El-Max Rescue Project

Under the support of The Honor Frost Foundation and the UE, CEEBA - Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations

Heritage Maritime Cities at Risk

Egypt features a number of historically significant maritime cities and areas. The heritage attributes of these cities vary from one another and are comparable in others. El Max is a heritage maritime area that Muhammad Ali started to develop around 1807 by building a moat to keep the level of the water in the Mariout Lake, which was fed by the Nile, and the sea water equal so as not to drown Alexandria. To elevate the water, Muahmmed Ali constructed water pumps. The moat evolved into a fishery supply throughout time. El-Max is home to numerous settlements that engaged in fishing. Then, when the topography of the region changed, heavy industries like petroleum and the brine industry started to emerge because of the lake.

The Raquda Foundation's Mission and Vision

through the sustained preservation of the tangible and intangible maritime heritage of the El Max maritime area, safeguarding and preserving the maritime heritage of the coastal communities in Egypt. Transforming El-Max is a preserved and protected maritime heritage model for the rest of the maritime communities in Egypt Using new technology in maritime heritage documentation, whether for the tangible and intangible elements Distinguish the urban plan of El-Max as maritime area, and its development, through different eras. Involving the local maritime community in preserving and preserving its marine heritage, in cooperation with decision-makers

El-Max Rescue Project

The urgent rescue responsibility for the El Max area was conceived since the Raquda Foundation’s goal to preserve and safeguard the intangible and tangible cultural and natural maritime heritage. The urgent rescue responsibility for the El Max region was conceived since the Raquda Foundation’s mandate from the first has been to preserve and safeguard the intangible and physical cultural and natural assets.

El-Max is distinguished by having some of Egypt’s rarest traditional fishing and maritime communities. El Max is currently situated inside the boundaries of the Alexandria western harbour development project. The project had been started in September 2021, then the Honor Frost Foundation provided funding and support for the El-Max Rescue Project, which began its first phase in December 2021 with the goal of urgently documenting and carefully monitoring the region’s tangible and intangible maritime heritage elements. The project is still on going to study the whole tangible and intangible maritime heritage elements of El-Max.

Project team

Season One (September 2021 – December 2021)

Project Director: Rawda Abdelhady
Photographer: Abdelrahman Ali

Season Two (December 2021 – March 2022)
Supported in part by the Honor Frost Foundation

Project Director: Rawda Abdelhady
Intangible Maritime Cultural Heritage Documentation: Zeina Adham, Wafaa El-Sayed, Yomna Ibrahim
Archiving: Zeina Adham, Wafaa El-Sayed
Architecture & Mapping: Soheila Ahmed
Photographers: Abdelrahman Ali, Farouk Bukhari
Public Relations & Administrative Consultation: Ziad Morsi

Season Three (April 2022 – June 2022)

Project Director: Rawda Abdelhady
Intangible Maritime Cultural Heritage Documentation: Zeina Adham, Wafaa El-Sayed
Archiving: Zeina Adham, Wafaa El-Sayed
Architecture & Mapping: Soheila Ahmed, Mariam Abdelnasser, Asmaa Ahmed El-Ashaal
Photographers: Abdelrahman Ali, Farouk Bukhari
Community Engagement: Hager Mostafa

Season Four (January 2023 – December 2023)
Supported by the Honor Frost Foundation and the European Union (October 2023 – January 2024)

Project Director: Rawda Abdelhady
Intangible Maritime Cultural Heritage Documentation: Zeina Adham, Rasha Tanbouli, Rowan Mostafa
Archiving: Zeina Adham, Wafaa El-Sayed
Architecture & Mapping: Soheila Ahmed, Mariam Abdelnasser
Photographers: Abdelrahman Ali, Farouk Bukhari, Omar Fathy
Community Engagement: Hager Mostafa, Nour Mahmoud, Yasmine El-Shendy
Administrative Officer: Aya Mahmoud
Consultant – Traditional Boats Survey (El-Max, October 2023): Prof. Chiara Zazzaro
Consultant- GIS and Risk Assessment: Prof. Yasser El-Shayeb
Consultant Architectural Documentation: Eng. Mohamed Gohar
Photogrammetry of Boats: Rawda Abdelhady, Soheila Ahmed, Farouk Bukhari, Abdelrahman Nour
Trainer on archiving: Dr. Ahmed Mansour
Trainer on Community Engament: Caterina de Vivo

Season Five (January 2024 – Present)

Project Director: Rawda Abdelhady
Intangible Cultural Heritage Documentation: Yasmine El-Helou
Community Engagement: Hager Mostafa, Doaa Mahfouz
Photographer: Farouk Bukhari
Photogrammetry of Boats (October 2024): Farouk Bukhari

Raquda
Foundation For Art & Heritage

El-Max Rescue Project