Cairo (/ˈkaɪroʊ/^ⓘKY-roh;Arabic:القاهرة,romanized: al-Qāhirah,Egyptian Arabic:[el.qɑ(ː)ˈheɾɑ]^ⓘ) is thecapital andlargest city ofEgypt and theCairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people.^[5] It is also part of thelargest urban agglomeration in Africa,the Arab world, andthe Middle East. TheGreater Cairo metropolitan area is the12th-largest in the world by population with over 22.1 million people.^[4]

Cairo القاهرة
Capital city
TheNile,6th October Bridge andDowntown fromCairo Tower onGezira Island Ibn Tulun Mosque Cairo Tower Al-Muizz Street Talaat Harb Square Baron Empain Palace Cairo Citadel Cairo Opera House
Flag Emblem
Nickname:  City of a Thousand Minarets
Cairo Location of Cairo within Egypt Show map of Egypt Cairo Cairo (Africa) Show map of Africa
Coordinates:30°2′40″N31°14′9″E / 30.04444°N 31.23583°E /30.04444; 31.23583
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Cairo
First major foundation	641–642 AD (Fustat)
Last major foundation	969 AD (Cairo)
Government
• Governor	Ibrahim Saber Khalil[2]
Area [a][3]
• Metro	2,734 km2 (1,056 sq mi)
Elevation	23 m (75 ft)
Population  (2018)
• Capital city	10,100,166[1]
• Density	3,700/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
• Metro [4]	22,623,900
• Demonym	Cairene
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Area code	(+20) 2
Website	cairo.gov.eg
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Historic Cairo
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, v, vi
Designated	1979
Reference no.	89

The area that would become Cairo was part ofancient Egypt, as theGiza pyramid complex and the ancient cities ofMemphis andHeliopolis are near-by. Located near theNile Delta,^[6][7] the predecessor settlement wasFustat following theMuslim conquest of Egypt in 641 next to an existing ancientRoman fortress,Babylon. Subsequently, Cairo was founded by theFatimid dynasty in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during theAyyubid andMamluk periods (12th–16th centuries).^[8]

Cairo has since become a longstanding centre of political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousandminarets" for its preponderance ofIslamic architecture. Cairo'shistoric center was awardedWorld Heritage Site status in 1979.^[9] Cairo is considered aWorld City with a "Beta +" classification according toGaWC.^[10]

Cairo has the oldest and largestfilm andmusic industry in theArab world, as well as Egypt's oldest institution of higher learning,Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city; theArab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.

Cairo, like many othermegacities, suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic. TheCairo Metro, opened in 1987, is the oldestmetro system in Africa,^[11] and ranks amongst the fifteen busiest in the world,^[12] with over 1 billion^[13] annual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East in 2005,^[14] and 43rd globally onForeign Policy's 2010Global Cities Index.^[15]

The name of Cairo is derived from the Arabical-Qāhirah (القاهرة), meaning 'the Vanquisher' or 'the Conqueror', given by theFatimid Caliphal-Mu'izz following the establishment of the city as the capital of the Fatimid dynasty. Its full, formal name wasal-Qāhirah al-Mu'izziyyah (القاهرة المعزيّة), meaning 'the Vanquisher of al-Mu'izz'.^[16] It is also supposedly due to the fact that the planetMars, known in Arabic by names such asan-Najm al-Qāhir (النجم القاهر, 'the Conquering Star'), was rising at the time of the city's founding.^[17]

Egyptians often refer to Cairo asMaṣr (IPA:[mɑsˤɾ];مَصر), theEgyptian Arabic name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's importance for the country.^[18][19]

There are a number ofCoptic names for the city.Tikešrōmi (Coptic:ϮⲕⲉϣⲣⲱⲙⲓLate Coptic:[dikɑʃˈɾoːmi]) is attested in the 1211 textThe Martyrdom of John of Phanijoit and is either a calque meaning 'man breaker' (Ϯ-, 'the',ⲕⲁϣ-, 'to break', andⲣⲱⲙⲓ, 'man'), akin to Arabical-Qāhirah, or a derivation fromArabicقَصْر الرُوم (qaṣr ar-rūm, "theRoman castle"), another name ofBabylon Fortress inOld Cairo.^[20] The Arabic name is also calqued asⲧⲡⲟⲗⲓⲥ ϯⲣⲉϥϭⲣⲟ, "the victor city" in the Coptic antiphonary.^[21]

