Egypt’s famous Giza Zoo, the oldest in Africa and the Middle East, is getting a much-needed development to raise it from decline up to a world-class zoo.
On 9 July, the Giza Zoo was closed to the public, and handed to the Egyptian Alliance for Development of the Zoo, as announced in a statement by Ahmed Ibrahim, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation which officially owns the zoo. The Alliance will implement the development project, as confirmed in the statement.
The statement stressed that the Giza Zoo will remain under the ownership of the Ministry of Agriculture and under supervision of the Veterinary Services Authority affiliated to the Ministry. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Agriculture had said that the zoo development would cost at least EGP 1 billion.
The development project, the statement declared, will be done under supervision of the Pan African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZA), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) of which the Giza Zoo had been a member but lost its membership in 2004 because of substandard animal habitat.
The Giza Zoo, which was built by Khedive Ismail and opened by his successor Khedive Tawfiq on 1 March 1891, is the third oldest in the world, the oldest in Africa, and the first of its kind in the Middle East.
Located on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, southwest Cairo, it spreads over 80 feddans of land [1 feddan = 4,200 sq.m], and includes many rare trees and plants, streams, ponds and bridges, including a one-of-a-kind suspended bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel.
It also contains a five-mound gabalaya—literally a hilly, rocky terrain—planted with cacti to simulate the habitat of some of the zoo animals.
Many of the zoo buildings are listed as historical monuments. These include the administrative building, the royal ‘grotto’, the marble ‘grotto’, the tea island, the Japanese pagoda and a set of columns known as Haramlek Palace, as well as the main entrance and the garden’s fencing wall.
In short, the Giza Zoo is a historical and heritage landmark that has in modern years become a prime outdoor venue for Cairenes and Egyptians in general, receiving millions of visitors every year.
The development project will turn the zoo into an open park, using the best international safety standards, in collaboration with the WAZA and PAAZA, and will bring in more animals of a wider variety than that already in the zoo. It will improve the efficiency of all zoo services, maximise the use of its components while protecting its archaeological character, rare plants and trees, and restore its heritage and past glamour while revitalising it as an open area that offers a much-needed green breathing space for the public.
A tunnel will be built to link the Giza Zoo with its close neighbour, the Orman Botanical Garden, another heritage garden built by Khedive Ismail in 1875 on some 28 feddans. It includes a rock garden, a rose garden, cactus gardens, and a singular lotus pond.
Watani International
11 July 2023