Something about Cairo (EGYPT)

A panorama of the Nile

Cairo, القاهرة (read "Al-Qahira," an Arab.), Cairo (English) - Egypt's capital. Poetic nickname "city of a thousand minarets." Kairtsy themselves more often called the city "Masr" (مصر Arabic.), Ie "Egypt." 

The capital of Egypt is situated on both banks of the Nile River in the northern part of the state, just south of where the river flows out of the valley, surrounded by desert and is divided into branches, forming the Nile Delta. The old part of Cairo is located on the east bank of the Nile, from this point and passed westward expansion of the city. Western districts of Cairo were built in the XIX century, the Egyptian ruler, Ismail Pasha. In Cairo, the western areas layout has been designed along the lines of Paris XIX century, and includes wide boulevards and parks. 

Cairo

In the center of Cairo is a green island of Gezira or Zamalik, there are embassies, representative offices of large companies, modern business centers, and several five star hotels. The eastern part of Cairo's chaotic built up over centuries, is the mass of narrow streets crowded with apartment buildings. In the eastern part of Cairo are also hundreds of old mosques.Cairo - University Center, the air gateway of the country, the largest city in Africa and one on the continent, where there is ramified underground. Date of establishment: July 16, 9691.In Cairo, there are central government bodies of Egypt: * President;* Government (Prime Minister);
* Parliament (Shura, the People's Assembly).
Geographic coordinates: 30 º 03's. Co., 31 º 15 'v.d.2.

Cairo population: 6.76 million people. (according to census data, 2006), 11% of the population, with a population density of 35.02 people. 1 km ² 3.
Area: 3435.3 km ² 4.

Cairo

Climate Subtropical rain are very rare, but if they fall, then very rapidly, often causing floods. Spring begins in March and ends in mid-May. The air temperature in Cairo in the spring - the day +28 .. +30 °C, and at night drops to +14 .. +17 °C. Water temperature +20 .. +21 °C. Summer begins in May and ends in late September. At this time, the temperature in Cairo in the summer - day +30 .. +35 °C, and at night drops to +18 .. +22 °C. Water temperature +20 .. +22 °C. Autumn begins in Cairo in October and ends in late November. At this time, the temperature in Cairo in the autumn - daytime +30 .. +26 ° C, and at night drops to +14 .. +19 ° C. Water temperature +27 .. +24 ° C. Winter lasts from December to February is the coldest (in the Egyptian standards), the temperature in Cairo in winter - the day +19 .. +21 ° C, and at night drops to +14 .. +8 ° C. Water temperature +21 .. +20 ° C. 
In the period from March to May, from the desert blowing hot and dry or cold as ice, wind - khamsin, which pervades all areas of the city and leaves every door roller sand. Usually it lasts about two weeks.
HistoryCairo's own story begins with 969, when the Libyans (Berbers) conquered and destroyed the city of Fustat and Cairo was founded in its place. According to legend, this time in the sky shining bright Mars, which the Arab astrologers called Al-Qahira (Victory). Therefore the city and became known as Al-Qahira.By the end of X century. Cairo has become one of the largest cities in the East. Persian traveler Nasiri Khufu, who visited Egypt in 1046-1049, left a detailed description of Cairo at the time. According to him, it was a big city where there were about 20 thousand homes. Many homes have 5-6 floors and separated from one another by squares and fruit orchards. Carved doors of the houses were made of mahogany.According to the traveler, in Cairo, there were about 20 thousand of shops and an abundance of goods in the shops, fruit and vegetable markets were oshelomlyayuschim.In 1200-1300 Cairo became the largest commercial and cultural center in the east. By 1300 its population exceeded one million.July 21, winning the famous Battle of the Egyptian pyramids, the French have taken to Cairo. But after the defeat of the British Admiral Nelson and the French squadron in Cairo uprising French left Egypt, plundered the country and stolitsu.July 23, 1952 a secret organization "Free Officers" made a coup overthrew King Farouk and formed a new government. Egypt became a republic with its capital Cairo, the seat of president and parliament.
Museums * Egyptian Museum (Egyptian Antiquities Museum) - the world's main repository of Egyptian antiquities, a collection which has 120 thousands of exhibits, among which 27 mummies Egyptian pharaohs, as well as the collection of papyri, coins, sculpture and crafts products. A separate exhibition is dedicated to the finds from the tomb of King Tutankhamun (1341 - 1323 gg. BC, XVIII Dynasty, New Kingdom), discovered in the Valley of the Kings English archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

