Cairo in Egypt

 

Cairo 's Arabic translation is Al-Qahirah, which means “The Triumphant” or The Vanquisher”, is the capital city of Egypt . Though the official name of the city is Al-Qahirah, but informally most Egyptians call it by the name of “Masr” (Egyptian Arabic name for Egypt ). Cairo has around 17.285 million populations and is a metropolitan city. It is sixteenth densely populated metropolitan area of the world and most populated metropolitan area in the African continent. This city was established in 969 AD as the regal enclosure for the caliphs of Fatimid, while the real administrative and economic capital was in neighboring Fustat. After 1169 AD the administrative capital of Egypt shifted to Cairo and persists ever since.

 

The city is situated in the northern part of Egypt , on the islands and banks of the Nile . Somewhat east of the river lies the earliest portion of the city. In the western part of the city is the modern Cairo , built in the mid-19 th century by ‘Ismail the Magnificent' on the model of Paris . This area includes public gardens, wide boulevards and overt spaces. Contrarily, the old eastern division of the city is marked by small lanes, crowded tenements with haphazard development. The eastern part is occupied by plentiful of ancient mosques; on the other hand, western part is filled with modern architecture and government buildings.

 

Cairo along with nearby Giza , has become the most important center for medical facilities in the country. Some of the advance hospitals of Cairo are As-Salam International Hospital, Dar El Fouad Hospital, Qasr El Ainy General Hospital as well as Ain Shams University Hospital. Since a long time Cairo has been famous as an education hub, not only in Egypt but in the entire Arab World. Currently, the city boasts for having large number of educational schools, and advance studies institutions amidst other cities of Egypt .

 

Tourists can enjoy various old and new sites in Cairo , such as Egyptian Museum , Khan El-Khalili, Old Cairo, Cairo Tower etc . The Egyptian Antiquities Museum is commonly known as the Egyptian Museum . It has world's largest assemblage of ancient Egyptian artifacts, around 136,000 items on demonstration and thousands stored in the basement. One of the most interesting areas of Cairo is Khan El-Khalili. Here, the shopping area exists since ancient times. The suq (Arabic name for market, or bazaar) dates prior to 1382, when a big khan (or caravanserai) was built by Emir Djaharks el-Khalili. The inn was a kind of hotel for enterprisers, and generally the main point for commercial activities.

 

Fostat and Coptic Cairo comes under old Cairo, it includes numerous historical places, such as Babylon Fortress, Coptic Museum, the Greek Church of St. George, Hanging Church, Amr ibn al-As Mosque and a Jewish Synagogue. Another place worth visiting is Cairo Tower , a lone-standing concrete TV tower situated in the Zamalek district on Gezira Island .

 

The city gives you the feeling of seven thousand years old civilization, with cultural mix. The Pharaohs along with the Romans and the Greeks have left their imprints here.