By Patrick Werr

CAIRO (Reuters) -Egyptian restorers are reconstructing a dilapidated neighbourhood in Cairo's historic centre, dismantling houses and then rebuilding them with materials from the old structures in a model they hope can be applied to other districts.

The Darb al-Labbana neighbourhood is nestled on a slope directly under Cairo's more than eight-century-old citadel, a prominent landmark built by Muslim general Saladin, and abutting the back of a historic hospital complex. But in recent decades it had become largely uninhabitable.

The street pattern has remained little changed for centuries. The narrow lanes and alleys........

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