Cairo

Sister cities

• Beijing
• Moscow
• Istanbul
• Helwan
• Jeddah
• Sétif
• Isfahan
• Paris
• New York City
• Houston
• Sarajevo
• Seoul

History

The area around present-day Cairo had long been a focal point of Ancient Egypt due to its strategic location at the junction of the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta regions (roughly Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt), which also placed it at the crossing of major routes between North Africa and the Levant. Memphis, the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom and a major city up until the Ptolemaic period, was located a short distance south west of present-day Cairo. Heliopolis, another important city and major religious centre, was located in what are now the modern districts of Matariya and Ain Shams in northeastern Cairo. It was largely destroyed by the Persian invasions in 525 BC and 343 BC and partly abandoned by the late first century BC. However, the origins of modern Cairo are generally traced back to a series of settlements in the first millennium AD. Around the turn of the fourth century, as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance, the Romans established a large fortress along the east bank of the Nile. The trading post of Babylon, first mentioned in 50 BC, became a fortress, built by the Roman emperor Diocletian (r. 285–305) at the entrance of a canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea that was created earlier by Emperor Trajan (r. 98–117). Further north of the fortress, near the present-day district of al-Azbakiya, was a port and fortified outpost known as Tendunyas () or Umm Dunayn. While no structures older than the 7th century have been preserved in the area aside from the Roman fortifications, historical evidence suggests that a sizeable city existed. The city was important enough that its bishop, Cyrus, participated in the Second Council of Ephesus in 449. The Byzantine-Sassanian War between 602 and 628 caused great hardship and likely led much of the…

Geography

Cairo is located in northern Egypt, known as Lower Egypt, south of the Mediterranean Sea and west of the Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal. The city lies along the Nile River, immediately south of the point where the river leaves its desert-bound valley and branches into the low-lying Nile Delta region. Although the Cairo metropolis extends away from the Nile in all directions, the city of Cairo resides only on the east bank of the river and two islands within it on a total area of . Geologically, Cairo lies on alluvium and sand dunes which date from the quaternary period. Until the mid-19th century, when the river was tamed by dams, levees, and other controls, the Nile in the vicinity of Cairo was highly susceptible to changes in course and surface level. Over the years, the Nile gradually shifted westward, providing the site between the eastern edge of the river and the Mokattam highlands on which the city now stands. The land on which Cairo was established in 969 (present-day Islamic Cairo) was located underwater just over three hundred years earlier, when Fustat was first built. Low periods of the Nile during the 11th century continued to add to the landscape of Cairo; a new island, known as Geziret al-Fil, first appeared in 1174, but eventually became connected to the mainland. Today, the site of Geziret al-Fil is occupied by the Shubra district. The low periods created another island at the turn of the 14th century that now composes Zamalek and Gezira. Land reclamation efforts by the Mamluks and Ottomans further contributed to expansion on the east bank of the river. Because of the Nile's movement, the newer parts of the city—Garden City, Downtown Cairo, and Zamalek—are located closest to the riverbank. The areas, which are home to most of Cairo's embassies, are…

Most-observed species

• Laughing Dove

  Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,257
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,230
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,092
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  989
• Common Bulbul

  Pycnonotus barbatus (Desfontaines, 1789) · Aves
  677
• Cattle Egret

  Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  534
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  531
• Eurasian Hoopoe

  Upupa epops Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  508

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2022-02-01
  33 km E of Al W?si?ah, Egypt
• M 3.3 — 2018-03-30
  15 km ESE of New Cairo, Egypt
• M 4.3 — 2017-01-21
  35 km SE of Bilbays, Egypt
• M 4.3 — 2012-02-16
  47 km W of Mad?nat Sittah Ukt?bar, Egypt
• M 4.3 — 2008-06-21
  40 km W of Mad?nat Sittah Ukt?bar, Egypt
• M 4.1 — 2005-07-31
  14 km WNW of Al ‘Ayy??, Egypt