemeteries, as the new establishments inside the Qarafa required workers to operate, and the religious foundations attracted scholars and Sufis.
The Fatimid Caliphs themselves and their family members were buried in their own mausoleum (called Turbat az-Za'faran) on the site of what is now Khan al-Khalili, inside the city and adjacent to the Fatimid Great Palaces. However, many Fatimid officials and elites chose to be buried in the Qarafa. The presence of Taghrid's palace and mosque may have encouraged them to be buried here alongside the rest of Fustat's population. Elsewhere, the Bab al-Nasr Cemetery, located just across from the Bab al-Nasr city gate, was also likely established in this period, probably starting with the powerful Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali (who built the gate and the city walls) choosing to be buried here when he died in 1094.
Towards the end of the Fatimid period, the necropolis may have declined as the political situation worsened. The burning of Fustat in 1168 led to the decline of that city and its importance, and the ruined sections of the city may have become burial grounds integrated into the Greater Qarafa.
Ayyubid period (1171–1250 CE)
The Qarafa received new attention under the Ayyubid dynasty (established by Salah ad-Din after the Fatimid Caliphate was abolished in 1171), who repaired some monuments and aqueducts and re-initiated urbanization in parts of the cemeteries (despite also destroying Fatimid monuments). Most significantly, Salah ad-Din built the first Sunni madrasa in Egypt (to counter Fatimid Shi'a influence), based on the Shafi'i madhhab, right next to the tomb of Imam al-Shafi'i, while in 1211 Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil built the mausoleum and enormous dome over al-Shafi'i's tomb which remains one of the most impressive in Cairo to this day.
The development and construction around Imam al-Shafi'i's mausoleum led to this area becoming a miniature district of its own, known as al-Qarafat al-Sughra (the "Smaller Qarafa") within the larger necropolis still known as al-Qarafat al-Kubra (the "Greater Qarafa"), which was perhaps relatively dilapidated by then. The two would later merge again as development spread to other areas.
Mamluk period (1250–1517 CE)