Egyption Museum

* Coptic Museum (Coptic Museum) - founded in 1910 based on the collection of art and culture, owned by Marcus Simayke. The 29 rooms of exhibits, which can trace the history of Christianity from the birth until the present time. The museum has the richest collection in the world of Coptic art and crafts products, about 15 thousand items. In the Coptic museum also includes a repository of famous papyri from Nag Hammadi - the early Christian Gnostic texts discovered in 1945 in Upper Egypt.

Coptic Museum

* Museum of Islamic Art (Museum of Islamic Arts) - a unique treasure of Islamic culture, which has in its collections more than 102 thousand pieces of art. Stored here manuscripts, miniatures, carpets, fabrics, weapons and other exhibits help you get a fairly complete picture of the history of the Muslim world and his art.

Museum of Islamic Art

* Museum of Agriculture (Agriculture Museum) - museum has a material raskazyvayuschimi development of agriculture in pre-dynastic Egyptians from the period before the end of the Pharaonic era, methods of farming and trading Bedouin.
* Museum of the Entomological Society - represents the spirit of the Victorian era: a collection of insects pinned to the pins, stuffed animals and birds belong to the period of British occupation of Egypt in the early XX century.
* National War Museum contains a rich collection of everything that is connected with the army and military history of Egypt. There is an interesting collection of antique and rare weapons, ranging from the Pharaonic era until the XX century.
* The Institute of papyrus Dr. Ragab. Cairo National Postal Museum - located in a separate wing of the main post office, and serves as a reminder that Egypt was one of the first States issued a postage stamp (in 1886) Dr. Ragab Papyrus Institute - it is on this ship and all who come here to learn all about papiruse.
* Museum of Geyer-Anderson (Gayer-Anderson Museum) - museum is named after the British military doctor, Major Robert Anderson Guyer (1881-1945), who lived in Cairo between 1935 and 1942, by special permission of the Egyptian provitelstva. The house is a one of the best preserved examples of private building of XVII century. in Cairo in the exhibition includes a rich picture of life in the era of kairtsev Ottoman rule, as well as an extensive collection of furniture, carpets and curiosities belonging Guyer Anderson.
* The Egyptian Geological Museum (Egyptian Geological Museum) - with an extensive collection of minerals and fossils, also illustrates the relationship of geology to the history of Egypt for thousands of years, starting from pre-dynastic era, the initial stages of mining and metallurgy.
Landmarks * Pyramids of Giza - are on the Giza plateau on the outskirts of Cairo. Pyramid of Cheops - the only extant monument of the 7 Wonders of the World

Pyramids of Giza

 * The Citadel - lies at the end of the XII century. in the spur of the mountain Mukattam in Salah ad-Din al-Ayoubi (Saladin). During the VII centuries the Citadel was the seat of the rulers of Egypt
.* Areas of Coptic Cairo meters located on the site of the ancient al-Fustat. The most ancient monuments of this part of town - two towers and the area of ​​defensive walls of the Roman fortress of Babylon
.* Muslim neighborhoods of Cairo - the chaotic weave of narrow streets and numerous alleys. There is a big part of the nearly 500 mosques in Cairo
Transportation

Transportation in Cairo comprises an extensive road network, rail system, subway system, and maritime services. Road transport is facilitated by personal vehicles, taxi cabs, privately owned public buses, and Cairo microbuses. Cairo, specifically Ramses Square, is the centre of almost the entire Egyptian transportation network.

The subway system, officially called "Metro (مترو)", is a fast and efficient way of getting around Cairo. It can get very crowded during rush hour. Two train cars (the fourth and fifth ones) are reserved for women only, although women may ride in any car they want.