The form Khairon (Coptic:ⲭⲁⲓⲣⲟⲛ) is attested in the modern Coptic text Ⲡⲓⲫⲓⲣⲓ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ ⲙ̀ⲙⲏⲓ Ⲃⲉⲣⲏⲛⲁ (The Tale ofSaint Verina).^{[22][better source needed]}Lioui (ⲖⲓⲟⲩⲓLate Coptic:[lɪˈjuːj]) orElioui (ⲈⲗⲓⲟⲩⲓLate Coptic:[ælˈjuːj]) is another name which is descended from the Greek name of Heliopolis (Ήλιούπολις).^[20] Some argue thatMistram (ⲘⲓⲥⲧⲣⲁⲙLate Coptic:[ˈmɪstəɾɑm]) orNistram (ⲚⲓⲥⲧⲣⲁⲙLate Coptic:[ˈnɪstəɾɑm]) is another Coptic name for Cairo, although others think that it is rather a name for theAbbasid province capitalal-Askar.^[23]Ⲕⲁϩⲓⲣⲏ (Kahi•ree) is a popular modern rendering of an Arabic name (others beingⲔⲁⲓⲣⲟⲛ [Kairon] andⲔⲁϩⲓⲣⲁ [Kahira]) which is modern folk etymology meaning 'land of sun'. Some argue that it was the name of an Egyptian settlement upon which Cairo was built, but it is rather doubtful as this name is not attested in anyHieroglyphic orDemotic source, although some researchers, like Paul Casanova, view it as a legitimate theory.^[20] Cairo is also referred to asⲬⲏⲙⲓ (Late Coptic:[ˈkɪmi]) orⲄⲩⲡⲧⲟⲥ (Late Coptic:[ˈɡɪpdos]), which means Egypt in Coptic, the same way it is referred to in Egyptian Arabic.^[23]

Sometimes the city is informally referred to asCairo by people from Alexandria (IPA:[ˈkæjɾo];Egyptian Arabic:كايرو).^[24]

The area around present-day Cairo had long been a focal point ofAncient Egypt due to its strategic location at the junction of theNile Valley and theNile Delta regions (roughlyUpper Egypt andLower Egypt), which also placed it at the crossing of major routes betweenNorth Africa and theLevant.^[25][26]Memphis, the capital of Egypt during theOld Kingdom and a major city up until thePtolemaic period, was located a short distance south west of present-day Cairo.^[27]Heliopolis, another important city and major religious center, was located in what are now the modern districts ofMatariya andAin Shams in northeastern Cairo.^[27][28] It was largely destroyed by thePersian invasions in 525 BC and 343 BC and partly abandoned by the late first century BC.^[25]

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,^[29] as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance,^[30] theRomans established a large fortress along the east bank of theNile. The fortress, calledBabylon, was built by the Roman emperorDiocletian (r. 285–305) at the entrance of a canal connecting the Nile to theRed Sea that was created earlier by emperorTrajan (r. 98–117).^[b][31] Further north of the fortress, near the present-day district ofal-Azbakiya, was aport and fortified outpost known as Tendunyas (Coptic:ϯⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓⲁⲥ)^[32] or Umm Dunayn.^[33][34][35] 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 itsbishop, Cyrus, participated in theSecond Council of Ephesus in 449.^[36]

TheByzantine-Sassanian War between 602 and 628 caused great hardship and likely caused much of the urban population to leave for the countryside, leaving the settlement partly deserted.^[34] The site today remains at the nucleus of theCoptic Orthodox community, which separated from the Roman and Byzantine churches in the late 4th century. Cairo's oldest extant churches, such as theChurch of Saint Barbara and theChurch of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (from the late 7th or early 8th century), are located inside the fortress walls in what is now known asOld Cairo orCoptic Cairo.^[37]

