Cairo

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For other uses, see Cairo (disambiguation).

The Triumphant City (ﻤﺪﻴﻨﺔ القاهرة)
Flag Seal
Cairo's location in Egypt
Coordinates: 30°03′N 31°22′E
Governor	Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir
Area
- City	210 km²
- Metro	1,492 km²
Population
- City (2005)	7,438,376
- Density	35,420/km²
- Urban	10,834,495
- Metro	15,200,000
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة‎ ​ translit: al-Qāhirah), It comes from the arabic word "قاهرة" means "Triumphant", It is the capital city of Egypt (previously the United Arab Republic). It has a metropolitan area population of approximately 15.2 million people. Cairo is the seventeenth most populous metropolitan area in the world (the 10th according to 2004 statistics). Cairo is also the most populous metropolitan area and the most populous city in Africa. The city is located at 30°2' North, 31°13' East (30.03333, 31.21667). [1]

While al-Qāhirah is the official name of the city, in local speech it is typically called simply by the name of the country, Miṣr (Arabic, مصر) pronounced Maṣr in the local dialect.

Contents 1 History of Cairo 1.1 Era of the Pharaohs (BC 3500 - BC 30) 1.2 The Romans (BC 30 - AD 641) 1.3 The Islamic Conquering (641 - 969) 1.4 The Triumphant City (969 - 1168) 1.5 The Age of Saladin and the Crusades (1168 - 1250) 1.6 Ruled by the Mamluk (1250 - 1517) 1.7 Osmaniye's Age (Sultans and Mamluks) (1517 - 1798) 1.8 French and British domination (1798 - 1952) 1.9 The Modern Metropolis (1952 - Today) 2 Cairo Geography 3 Cairo Infrastructure 3.1 Health 3.2 Education 3.3 Transport 3.4 Sports 3.5 Culture 3.6 Media 3.7 Economy 3.8 Tourism 4 Cairo Problems 4.1 Pollution 4.2 Housing 5 Miscellaneous 5.1 Town Twinning (Sister Cities) 5.2 Famous Cairenes 5.3 Lists 5.4 See also 5.5 External links 5.6 Further reading 5.7 Tables

[edit] History of Cairo

Cairo was founded in AD 969. However, to claim that Cairo is merely a thousand years old is in fact historically inaccurate. The city's long journey across history started more than four millennia ago. Throughout the ages, it managed to survive many rulers, including Egyptian Pharaohs, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Turks. The city assumed various names: Memphis, Heliopolis, Babylon-in-Egypt, Al-Fustat, Al-Qatta'i, Al-Askar, and most recently, Al-Qahira. In the fifth century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus visited the then 2000 year-old Pyramids as a tourist. By that time, ancient Egyptian civilization had generated more than thirty dynasties. Later, Cairo witnessed the rise and fall of the Greek, Persian, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, French, and British Empires. It played major roles in the history of three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It was here that the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus rested after their long journey from Palestine, and that the first Islamic mosque in Africa was built by Amr ibn al-A'as. Cairo is at least twice as old as Paris, 7 times as old as Berlin, and 15 times as old as New York City.

Today, Greater Cairo encompasses various historic towns and modern districts into one of the most populous cities in the world. A journey through Cairo is a virtual time travel: from the Pyramids, Saladin's Citadel, the Virgin Mary's Tree, the Sphinx, and ancient Heliopolis, to Al-Azhar, the Mosque of Amr ibn al-A'as, Saqqara, the Hanging Church, and the Cairo Tower. With an estimated population of more than 15 million, Cairo is the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. It is the Capital of Egypt, and indeed its history is intertwined with that of the country. Today, Cairo's official name is Al-Qahira (Cairo), but to Egyptians, it is simply Masr: Egypt.

[edit] Era of the Pharaohs (BC 3500 - BC 30)

Long before the pyramids were built, Egypt's northern and southern territories were ruled separately. It was about 5000 years ago that a young prince by the name of Narmer (Menes) unified the Red (North) and White (South) kingdoms to become Egypt's first Pharaoh. As brilliant a politician as he was a warrior, Narmer chose the site of Memphis as his capital. The city was situated at the then Nile Delta tip, along the North-South border, and about 25 km south of today's downtown Cairo. For the next 800 years or so, the first Capital of the Pharaohs prospered under the rule of Zoser, Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), Menkaure (Mycerinus), Unas, and others. She became the most influential and powerful city in the world, and housed the always and forever World Wonder, the Great Pyramid of Giza. Constructed on the Giza plateau, a necropolis of the city of Memphis on the Nile's west bank, the three Great Pyramids are the ultimate manifestation of political stability and power of the Ruler during the Third and Fourth Dynasties.

