WASHINGTON, 30 October 2007 — "The old city of Jerusalem is burdened with its history, culture and mythology," says Dr. Shadia Touqan. She should know as she's in charge of preserving the old city.

Dr. Touqan, director of the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Plan, spoke earlier this week at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, at an event organized by the Mosaic Foundation, a Washington-based charitable and education organization run by the wives of Arab ambassadors in Washington.

Recognized as an authority on the preservation of cultural heritage, Dr. Touqan advises UNESCO in Bethlehem and Yemen and numerous urban development projects in the Middle East. She also was awarded the 2004 Aga Kahn award for architecture preservation.

In the old city, one of the biggest problems her organization, The Welfare Association, which established the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Program, OCJRP, in 1994, faces is an age-old fight between the past and present: Maintaining century-old buildings when people want all the comforts the modern world can offer.

Dr. Touqan told the audience of the dicey problems of introducing water, sewers, drainers, telephones and Internet systems to ancient buildings - without destroying the design of the building.

"Modern additions and unplanned expansions threaten the city, as does environmental degradation and lack of services - which threaten many historical areas throughout the Middle East."

Their work, she said, focuses on achieving sustainable development and renewal of Jerusalem's much-neglected historic Old City.

And she speaks as though she knows the old city like the palm of her hand. OCJRP, she said, has surveyed every building within the walls of the Old City (over 3,000). "We have all their characteristics: The architectural style, the roof, who is using it, who did before, the current use and the structural condition of the building."

Having worked on dozens of buildings, one of Dr. Touqan's proudest accomplishments is the restoration of the Center of Islamic Manuscripts, which she said "is known by historians as the 3rd jewel in the Old City, after Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock."

"It took us one year to get rid of the dampness from the building, and the roof was leaking - there were so many problems."

But she said her greatest challenge in restoring the buildings were the residents. "We try to make them aware and proud of their heritage. Some feel they are stuck in a slum, and thus it is important to raise their awareness of the value of the building they live in, and encourage their participation and bring in services for them, and the community. That's the challenge - to make it a place where people are proud to live and participate."

"We need to balance the need of the building's user while preserving the cultural heritage of the historic city. We want to preserve the monuments while preserving the dignity of its residents. We try to convince them not to make irreversible changes to the buildings, such as knocking down walls.

"Another problem is that most of the people who live in these buildings are tenants, and most of the owners of the historic buildings have left the city," said Dr. Touqan. "The owners have moved out to a more affluent area. So we try to convince them that we increase the financial value if they don't change the building."

Although they are not required to get permits from the Israeli authorities, "as long as we d not change the physical condition of the building," Dr. Touqan said the (Israeli) Department of Antiquities visits every site they work on. "We follow the rules because we respect the heritage and want to save it."

But her organization does face problems due to travel restrictions on Palestinians.

"One of our biggest obstacles is that most of our skilled labor comes from the West Bank, now we have a real shortage, because they have a problem getting into the city. We're losing many of our skilled laborers, and it's a real problem."

Current projects include the restoration of some of the most famous landmarks in Jerusalem that had fallen into disrepair and neglect through poor infrastructure, pollution and natural and man-made disasters, said Dr. Touqan. "Efforts have concentrated on buildings in the environs of Al-Haram Al-Sharif and in areas which have been threatened by dispossession, such as the Aqabat Al-Khalidiyya."

The OCJRP's largest restoration project is the 600-year-old Dar Al-Aytam Al-Islamiyya, a former Mamluk palace and pilgrim's hostel with additions from the early Ottoman period and one of the largest structures in the Old City. Its built-up area of almost 10,000 square meters is architecturally rich, with monumental stone-carved portals and other Mamluk features, and today houses a boys' academic and vocational school and workshops, traditional soup kitchen and orphans' dormitory. The 4-year $3.5 million comprehensive restoration project involved upgrading of all infrastructure and services, and interior and exterior renewal, including stone restoration of the facades and modernizing facilities and vocational school equipment. The project was completed in 2004.

Other major projects implemented by OCJRP are three restoration and adaptive rescue programs within Al-Haram Al-Sharif: Al-Madrasa Al-Ashrafiyaa (for the Al-Aqsa Manuscript Restoration Center), Al-Aqsa Library and the Islamic Museum. Also completed is the first stage restoration of the Suq Al-Qattanin, Al-Madrasa Al-Jawhariyaa (now the Awqaf Department of Archeology), Al-Madresa Al-Jalaqiyya, and the Al-Budeiriyya Library, plus many housing renewal projects.