SFD:

2016/Egypt/Cairo

Please describe your City here.

Cairo (/ˈkaɪroʊ/ kye-roh; Arabic: القاهرة‎‎, al-Qāhirah, Coptic: ⲕⲁϩⲓⲣⲏ, Kahire, Italian: Il Cairo) is the capital and largest city of Egypt. The city's metropolitan area is the largest in the Middle East and the Arab world, and 15th-largest in the world, and is associated with ancient Egypt, as the famous Giza pyramid complex and the ancient city of Memphis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta,[1][2] modern Cairo was founded in 969 CE by Jawhar al-Siqilli ("the Sicilian") of the Fatimid dynasty, but the land composing the present-day city was the site of ancient national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life, and is nicknamed "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture.

Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr ([mɑsˤɾ], مصر), the Egyptian Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasising the city's continued role in Egyptian influence.[3][4] Its official name is القاهرة al-Qāhirah , means literally: "the Defeater", in reference to the fact that the planet Mars ("Al Najm Al Tahir") was rising at the time when the city was founded [5]as well as, "the Vanquisher"; "the Conqueror"; Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [elqɑ(ː)ˈheɾɑ], "the Defeater" or, " "the Victorious" (al-Qahira) in reference to the much awaited[6] Caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah who arrived from the old Fatimid Ifriqiyan capital of Mahdia in 973 to the city. The Egyptian name for Cairo is said to be Khere-Ohe, meaning "The Place of Combat", supposedly, in reference to a battle which took place between the Gods Seth and Horus.[7] Sometimes the city is informally also referred to as كايرو Kayro [ˈkæjɾo].[8] It is also called Umm ad-Dunya, meaning "the mother of the world".[9]

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.

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SFD: 2016/Egypt/Cairo (last edited 2016-09-19 10:36:15 by Rifai)