[edit] The Romans (BC 30 - AD 641)

No one knows the origin of the name of Babylon-in-Egypt. It may be a corrupted version of the ancient Egyptian per-hapi-n-on, or Nile House of On, a nearby Island. It might have come from the Arabic Bab-ila-on, or gateway to On. Or it may be simply a name the Babylonian prisoners of Pharaoh Sesostris gave to the place. Anyway, Babylon-in-Egypt was more a strategic spot than an intellectual center. With the re-opening of the canal joining the Nile to the Red Sea, the town became the gateway to Persia and India. Control over the Fortress of Babylon therefore meant control over trade. And while Alexandria was the political and intellectual capital of Egypt under the Greeks and the Romans, Babylon became its military stronghold. The year 30 B.C. marked a significant turning point in the history of Egypt and the world at large. It was the year when the victorious Octavian (Augustus) entered Alexandria. His former ally and rival Mark Antony died, and Cleopatra ended her own life, realizing that her time was over. Although Cleopatra was of Greek descent, she, like her ancestors, ruled Egypt as and Egyptian. She was both Queen and Pharaoh. With her death, Egypt simple became just another Roman province, a Roman granary rather than a world power.

[edit] The Islamic Conquering (641 - 969)

In AD 640, the Moslem army, commanded by a skillful warrior, politician, and poet by the name of Amr Ibn-el-Aas, besieged the Fortress of Babylon. It was a matter of time before the Viceroy of Egypt, Cyrus, agreed to peacefully surrender the Fortress, and less than a year later, the Capital city Alexandria. Amr became the first Arab ruler of Egypt and remained so until his death. Even tough the Arabs admired Alexandria's glamor and wealth, they decided to abandon the city. The reason is simple: no body of water was to separate the Egyptian Capital from the Caliph's residence in Medina. Al-Fustat was therefore founded on the East bank of the Nile, outside the walls of the Fortress of Babylon. Deriving its name from the Arabic (and Roman) word for "camp" or "tent", the town was built at the spot where the Arabs camped during the Fortress siege. Here, the first Mosque in Africa was built, carrying the name of the Arab general, Amr. The new Capital grew slowly as Alexandria declined. With the re-opening of the Red Sea Canal, Al-Fustat became the linking bridge between the East and the West. In AD 661, a power struggle took place over the Islamic Caliphate, and Amr, the cunning politician, sided with the powerful Umayyads who ruled from Damascus, and even played a major role in legitimizing their reign. Egypt remained since loyal to the Umayyads until the collapse of their rule.

[edit] The Triumphant City (969 - 1168)

It was in the Tenth Century that the Abbasid Caliphate was again challenged. This time, the new leader was a Shiite who established his strong political and military platform in Tunisia and moved eastward. His legitimacy was supported by his claim (whether or not true) of being a direct descendent of the prophet Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. His name was Al-Muez Ledin-Ellah, he who strengthens the religion of Allah, or "Al-Muez" for short. In 969, he sent his most skilled general Gawhar, or Jewel, on a campaign to capture Egypt. Gawhar was a former slave from Sicily who converted to Islam. Let us stop here for a while and elaborate on the status of slavery in the Islamic Empire. Strictly speaking, in the Islamic religion, only prisoners of war are to be taken as slaves. By the Tenth Century, however, young men and women from neighboring territories such as the Caucasus and Central Asia were constantly kidnapped and sold in markets. With these two "abundant" sources, the slave market was quite active in the Middle East and North Africa during the Abbasid Caliphate. Unlike in the Western World, slaves in the Islamic Empire were civil servants rather than hard labor workers. Their status would tremendously rise if they converted to Islam. The younger were treated like family members, and the older would become confidants, civil servants, political aides, and even military officers, such as Gawhar. Even Egypt's famous governor Ahmad Ibn-Tulun was the son of a slave, while Kafoor was a former slave himself.

[edit] The Age of Saladin and the Crusades (1168 - 1250)

The last Fatimid Caliph was only eighteen when the Seljuks captured Cairo. The Seljuks who came originally form Central Asia had already conquered Syria and Palestine, and established their Capital in Damascus. By 1168, Egypt had become a battle ground between the Seljuks and the Crusaders, with the Fatimids having virtually little or no control, although they sided mostly with the Crusaders. It was in 1168 that the victorious Shirkoh entered Cairo, and was named governor of Egypt by the Sultan of Damascus, Noor-el-Din. When he died a year later, his nephew was immediately appointed as the next governor. He was young - in his early thirties - and full of will. Quickly, he would become one of the most famous figures in Medieval history. His name was Salah-el-Din the Ayyubid, better known in Western history as Saladin.

