Inlaid Marble Mihrab of Barsbay
Black & White Negative, Archival Pigment Print    
40X50 cm
Edition : 1/10
1985

Nihal Tamraz is a photographer as well as a professional researcher, as well as a Communication and Media professional. She has a focused interest in photography and the architecture of Cairo. With a BA and MA in Islamic Art and Architecture from the American University in Cairo (AUC), Tamraz’ award winning MA Thesis became the Book “Nineteenth Century Cairene Houses and Palaces” (AUC press, 1998), after winning the Frank G. Wisner Award for the ‘Best Written master’s Thesis’ in 1993. Nihal studied Black and White photography during her BA years at AUC. She curated the photographic Exhibition “Garo Balian: An Ottoman Court Architect in Modern Egypt” at the Sony Gallery, AUC in 1994. Thereafter, the exhibition was invited to be exhibited at Al al-Bayt University, Jordan in 1995. Tamraz worked as a photographer for The Middle East Times, Cairo Today and has photographs published in the Los Angeles Times and Time Magazine. She was also the photographic researcher for TIMELIFE Books from 1986-1998. This involved archival research primarily in the major Egyptian newspapers, news agencies and museum archives, dealing with diverse subjects such as World War II, Egyptology, and Islamic Art and Architecture
 
"Medieval Cairo" is the outcome of my in-depth photography study on Mamluk architecture, in 1985. Through this show, I invite viewers to step into the footsteps of history, to marvel at the architectural achievements of the Mamluks, and to reflect upon the enduring value of preserving and celebrating our shared cultural heritage. It is my hope that these images will inspire a renewed sense of admiration, respect, and curiosity for the magnificent Mamluk architecture that graces the streets of Cairo even to this day.