The city of Cairo is the capital of the governorate with the same name and also is the capital of the country. It is the biggest city in Egypt and in Africa. It lies on the head of the Delta of the Nile River, on its east bank. On the west bank, lies Giza. Both, with Shoubra in the north, form the Greater Cairo, a metropolis with more than 20 millions inhabitants.
Greater Cairo, is the union of many cities and villages, some dating back to the prehistoric periods. The district of Maadi (Now in Helwan governorate) had an ancient civilization called Maadi Cluture, that dates back to aprox 3500 BC. Heliopolis was a big city of the Lower Egypt Kingdom, before the unification of the country. Memphis, became the capital of the country in 3100 BC. Babylon, now in Old Cairo district with the military and administrative center of the Byzantine Empire. In the neigbourhood of Babylon, the Arabs, built Fustat, in 648 AD. Qatae and Askar were also built.
It was in 969 AD, when Jawhar Al Sikilli, General of the Fatimide Army, built the new city (Now in The area of Al-Azhar, known as Islamic
Cairo), to be the capital of the Fatimide Califate. He called it Al-Qahira (The Victorious). The ayyubid fortified the city and the Maeluke enriched it with handreds of Mosques, Madrasas (Shools), Khanqas(Shelters for the Sufis), Maristans ( Hospitals), Sabils (Fountains for the thirsts), Wikalas (Markets) and more. In the Ottoman period the city declined, until the campaign of Napoleon, when the city sufferd a great destrction. Muhamed Ali, and Khedive Ismael in the 19th century, modrenized the city with European and colonial style. Palaces, Parks, Bridges were built.
After the revolutions of 1952 and because of the, war, the abandon of many palaces of the Royal Family, the increase of the population, the city suffered a great degradation and now, its trying to recover the lost time. Subways, bridges, tunels, buisiness centeres, new districts are now being built.
Greater Cairo, is the union of many cities and villages, some dating back to the prehistoric periods. The district of Maadi (Now in Helwan governorate) had an ancient civilization called Maadi Cluture, that dates back to aprox 3500 BC. Heliopolis was a big city of the Lower Egypt Kingdom, before the unification of the country. Memphis, became the capital of the country in 3100 BC. Babylon, now in Old Cairo district with the military and administrative center of the Byzantine Empire. In the neigbourhood of Babylon, the Arabs, built Fustat, in 648 AD. Qatae and Askar were also built.
It was in 969 AD, when Jawhar Al Sikilli, General of the Fatimide Army, built the new city (Now in The area of Al-Azhar, known as Islamic
Cairo), to be the capital of the Fatimide Califate. He called it Al-Qahira (The Victorious). The ayyubid fortified the city and the Maeluke enriched it with handreds of Mosques, Madrasas (Shools), Khanqas(Shelters for the Sufis), Maristans ( Hospitals), Sabils (Fountains for the thirsts), Wikalas (Markets) and more. In the Ottoman period the city declined, until the campaign of Napoleon, when the city sufferd a great destrction. Muhamed Ali, and Khedive Ismael in the 19th century, modrenized the city with European and colonial style. Palaces, Parks, Bridges were built.
After the revolutions of 1952 and because of the, war, the abandon of many palaces of the Royal Family, the increase of the population, the city suffered a great degradation and now, its trying to recover the lost time. Subways, bridges, tunels, buisiness centeres, new districts are now being built.
No comments:
Post a Comment