[edit] Ruled by the Mamluk (1250 - 1517)

When Saladin established his rule over Cairo, his Seljuk army was mainly composed of slaves and former slaves who had climbed up the ranks. They were mostly Caucasians (i.e. from the Caucasus region) or Central Asians who were captured in military raids or, in most instances, kidnapped by slave merchants. The military power of the men slaves had been on the rise since the early Abbasid rule, but their political influence tremendously increased when Saladin rewarded them extravagantly for their loyalty. They were granted ranches and palaces, and some became governors. Women slaves usually became part of the Sultan or ruler's harem, and had even more influence over politics and internal palace matters. These slaves became known as the Mamluks (lit. Owned), and the term extended to include former slaves who were often freed to become aides and viziers. Shagaret-el-Dorr (Tree of Pearls) was the former slave and the wife of Al-Saleh, the last Ayyubid Sultan. When he died in 1249, and with no strong successor within the Ayyubid house, Shagaret-el-Dorr became monarch. The Mamluk lady would be the last woman to rule Egypt to this day. She ruled singlehandedly for 80 days, but was later pressured into marrying the Mamluk chief officer, Aybeck, in order to "keep things in perspective". She continued, however, to rule Egypt, and even had her husband assassinated when he wanted to marry another woman. Shortly after, she herself was killed by her fellow Mamluks who decided she had "gone too far".

[edit] Osmaniye's Age (Sultans and Mamluks) (1517 - 1798)

Under the rule of the Ottomans, the Mamluks did not cease to exercise their power. As the Ottoman empire expanded, the new world power adopted a government model that consisted of three authorities: local, military, and political. In Egypt, they realized that the power of the Mamluks was strong enough to subdue the local people, yet not too strong to revolt against the Sublime Porte, or the Ottoman Sultan. The Mamluks were, therefore, left in charge of local affairs. Feudal Lords or Mamluk Beys were appointed to each of Egypt's districts, and, in order to ensure no revolt attempt on the part of the Mamluks, the Ottomans stationed their own soldiers, the Janissaries and the Azabs, in Cairo. Both orders consisted of soldiers, much like the Mamluks, enslaved at a young age, raised as fighters, and appointed to high military, political, and civil posts. The Janissaries were among the most skillful of fighters. It was to them that Constantinople fell in 1453.

However, the ultimate political power was, at least theoretically, in the hands of the main authority, the Pasha, a Turk governor usually educated in Istanbul. In several occasions, Pashas were overruled by powerful Mamluk Beys, who were subsequently subdued by the Ottoman troops, who received their orders from the Sultan, and so on. To the Sultans, what mattered most in the provinces was tax collection rather than political power. Meanwhile, little was being done to improve the social and economic status of Egypt or its capital city.

[edit] French and British domination (1798 - 1952)

It was in the summer of 1797 that Napoleon's army landed in Alexandria and advanced to Cairo. Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey, the Mamelouk rulers of Egypt, sent a messenger with a small tribute and asked the French general to leave the country. They had never heard of Napoleon before. The French captured Cairo with little resistance shortly after. Much is to be taken against the French during their three-year occupation, from their mistreatment of Egyptian citizens to their invasion of Al-Azhar mosque. However, one has to acknowledge that it was during their presence that Egypt came out of its long dark age. Champollion the father of Egyptology, deciphered the Ancient Egyptian writings on the famous Rosetta Stone. The French also established the "Institut d'Égypte", built schools and colleges, and wrote the Description de l'Égypte, the most comprehensive reference on the country's geography and culture.

Under Muhammad Ali's rule, Cairo prospered both economically and culturally. Not only was the infrastructure of the city rebuilt, but a new city center was also planned according to European standards. This new city center, today occupies the downtown Tahrir Square, Garden City, and Azbakeya. It was constructed over a swampy flood plain stretching between Ramses Square and the Nile by French city planners and engineers. A new mosque, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, was erected within the walls of Saladin's Citadel, and barrages were constructed along the Nile near the city. Cotton was introduced and soon became the country's main crop, thereby boosting the economy. During the six-year reign of Muhammad Ali's grandson, Abbas, the first railway line was constructed between Alexandria and Cairo, soon to be followed by a railroad network covering the Delta and Upper Egypt with Cairo at its center. Much of the hydraulic and transportation infrastructure built during that period is still operating to this day.

[edit] The Modern Metropolis (1952 - Today)

Cairo remained the central city of Egypt throughout the period of British rule and afterwards. The 20th century saw massive growth in the size of the city as peasants left the farmlands in pursuit of work in the factories and commerce of the metropolis. The city was especially burdened by refugees from the various wars with Israel: much of the population of the Sinai peninsula and the cities along the Suez Canal left for Cairo between 1967 and 1978.

Today, Cairo is Africa's most populous city and the Arab world's cultural centre. Since the 19th century Cairo has also become a center for tourism as people from around the world have come to see the monuments and artifacts of Ancient Egypt, especially the Pyramids. Laws against the export of these treasures has meant that the Egyptian Museum[2] in Cairo is the only place in the world that many items can be seen.

Cairo has many malls and shopping centers; the most popular is Citystars[3], which is the second largest mall in the world and has an 18 screen cinema and theme park . Skyscrapers are now being built all over Cairo inculding Nile City Towers[4], The National Bank of Egypt Towers, The Fairmont Cairo[5] , New Cairo City Towers and The New Saudi Arabian Embassy Tower.