An extensive road network connects Cairo with other Egyptian cities and villages. There is a new Ring Road that surrounds the outskirts of the city, with exits that reach outer Cairo districts. There are flyovers and bridges, such as the Sixth of October bridge that, when the traffic is not heavy, allow fast means of transportation from one side of the city to the other.

Cairo traffic is known to be overwhelming and overcrowded. Traffic moves at a relatively fluid pace. Drivers tend to be aggressive, but are more courteous at intersections, taking turns going, with police aiding in traffic control of some congested areas.

On 25 October 2009 a passenger train ran into another one near Giza, just outside Cairo. Local news agencies reported at least 25 people dead. A local resident, Samhi Saleh Abdel Al, told reporters that "the first train stopped after hitting a cow and 10 minutes later the second train arrived at full speed." One of the two trains was travelling from Cairo to Assiut, while the other was said to have been en-route to Fayoum from Giza. Around 55 people were injured.

Cairo International Airport

Ramses Railway Station

Cairo Tram

Cairo Transportation Authority CTA

Cairo Taxi/Yellow Cab

Cairo Metro

Cairo Nile Ferry

Modern era

Until his death in 1848, Muhammad Ali Pasha instituted a number of social and economic reforms that earned him the title of founder of modern Egypt. However, while Muhammad Ali initiated the construction of public buildings in the city, those reforms had minimal effect on Cairo's landscape. 

Cairo

Bigger changes came to Cairo under Isma'il Pasha (1863–1879), who continued the modernization processes started by his grandfather. Drawing inspiration from Paris, Isma'il environs a city of maidans and wide avenues; due to financial constraints, only some of them, in the area now composing Downtown Cairo, came to fruition. Isma'il also sought to modernize the city, which was merging with neighboring settlements, by establishing a public works ministry, bringing gas and lighting to the city, and opening a theater and opera house.

Cairo

The immense debt resulting from Isma'il's projects provided a pretext for increasing European control, which culminated with the British invasion in 1882. The city's economic centre quickly moved west toward the Nile, away from the historic Islamic Cairo section and toward the contemporary, European-style areas built by Isma'il. Europeans accounted for five percent of Cairo's population at the end of the 19th century, by which point they held most top governmental positions.

Cairo

The British occupation was intended to be temporary, but it lasted well into the 20-th century. Nationalists staged large-scale demonstrations in Cairo in 1919, five years after Egypt had been declared a British protectorate. Nevertheless, while this led to Egypt's independence in 1922, British troops remained in the country until 1956. During this time, urban Cairo, spurred by new bridges and transport links, continued to in expand to include the upscale neighborhoods of Garden City, Zamalek, and Heliopolis. Between 1882 and 1937, the population of Cairo more than tripled – from 347,000 to 1.3 million – and its area increased from 1,000 hectares 

(10 km²; 4 sq mi) to 16,300 hectares (163 km²; 63 sq mi).

Cairo

Cairo

The city was devastated during the 1952 Cairo Fire, also known as Black Saturday, which saw the destruction of nearly 700 shops, movie theatres, casinos and hotels in Downtown Cairo. The British departed Cairo following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, but the city's rapid growth showed no signs of abating. Seeking to accommodate the increasing population, President Gamal Abdel Nasser redeveloped Midan Tahrir and the Nile Corniche, and improved the city's network of bridges and highways. Meanwhile, additional controls of the Nile fostered development within the island of Gezira and along the city's waterfront. The metropolis began to encroach on the fertile Nile Delta, prompting the government to build desert satellite towns and devise incentives for city-dwellers to move to them.

Cairo

Despite these efforts, Cairo's population has doubled since the 1960’s, reaching close to seven million (with an additional ten million in its urban area). Concurrently, Cairo has established itself as a political and economic hub for North Africa and the Arab World, with many multinational businesses and organizations, including the Arab League, operating out of the city.

In 1992, Cairo was hit by a damaging earthquake that caused 545 deaths, 6512 injuries and left 50,000 people homeless.
Wikipedia