In 1984, Aga Khan IV was visiting Cairo on a conference. From his hotel balcony; Al-Darassa hill was visible: mounts of wreckage and ruins amassed during 500 years. He decided to intervene and offer that medieval area via the Historic Cities Support Programme the much-needed gift of an oasis in this urban desert. The sum of 30 million dollars was allocated to the project and put in the qualified hand of a local architecture and urbanism office: Sites International.