[edit] Cairo Geography

Cairo is located on the banks and islands of the Nile River in the north of Egypt, immediately south of the point where the river leaves its desert-bound valley and breaks into two branches into the low-lying Nile Delta region.

The oldest part of the city is somewhat east of the river. There, the city gradually spreads west, engulfing the agricultural lands next to the Nile. These western areas, built on the model of Paris by Ismail the Magnificent in the mid-19th century, are marked by wide boulevards, public gardens, and open spaces. The older eastern section of the city is very different: having grown up haphazardly over the centuries it is filled with small lanes and crowded tenements. While western Cairo is dominated by the government buildings and modern architecture, the eastern half is filled with hundreds of ancient mosques that act as landmarks.

Extensive water systems have also allowed the city to expand east into the desert. Bridges link the Nile islands of Gezira and Roda, where many government buildings are located and government officials live. Bridges also cross the Nile attaching the city to the suburbs of Giza and Imbabah (part of the Cairo conurbation).

West of Giza, in the desert, is part of the ancient necropolis of Memphis on the Giza plateau, with its three large pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Giza Approximately 11 miles (18 km) to the south of modern Cairo is the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis and adjoining necropolis of Saqqara. These cities were Cairo's ancient predecessors, when Cairo was still in this approximate geographical location.

Template:Cairo weatherbox

[edit] Cairo Infrastructure

[edit] Health

Cairo, as well as neighbouring Giza, have been established as Egypt's main centre for medical treatment, as well as a major Health Centre in the Middle East. Some of Cairo's most famous hospitals are Al-Salam International Hospital, Ain-Shams University Hospital, as well as Qasr El Ainy General Hospital.

See List of hospitals in Egypt.

[edit] Education

Cairo has long been the hub of education and educational services not only for Egypt but also for the whole world. Today, Cairo is the center for the government offices governing the Egyptian educational system, has the largest number of educational schools, and higher learning institutes among other cities and governorates of Egypt.

Some of the International Schools found in Cairo include:

• British International School in Cairo (BISC)
• Cairo American College (CAC)
• Collège de la Ste Famille (CSF)
• International School of Choueifat
• Modern English School (MES)

Universities in Cairo:

• Cairo University
• Ain Shams University
• Helwan University
• Al Azhar University
• 6th Of October University
• Misr International University (MIU)
• Misr University for Science and Technology(MUST)
• Modern University for Sciences and Technology (MSA)
• Nile University
• The Future University
• Sekem University
• AlAhram Canadian University (ACU)
• American University in Cairo (AUC)
• British University in Egypt (BUE)
• French University in Egypt
• German University in Cairo (GUC)
• Arab Academy for Science & Technology and Maritime Transport
• International Academy for Media Sciences
• Sadat Academy For Management Science
• Modern Academy In Maadi
• El Shorouk Academy

[edit] Transport

Main Article: Transportation in Cairo

Transportation in Cairo comprises of an extensive road network, rail system, subway system and maritime services for the more than 15.2 million inhabitants of the city. Cairo is the hub of almost the entire Egyptian Transportation network.

The subway system, called 'The Metro' locally, is a fast and effecient way of getting around Cairo. It can get very crowded during rush hour. There is also usually a carriage at the front of the train that is reserved for women only.

An extensive road network connects Cairo with other Egyptian cities and villages. There is a new Ring Road that surrounds the outskirts of the city, with exits that reach to almost every Cairo district. There are flyovers, and bridges such as the Sixth of October bridge that allows straight, fast and efficient means of transportation from one side of the city to the other. Cairo traffic is known to be overwhelming and overcrowded.

• Cairo International Airport
• Ramses Railway Station
• Ahmed Helmy Bus Stop
• Abbood Bus Stop
• Cairo Metro
• Cairo Tram
• Cairo Transportation Authority CTA
• Cairo Taxi
• Cairo Yellow Cab
• Cairo Nile Ferry

[edit] Sports

Soccer is the most popular sport in Egypt , and Cairo has a number of sporting teams that compete in national and regional leagues. The best known teams are Al Zamalek and Al Ahly, whose annual football Egyptian Local Football Derby is perhaps the most watched sports event in Egypt as well as the Africa and Arab World. Both teams are known as the giants of Egyptian football, and are the first and the second champions in the African continent and the Arab World. Both teams play their home games at Cairo International Stadium or Naser Stadium , which is Cairo's, Egypt's, Africa's and Middle East's largest stadium and one of the largest in the World.

The Cairo International Stadium was built in 1960 and its multipurpose sports complex that houses the main Soccer stadium, an indoor stadium, several satellite fields that held several regional, continental and global games, including the African Games, U17 Football World Championship and was one of the stadiums scheduled that hosted the 2006 African Nations Cup which was played on January, 2006, which Egypt won its title for the record number of five times in African Continental Competition's history.

