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CAIRO - EGYPT
Cairo (romanized: al-Qahirah)
is the capital city of Egypt and has an estimated metropolitan area
population of 16-20 million. It is the largest city in both Africa and the
Middle East and is currently the eleventh most populous city in the world.
While al-Qahirah is the official name of the city, in local speech it is
typically called simply by the name of the country, Misr (Arabic) pronounced
Masr in the local dialect .
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 three 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 tenaments. 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 (last surviving of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World).
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.
History
Founding and early history
The current location of Cairo was too far from the ancient course of the
Nile to support a city. Just to the south of the modern city's location are
the ruins of Memphis, which was the capital of Ancient Egypt and was founded
in around 3100 BC by Menes of Tanis after he had united the two kingdoms of
Upper and Lower Egypt, although the capital later moved to Heliopolis,
further south to Thebes, and, under the Ptolemaic dynasty, Alexandria.
The first settlement on the location of modern Cairo was a Roman fort, known
as Babylon Fort, built about AD 150, built near the settlement known as
Babylon-in-Egypt, which lay close to an ancient Egyptian canal from the Nile
to the Red Sea.
A small town mostly of Coptic Christians slowly grew around the fort. Arab
invaders, lead by Amr Ibn-el-As, took the fort town in 642 and also
established their army in the location, rebuilding its defenses. The Arab
tented camp outside the fortress, known as Al-Fusat, slowly became the
permanent base of the Arab forces in Egypt under the Umayyads and Abbasids,
and contains the first mosque in Africa.
Slowly, the settlement grew into a small city. The North African Shiite
Fatimid Dynasty conquered Egypt in 972 and buildt a new capital, Al-Mansureya,
north of the old settlement. Their leader, Al-Muez Ledin-Ellah, renamed the
city Al-Qarihah after the planet Mars which was rising on the day the city
was founded.
The Al-Azhar mosque was founded the same year, and along with its
accompanying university it made Cairo a centre of learning and philosophy.
The school remains a major center for Islamic study today. The Seljuks
caputured Cairo in the mid 1100s, and Saladin and his successors expanded
the city further, including the construction of its massive citadel.
The sack of Baghdad in 1258 heightened the importance of the city and it
became the leading intellectual and artistic centre in the Middle East, and
perhaps the world, for the next 250 years. But power was shifting from the
Arab world north to the Turks and Europeans.
The city was taken by the Ottoman Empire under Selim in 1517, but the ruling
Mameluks quickly returned to power as nominal vassals to the Ottoman Sultan.
Era of westernization
Napoleon conquered Egypt in 1797, and Cairo was quickly surrendered to him
by its Mameluk rulers. Napoleon left Egypt after his fleet was destroyed at
the Battle of Aboukir Bay in 1798, leaving General Kléber in charge. Kléber
was assassinated in 1800 and the three-year French occupation had little
lasting effect.
The first hints of westernization began under the successors to Mehemet Ali
with the introduction of a railway connection to Alexandria in 1851.
Significant change, however, did not occur until the reign of Isma'il Pasha
when, in 1863, construction of the Suez Canal brought significant numbers of
westerners to Egypt. A network of gas lighting was installed by a French
company and the railway lines were greatly expanded.
In 1867, Isma'il visited Paris to attend the Universal Exposition of 1867.
There he saw the newly redesigned city of Haussmann and, funded by a booming
cotton trade, decided to rebuild Cairo on the model of a European capital.
He hoped to have this done by 1869 when representatives from around the
world came to Egypt for the opening of the Suez Canal.
Rather than rebuild the old city, Isma'il elected to add a new quarter to
the western section along the bank of the Nile. The project was carried out
by Ali Pasha Mubarak and designed by the French urban planner Pierre Grand.
A new area of luxurious villas and apartments was constructed and new
government ministries were erected. Grand boulevards were opened through the
old town and tram lines soon followed.
The era of colonization in 1882 saw the rebuilding of Cairo continuing. A
modern sewer system was installed and new suburbs such as Heliopolis were
constructed in the desert. Cairo's population exploded, increasing from
374,000 in 1882 to 1,312,000 by 1937. The city was dominated by westerners,
however, and city planners tended to emphasise Christian cathedrals over
mosques.
Modern Cairo
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
penninsula and the cities along the Suez Canal left for Cairo between 1967
and 1978.
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 in Cairo is the only place in
the world that many items can be seen.
Transportation
Rail
Cairo stands at the hub of Egypt's 5000 km railway network. Ramses Station
in central Cairo interconnects the main southward-bound line up the Nile
valley (serving Assyut, Luxor, and Aswan) with the different lines that fan
out across Lower Egypt and service the main cities of the Delta region
(including Alexandria, Ismailia, and Port Said).
A second mainline station is located some 10 km south, at Giza.
Road
Cairo's roads are amongst the most dangerous in the world. The death rate
per kilometer traveled in Egypt is over 40 times as high as the European
average and twice as high as the nearest comparable Middle Eastern country.
Metro
The Cairo Metro is Africa's only fully-fledged metro system. Two lines cover
a total of 62 km, with another four lines in the planning stages.
Tram
Cairo's first tram line was constructed in 1898. That tram was the first
north-south public transportation route in Cairo. It went over Khalij Misr,
an ancient canal that leads to the Red Sea.
The tram network has been largely dismantled in recent years and few lines
now remain operational outside the northern suburbs around Heliopolis.
Famous Cairenes
Boutros Boutros Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, was
born in Cairo.
Maimonides, famous Talmudic scholar.
Cairo Metro
The Cairo Metro in Egypt is Africa's only full-fledged metro system. The
system currently consists of two operational lines, with a third in an
advanced stage of planning.
The metro is run by the National Authority for Tunnels. The line gauge is
1435 mm. Ticket price is 75 Piastres for each ride, regardless of distance.
On all Cairo metros, the first car of each train is reserved for women.
Cairo University
Cairo University is an institute of higher education located in Giza, Egypt.
It is the result of an effort during British colonial rule to establish a
national center for liberal thought. It was founded December 21, 1908.
British occupation authorities, led by Lord Cromer, opposed the school's
creation, fearing it would foster dissent. Cairo University has, among
others, a School of Law and a School of Medicine.
Cairo International Airport
Cairo International Airport (IATA Airport Code: CAI) is an airport in Cairo,
Egypt. It is a hub of Egyptair .
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