Together, we mediated between professionals and students, we organized sketching and watercoloring courses. So he started a group called Tasmeem (Design). When at university, he thought that, alone, it was not enough for us to learn about architecture. How did Cairo Urban Sketchers come about?ĪBU BAKR: It was originally Amir Abdel Rahman’s idea, who is a graduate of the faculty of engineering (architecture major) at Cairo University, class of 2004. We sat down with Abu Bakr and Karim Qotb to talk about the visual and physical journeys of Cairo Urban Sketchers and its success in luring followers to join them. This visual journey in itself is something I enjoy.” You come from Moneeb, its crowd and high rises, then you see you the water, then the island, the water again and finally Old Cairo. “When your eyes move from right to left of this view, and back you are purified.
With my head tilting to the right in enjoyment, I smile at Abu Bakr and realize that nothing can be as moving as watching someone speak about their passion. So the relationship between me, as an Egyptian and me as an architect and the Nile is very important.” In my project, which I named ‘Rebirth of Cairo,’ I talked about how the Nile is the artery without which the small cell that is Cairo wouldn’t have been built. We all love the Nile, and Egypt wouldn’t be Egypt without the Nile. El Moneeb is on my right, and Old Cairo is on my left. In this sketch, my back is to the Manasterly Palace, and I’m facing the Nile, the Bahr El Azam Street, Gazirat Al-Dahab or the Gold Island and the Ring Road. However, what is also special about the place is its view. It also has an ancient but genius water measuring tool, a rock that is still in place. I watch Abdel Rahman as he closes his eyes, inhales slowly with every word and moves both hands along his sketch as he tells me, “This palace means a lot to me because it is the oldest Islamic monument, and my graduation project was to replace the water station behind it. One of the four partners behind Cairo Urban Sketchers, Abu Bakr says the project was created to explore Cairo's historical and modern aspects. "This sketch has several significances to me: historical, architectural, my graduation projection, the Nile, Egypt,” says Abdel Rahman Abu Bakr, choosing his words very carefully and luring me into the world behind his dearest sketch. The architecture graduates behind Cairo Urban Sketchers on their visual journeys across the city and how the skyline of tomorrow’s capital needs to be imagined.
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