Cairo failed at the applicant stage when bidding for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, which will be hosted in Beijing China. However, Cairo will host the Pan-Arab Games in 2007.

There are several other sports teams in the city that participate in several sports including Al Gezeera Sporting Club, Al Shams Club, Shooting club, Heliopolis Club and several smaller clubs, but the biggest clubs in Egypt (not in area but in sports) are Al Ahly & Al Zamalek. They have the two biggest football teams in Egypt.

Most of the sports federations of the country are also located in the city suburbs, including the Egyptian Football Association. The headquarters of the Confederation of African Football(CAF) was previously located in Cairo, before relocating to its new headquarters in 6th October City near Cairo.

[edit] Culture

Over the ages, and as far back as seven thousand years, Egypt stood the land where civilizations have always met. The Pharaohs together with the Greeks and the Romans have left their imprints here. Muslims from the Arab Peninsula, led by Amr ibn al-A'as, introduced Islam into Egypt. Khedive Mohammad Ali, with his Albanian family roots, put Egypt on the road to modernity. If anything, the cultural mix in this country is natural, given its heritage. Egypt can be likened to an open museum with monuments of the different historical periods on display everywhere. With the genius of place and time, and Cairo was and still the Arab world’s cultural beacon.

• Cairo Opera House

Main Article: Cairo Opera House

President Mubarak inaugurated the new Cairo Opera House of the Egyptian National Cultural Center on October 10th 1988, seventeen years after the Royal Opera House had been destroyed by fire. The National Cultural Center was built with the help of JICA, the Japan International Co-operation Agency and stands as a prominent feature for the Japanese-Egyptian co-operation and the deep-rooted friendship between these two nations. In intensive meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Culture in Cairo and JICA a design was worked out that would harmonise with the surrounding buildings and bring to mind traditional Islamic architecture. In March 1985, President Mubarak laid the first corner stone of the project after a year and a half had been spent on careful planning and designing of the building. Almost three years later, and thanks to the tremendous efforts and craftsmanship of architects, engineers and workmen this prominent and unique cultural center was completed. In October 1988, President Mubarak and His Highness Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, the younger brother of the Japanese Emperor, inaugurated the National Cultural Center “Cairo Opera House” in a remarkable ceremony. It was the first time for the Japanese to stage a Kabuki show, a traditional popular drama with singing and dancing in Africa or the Arab World.

Thus, the joint efforts of Japanese and Egyptians has given rise to a unique landmark which celebrates the rich and diverse cultural life not only of Egypt but of neighbouring nations in Africa and the Middle East as well.

Egypt is proud to be the only state in the region which built two opera houses within a bit more than a century.

• Khedivial Opera House

Main Article: Khedivial Opera House

The Khedivial Opera House or Royal Opera House was the original opera house in Cairo, Egypt. It was dedicated on November 1, 1869 and burned down on October 28, 1971.

The opera house was built on the orders of the Khedive Ismail to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. The architects Afoskoni and Rossi designed the building. It seated approximately 850 people and was made mostly of wood. It was located between the districts of Asbakia and Ismailyya in Egypt's capital city.

Verdi's opera Rigoletto was chosen as the first opera to be performed at the opera house on November 1, 1869. But already Ismail was planning a far grander exhibition for his new theatre. After months of delay due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Verdi's new opera, Aida, received its world premiere at the Khedivial Opera House on December 24, 1871.

In the early morning hours of October 28, 1971, the opera house burned to the ground. The all-wooden building was quickly consumed, and only two statues made by Mohammed Hassan survived.

After the original opera house was destroyed, Cairo was without an opera house for nearly two decades until the opening of the new Cairo Opera House in 1988

• Cairo International Film Festival

Egypt 's love of the arts in general can be traced back to the rich heritage bequeathed by the Pharaohs. In modern times, Egypt has enjoyed a strong cinematic tradition since the art of filmmaking was first developed, early in the 20th century. A natural progression from the active theatre scene of the time, cinema rapidly evolved into a vast motion picture industry. This together with the much older music tradition, raised Egypt to become the cultural capital of the Arab world.

For more than 500 years of recorded history, Egypt has fascinated the West and inspired its creative talents from play writer William Shakespeare, poet and dramatist John Dryden, and novelist and poet Laurence Durrell to film producer Cecil B. de Mille. Since the silent movies Hollywood has been capitalising on the box-office returns that come from combining Egyptian stories with visual effects.

Egypt has also been a fount of Arabic literature producing some of the 20th century's greatest Arab writers such as Taha Hussein and Tawfiq Al-Hakim to Nobel Laureate, novelist Naguib Mahfouz. Each of them has written for the cinema.

With these credentials, it was clear that Cairo should aim to hold an international film festival.

This dream came true on Monday August 16th 1976, when the first Cairo International Film Festival was launched by the Egyptian Association of Film Writers and Critics, headed by Kamal El-Mallakh. The Association ran the festival for seven years until 1983.

