Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Middle-East and second-largest in Africa after Lagos. Its metropolitan area is the 16th largest in the world. Located near the Nile Delta.
Nicknamed
"the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and
cultural life. Cairo was founded by Jawhar al-Siqilli "The Sicilian",
among the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century CE, but
the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose
remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt as it is close to the
ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are near the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of
Giza.
Cairo
has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well
as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations
have regional headquarters in the city; the Arab League has had its headquarters
in Cairo for most of its existence.
Tahrir Square was founded during the mid
19th century with the establishment of modern downtown Cairo. It was first
named Ismailia Square, after the 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail, who commissioned the new downtown district's 'Paris on the
Nile' design. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 the square became widely
known as Tahrir (Liberation) Square, though it was not officially renamed as
such until after the 1952 Revolution which eliminated the
monarchy. Several notable buildings surround the square including, the American University in Cairo's downtown campus, the Mogamma governmental
administrative Building, the headquarters of the Arab League, the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel, and the Egyptian
Museum.
The Cairo Tower
is a free-standing tower with a revolving restaurant at the top. It provides a
bird's eye view of Cairo to the restaurant patrons. It stands in the Zamalek
district on Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the city centre. At 187 meters,
it is 43 meters higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Old
Cairo, this area of Cairo is so-named as it contains the remains of the ancient
Roman fortress of Babylon and also overlaps the
original site of Fustat, the first Arab settlement in Egypt (7th century AD) and the
predecessor of later Cairo. The area is also known as Coptic Cairo as it holds a high
concentration of old Christian churches including the Hanging
Church, the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, and other Christian or Coptic buildings, most of which are
located over the site of the ancient Roman fortress. It is also the location of
the Coptic Museum, which showcases the history of Coptic art from Greco-Roman to Islamic times, and of the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the oldest and best-known synagogue in Cairo, where the
important collection of Geniza documents were discovered in the
19th century. To the north of this
Coptic enclave is the Amr ibn al-'As Mosque, the first mosque in Egypt and the most important religious
center of former Fustat, founded in 642 AD right after the Arab conquest but rebuilt many times
since.
The Citadel is a fortified enclosure
begun by Salah
al-Din in 1176 AD on an outcrop of the Muqattam
Hills as part of a large defensive system to protect both Cairo to the north
and Fustat to the southwest. It was the center of Egyptian
government and residence of its rulers until 1874, when Khedive Isma'il moved to 'Abdin Palace. It is still occupied by the military
today, but is now open as a tourist attraction comprising, notably, the National
Military Museum, the 14th century Mosque of
al-Nasir Muhammad, and the 19th century Mosque of Muhammad Ali which commands a dominant position on
Cairo's skyline.
Khan el-Khalili is an ancient bazaar, or marketplace. It dates back to 1385, when Amir Jarkas
el-Khalili built a large caravanserai, or khan. (A caravanserai is a hotel for traders, and
usually the focal point for any surrounding area.) This original carvanserai
building was demolished by Sultan al-Ghuri, who rebuilt it as a new commercial complex in the early
16th century, forming the basis for the network of souqs existing today. Many medieval elements
remain today, including the ornate Mamluk-style gateways. Today, the Khan el-Khalili
is a major tourist attraction and popular stop for tour groups.
