The truth that issues involved in the preservation of Cultural property especially of historical monuments are intrinsically bound up with the realities of urban development applies just as much to Muslim countries as it does to the European nations. It is particularly the case that the problem of how to preserve cultural assets and the ongoing process of development are, in a sense, but different faces of one and the same coin. In this paper, therefore, we intend to focus on Greater Cairo and look at it from the perspective outlined above; after all, this area is notable in Egypt as being characterized by the kind of environmental pollution that is the result of a teeming population just short of 10 million, as well as a damp environment typical of the Mediterranean. In so doing, we will describe the present status of historical monuments in the area and the issues involved in planning the conservation and restoration thereof. As of the latter half of the 1990s, the pyramid zone wherein converge the Pharaonic sites began to see a marked surge in moves to push urban development further into the Cairo suburbs. Originating in the construction of general housing and holiday homes, the trend went on to include the construction of the Ring Road, which led in no small way to such repercussions as the provision of access routes and the opening up to the public of the Pharaonic sites. The Cairo earthquake of 1992 also served to spark serious discussion as to the problem of how to achieve a coexistence of urban life and historical monuments such as churches and mosques. As a result, the Ministry of Culture was responsible for setting in motion initiatives to conserve and renovate a large number of historical monuments, mainly in the Coptic and Islamic areas. In Greater Cairo, therefore, we have seen, and are still seeing, the unlikely bedfellows of "development' and "preservation" coming together and making headway, hand in hand. At the same time, however, this surge of development has given rise to debate as to the suitability of the technology employed in such projects, which in turn means that we are bound to see, for the time being at least, an intensification of arguments preoccupied with the methodological aspects of the matter. In the days ahead, moreover, the problem of how historical monuments are to be preserved as an integral part of the historical environment will represent a challenge not only to the domain of conservation science, but also to the fields of history and archaeology.