This achievement lead to the President of the Festival again contacting the FIAPF with the request that a competition should be included at the 1991 Festival. The request was granted.

In 1998, the Festival took place under the presidency of one of Egypt's leading actors, Hussein Fahmi, who was appointed by the Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, after the death of Saad El-Din Wahba.

Four years later, the journalist and writer Cherif El-Shoubashy became president.

For 29 years, the home of the Pyramids and Nile has hosted international superstars like Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Bud Spencer, Gina Lollobrigida, Ornella Mutti, Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, Victoria Abril, Elizabeth Taylor, Shashi Kapoor, Alain Delon, Greta Scacchi, Catherine Deneuve, Peter O'toole, Christopher Lee, Irene Pappas, Marcello Mastroianni and Omar Sharif, as well as great directors like Robert Wise, Elia Kazan, Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Stone, Roland Joffe, Carlos Saura, Ismail Merchant and Michel Angelo Antonioni, in an annual celebration and examination of the state of cinema in the world today.

• Cairo Geniza

Main Article: Cairo Geniza

The Cairo Geniza is an accumulation of almost 200,000 Jewish manuscripts that were found in the genizah of the Ben Ezra synagogue (built 882) of Fostat, Egypt (now Old Cairo), the Basatin cemetery east of Old Cairo, and a number of old documents that were bought in Cairo in the later 19th century. These documents were written from about 870 to as late as 1880 CE and have now been archived in various American and European libraries. The Taylor-Schechter collection in the University of Cambridge runs to 140,000 manuscripts; there are a further 40,000 manuscripts at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

• The Wagh El-Birket

Main Article: The Wagh El-Birket

The Wagh El-Birket ("The Berka") was, into the first half of the 20th century, the entertainment district (or red-light district) of Cairo, Egypt. It features prominently in several novels by Naguib Mahfouz, particularly his Cairo Trilogy.

Later, during the Second World War, the British military set up brothels run by the Royal Army Medical Corps.

• Cairo Trilogy

Main Article: Cairo Trilogy

The Cairo Trilogy is a trilogy of novels set in Cairo, Egypt. It was written by Egyptian novelist and Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz.

The three novels are, in order:

Palace Walk (original Arabic title: Bayn al-Qasrayn, 1956) Palace of Desire (Qasr al-Chawq, 1957) Sugar Street (Al-Sukkariyya, 1957) The books' titles are taken from actual streets in Cairo, the city of Mahfouz's childhood and youth.

The trilogy follows the life of the Cairene patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad and his family across three generations, from World War I to the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952.

[edit] Media

• Egyptian Media Production City in Cairo

Main Article: Egyptian Media Production City

The 6th of October city-based Media Production city ( MPC) is the biggest ever built information and media complex, which, together with the Egyptian media satellites "Nilesat 101", "Nilesat 102", will allow Egypt to step into the new world of the 21st century. Thereby, Cairo will be well-qualified and well-equipped to maintain its pioneering role in the field of satellite television and to provide television and film production facilities that can support the information breakthrough. Cairo is the Middle East's media production powerhouse. With its huge new 3.5 million square meter Media Production City

[edit] Economy

Like any great city, wrote anthropologist Janet Abu-Lughod, Cairo is "a mosaic of subcities," each the product of a different social order, a different technological era and a different economy. Cairo is thus much more than a "new city" added to an "old city."

"No other Arab city is so alive," says a local expert who has studied Cairo's varying neighborhoods. A Cairo-based US advisor to the Government of Egypt observes that international news from Cairo frequently fails to communicate the "tremendous vibrancy here."

In 1974 the late President Anwar Sadat's infitah, or "open door" policy, allowed foreign investment in Egypt largely banned since the country's 1952 socialist revolution and ushered in what city planner al-Sadek calls "a new philosophical era." It was a turning point. The boom was on. Over the next 20 years, more than seven million people poured into Cairo. They filled the Nile valley to overflowing and spilled out into the desert, settling in a few years more than twice as much land as Cairo had covered in all its thousand previous years of history.

Now, in the Middle East, Istanbul and Tehran are each only half of Cairo's size. If Cairo were sovereign, it would be the fifth-largest Arab country. Even some Cairo neighborhoods have nation-sized populations: Shubra, north of the city center, houses three million people, comparable to the population of Lebanon.

Cairo is also in every respect the center of Egypt, as it has been almost since its founding in 969. One quarter of all Egyptians live there. The majority of the nation's commerce is generated there, or passes through the city. The great majority of publishing houses and media outlets and nearly all film studios are there, as are half of the nation's hospital beds and universities. The population density of Cairo is exceeded only by the cities of India. And just how new is Cairo? Look out of a window: stone-crafted minarets still grace the sky here and there but one building in five is less than 15 years old. And now, fewer than one in eight Cairenes goes to sleep each night in the historic quarters that knew the ways of the city's Fatimid founders.

