Since 1999, the Savannah College of Art and Design has held a symposium every two years on a topic related to the history of architecture and urban history. This year, the topic of the Sixth Savannah Symposium was “World Heritage and National Registers in Perspective,” and I was invited to attend as the keynote speaker.

Egypt has many UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Theban Necropolis, the Memphite Necropolis, and Historic Cairo. My work in archaeology and the site management initiatives that I have been leading at the Supreme Council of Antiquties are important parts of the development and protection of these areas. I really think that this symposium was the first time that there has been a formal, open forum for the discussion of UNESCO’s management of the World Heritage, and the problems facing World Heritage sites. There has been talk of making Savannah a world heritage site. The city’s property owners, however are not enthusiastic about this because of the restrictions it would place on their use of their homes and land. I thought that this symposium was an excellent idea, to help the city to learn from the experiences of other communities that are part of the World Heritage system. I really enjoyed meeting professors from SCAD, including Dr. Robin Williams, the chair of the Department of Architectural History, and Dr. Thomas Gensheimer, a professor in the department. Ms. April Martin, who coordinated my trip, was a great help, and it was a pleasure to see her. We had dinner together in the evenings, and the conversation was very stimulating. I stayed in the Magnolia House, a restored historic building owned by SCAD.

I spoke at a movie theater downtown. I felt as though this was probably the first time that Savannah, a quiet and beautiful town of 150,000 people, had ever seen such a crowd at a public lecture. The most interesting part of my trip, however, were the tours of Savannah that the college organized. I was amazed by the beautiful architecture of this historic city, which was founded in 1733 as the first capital of Georgia when it was still a British colony. I thought it was very interesting that there is a Gulfstream aircraft factory there today, giving the city a modern side as well. 

Savannah is really unique. The homes there are beautiful, and I was really impressed by how carefully the city was planned 280 years ago. It is made up of many squares, each with its own personality. The squares are also connected with historic churches. I was also happy to see how successful the initiative to make Savannah a “walking city” has been. This is a very important aspect of the effort to preserve its historic character, and I think that it is an excellent idea. The feel of the city is very pleasant - it is like a piece of American history. In that way, it reminded me a lot of Philadelphia, where I lived for seven years while I was working on my PhD.