This astonishing growth until recently surged well ahead of city services. Homes, roads, electricity, telephone and sewer services were all suddenly in short supply. Analysts trying to grasp the magnitude of the change coined terms like "hyper-urbanization." On the ground planners struggled. Only bits of the Cairo Master Plan of 1970 and the Greater Cairo Master Scheme of 1982 were ever implemented.

[edit] Tourism

• The Egyptian Museum

Main Article: The Egyptian Museum

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world. It has 136,000 items on display, with many more hundreds of thousands in its basement storerooms.

The museum is an outgrowth of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, established by the Egyptian government in 1835, in an attempt to limit the looting of antiquities from sites, and protect artifacts. Its Boulaq museum opened in 1858 with a collection assembled by Auguste Mariette, the French archaeologist retained by Isma'il Pasha. After residing in an annex of the palace of Isma'il Pasha in Giza from 1880, the museum moved to its present location, a neoclassical structure on Tahrir Square in Cairo's city centre, in 1900 under Gaston Maspero.

The highlight of the collection is often considered to be the tomb artifacts of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, whose almost intact tomb Howard Carter found in the Valley of the Kings in 1922.

The museum's Royal Mummy Room, containing 27 royal mummies from pharaonic times, was closed down on the orders of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. It was reopened, with a slightly curtailed display of New Kingdom kings and queens, in 1985.

The greatest collection of Egyptian antiquities is, without doubt, that of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It is a place of true discovery and, even after many visits,

To be sure, the museum can be daunting in the sheer numbers of its antiquities on show, but there is an order within its layout and it is a dream come true for anyone wanting to study Egyptian antiquities.

• Khan El-Khalili

Main article: Khan El-Khalili

Khan el-Khalili is for many the most entertaining part of Cairo. It is an ancient shopping area, nothing less, but some of the shops have also their own little factories or workshops. The suq (which is the Arabic name for bazar, or market) dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a big caravanserai (or khan) right here. A caravanseri was a sort of hotel for traders, and usually the focal point for economic activity for any surrounding area. This caravanserai is still there, you just ask for the narrow street of Sikka Khan el-Khalili and Badestan. As for the suq, you can easily grasp most of its charm and possibilities by wandering about. You do not need a guide, not even a guide book. Should you get lost, just keep going in one direction, and you will quickly come out of the maze, and close to a taxi. Shopping is almost compulsory in Khan el-Khalili. Since the decline in Western tourism to Egypt in recent years, prices in Khan el-Khalili has dropped, but the intensity of the shop keepers has increased. The golden rule is, check the range of goods and prices in several shops before you buy, keep your head calm and stay friendly. And remember: you should never feel that you insult or disappoint a seller by not buying. After all, it is your money.

• Cairo Tower

Main article: Cairo Tower

The Cairo Tower is free-standing concrete TV tower in Cairo, Egypt. It stands in Zamalek district on Gezira Island in the River Nile, in the city centre. At 187 metres, it is 43 metres higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza, which stands some 15 km to the southwest.

The Cairo Tower was built from 1956 to 1961. Its partially open lattice-work design is intended to evoke a lotus plant. The tower is crowned by an observation deck and a revolving restaurant.

One of the best views is from the Cairo Tower, located on Zamalek Island just north of the Museum of Modern Art (which is also very much worth a visit), which provides a panoramic vision of Cairo.

It ranks only fourth among the worlds highest towers. It is made of granite, the same material often used by the ancient Egyptians, and is about 45 meters taller than the Great Pyramid at Giza.

• The Bloody Museums

From its appearance, the military and police museums seem uninteresting for the majority of travellers who couldn't care less about this or that weapon. But the exhibits go far beyond a zealous lining up of guns and canons. In the Police National Museum you can get a chilling look into the most famous assassinations and murders of Egypt's history — save the murder of President Sadat in 1981. Ever heard of the female serial killers Rayya and Sakina, who murdered almost 30 young girls to get their jewellery in the early 20th century? In the room of forgery and counterfeiting you can see the death mask of an infamous Egyptian murderer. There is less of general interest in Military Museum, but the outdoor parade of Soviet- and US-made rockets and tanks from the Arab-Israeli Wars will fascinate most. Most of us rarely get to see such items up close. There are 3 more museums, mainly for people with special interests. The Seized Museum includes taken from smugglers before leaving Egypt.

[edit] Cairo Problems

[edit] Pollution

Cairo is a rapidly expanding city which has lead to many environmental problems. The air pollution in Cairo is a matter of serious concern. The air quality in downtown Cairo is more than 10 to 100 folds of acceptable world standards. Air quality in Cairo has been reaching dangerous levels of lead, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and suspended particulate matter concentrations due to decades of unregulated car emissions, urban industrial operations, and chaff and trash burning.There are over 2,000,000 cars on the streets of Cairo, 60% of which are over 10 years old, and therefore lack modern emission cutting features like catalytic converters. Cairo has a very poor dispersion factor because of lack of rain and its layout of tall buildings and narrow streets, which create a bowl effect. Cairo also has many unregistered lead and copper smelters which heavily pollute the city. The results of this has been a permanent haze over the city with particulate matter in the air reaching over three times normal levels. It is estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 people a year in Cairo die due to air pollution-related diseases. It is also estimated that the high lead content of the air can reduce a child's IQ on average by 4 points. In 1995, the first environmental acts were introduced and the situation has seen some improvement with 36 air monitoring stations and emissions tests on cars. 20,000 buses have also been commissioned to the city to improve congestion levels, which are very high.

The city also suffers from a level of land pollution. Cairo produces 10,000 tonnes of rubbish each day, 4,000 tonnes of which is not collected or managed. This once again is a huge health hazard and the Egyptian Government is looking for ways to combat this. The Cairo Cleaning and Beautification Agency was founded to collect and recycle the rubbish; however, they also work with the Zabbaleen, a Christian community that has been collecting and recycling Cairo's rubbish since the turn of the 20th century [6]. Both are working together to pick up as much rubbish as possible within the city limits, though it remains a pressing problem.

The city also suffers from water pollution as the sewer system tends to fail and overflow. On occasion, sewage has escaped onto streets creating a health hazard. This problem is hoped to be solved by a new sewer system funded by the European Union, which could cope with the demand of the city. The dangerously high levels of mercury in the city's water system has global health officials concerned over related health risks.

[edit] Housing

Cairo is facing a housing problem. The lack of satisfactory and affordable housing for the rapidly growing population has forced many poor Egyptians to make cemeteries in the city of the Dead as their permanent homes. Among these cemeteries live a community of Egypt’s urban poor, forming an illegal but tolerated, separate society. More than five million Egyptians live in these cemeteries, and have formed their own enterprises. The population of the City of the Dead is growing rapidly because of rural migration and it’s complicated housing crisis is getting worse.

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Town Twinning (Sister Cities)

• Stuttgart, Germany (since 1979)
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Khartoum, Sudan
• New York City, USA
• Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

[edit] Famous Cairenes

• Abu Sa'id al-Afif - Fifteenth Century Samaritian
• Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency 2005 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
• Ahmed Hossam, Football player
• Naguib Mahfouz, Novelist 1988 Nobel Prize laureate in literature
• Omar Sharif, Actor Academy Award-nominated

[edit] Lists

• List of mosques in Cairo
• List of churches in Cairo
• List of hospitals in Cairo
• List of hotels in Cairo
• List of banks in Cairo
• List of restaurants in Cairo
• List of univirsities in Cairo
• List of sport clubs in Cairo
• List of embassies in Cairo
• List of ministries in Cairo
• List of companies in Cairo
• List of factories in Cairo
• List of the famouse buildings in Cairo

• List of Egyptian capitals in history
• List of national capitals
• List of capitals and larger cities by country
• List of historical national capitals
• List of countries whose capital is not their largest city
• List of Largest cities of the world
• List of metropolitan areas by population

[edit] See also

• Cairo Photo Gallery
• Al-Azhar Park
• Al Salih Tala'i Mosque
• Cairo Metro
• Gates of Cairo
• Wagh el Birket
• Cairo Geniza
• Smart Village
• Mosque of Ibn Tulun
• Large Cities Climate Leadership Group
• Girls At The Cairo National Stadium

[edit] External links

• Cairo travel guide from Wikitravel
• Coptic Churches of Cairo
• Helpful guide for Cairo
• Cairo Travel Photos Pictures of Cairo published under Creative Commons License
• Video of the streets of Cairo and view of the Pyramids
• http://www.pascalmeunier.com/ Photos, reports, books about Cairo and arabian countries

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 30.03333° 31.21667°
  • Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
  • Aerial image from TerraServer
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia

[edit] Further reading

• Artemis Cooper, Cairo in the War, 1939-1945, Hamish Hamilton, 1989 / Penguin Book, 1995. ISBN 0-14-024781-5 (Pbk)
• André Raymond, Cairo, trans. Willard Wood. Harvard University Press, 2000.
• Max Rodenbeck, Cairo – the City Victorious, Picador, 1998. ISBN 0-330-33709-2 (Hbk) ISBN 0-330-33710-6 (Pbk)

[edit] Tables

Districts of Cairo

Agouza | Abbassia | Ain Shams | Bulaq | Dokki | Downtown Cairo | El-Manial | El-Marg | El-Quba | El-Tagamu El Khames | Embaba | Garden City | Giza | Haram | Heliopolis | Islamic Cairo | Kerdasa | Maadi | Mataria | Mohandessin | Muqatam | Nasr City | Old Cairo | Rhoda | Shoubra | Shubra El Khiema | Zaitun | Zamalek