TheMuslim conquest of Byzantine Egypt was led byAmr ibn al-As from 639 to 642. Babylon Fortress was besieged in September 640 and fell in April 641. In 641 or early 642, after the surrender ofAlexandria (the Egyptian capital at the time), he founded a new settlement next to Babylon Fortress.^[38][39] The city, known asFustat (Arabic:الفسطاط,romanized: al-Fusṭāṭ,lit. 'the tent'), served as a garrison town and as the new administrative capital of Egypt. Historians such asJanet Abu-Lughod andAndré Raymond trace the genesis of present-day Cairo to the foundation of Fustat.^[40][41] The choice of founding a new settlement at this inland location, instead of using the existing capital of Alexandria on theMediterranean coast, may have been due to the new conquerors' strategic priorities. One of the first projects of the new Muslim administration was to clear and re-open Trajan's ancientcanal in order to ship grain more directly from Egypt toMedina, the capital of thecaliphate inArabia.^{[42][43][44][45]} Ibn al-As also founded a mosque for the city at the same time, now known as theMosque of Amr Ibn al-As, the oldest mosque in Egypt and Africa (although the current structure dates from later expansions).^{[26][46][47][48]}

In 750, following the overthrow of theUmayyad caliphate by theAbbasids, the new rulers created their own settlement to the northeast of Fustat which became the new provincial capital. This was known asal-Askar (Arabic:العسكر,lit. 'the camp') as it was laid out like a military camp. A governor's residence and a new mosque were also added, with the latter completed in 786.^[49] The Red Sea canal re-excavated in the 7th century was closed by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur inal-Mansur (r. 754–775),[50] but a part of the canal, known as theKhalij, continued to be a major feature of Cairo's geography and of its water supply until the 19th century.^[51][26] In 861, on the orders of the Abbasid caliphal-Mutawakkil, aNilometer was built onRoda Island near Fustat. Although it was repaired and given a new roof in later centuries, its basic structure is still preserved today, making it the oldest preserved Islamic-era structure in Cairo today.^[52][53]

In 868 a commander ofTurkic origin named Bakbak was sent to Egypt by the Abbasid caliphal-Mu'taz to restore order after a rebellion in the country. He was accompanied by his stepson,Ahmad ibn Tulun, who became effective governor of Egypt. Over time, Ibn Tulun gained an army and accumulated influence and wealth, allowing him to become thede facto independent ruler of both Egypt andSyria by 878.^[54][55][56] In 870, he used his growing wealth to found a new administrative capital,al-Qata'i (Arabic:القطائـع,lit. 'the allotments'), to the northeast of Fustat and of al-Askar.^[56][57] The new city included a palace known as theDar al-Imara, a parade ground known asal-Maydan, abimaristan (hospital), and anaqueduct to supply water. Between 876 and 879 Ibn Tulun built a great mosque, now known as theMosque of Ibn Tulun, at the center of the city, next to the palace.^[55][57] After his death in 884, Ibn Tulun was succeeded by his son and his descendants who continued a short-lived dynasty, theTulunids. In 905, the Abbasids sent general Muhammad Sulayman al-Katib to re-assert direct control over the country. Tulunid rule was ended and al-Qatta'i was razed to the ground, except for the mosque which remains standing today.^[58][59]

In 969, theShi'a Isma'ili Fatimid empireconquered Egypt after ruling from Ifriqiya. The Fatimid generalJawhar Al Saqili founded a new fortified city northeast ofFustat and of former al-Qata'i. It took four years to build the city, initially known as al-Manṣūriyyah,^[60] which was to serve as the new capital of the caliphate.^[61] During that time, the construction of theal-Azhar Mosque was commissioned by order of the caliph, which developed into the third-oldest university in the world. Cairo would eventually become a centre of learning, with the library of Cairo containing hundreds of thousands of books.^[62] When Caliphal-Mu'izz li Din Allah arrived from the old Fatimid capital ofMahdia inTunisia in 973, he gave the city its present name,Qāhirat al-Mu'izz ("The Vanquisher of al-Mu'izz"),^[60] from which the name "Cairo" (al-Qāhira) originates. The caliphs lived in a vast and lavishpalace complex that occupied the heart of the city. Cairo remained a relatively exclusive royal city for most of this era, but during the tenure ofBadr al-Gamali asvizier (1073–1094) the restrictions were loosened for the first time and richer families from Fustat were allowed to move into the city.^[63] Between 1087 and 1092 Badr al-Gamali also rebuilt thecity walls in stone and constructed the city gates ofBab al-Futuh,Bab al-Nasr, andBab Zuweila that still stand today.^[64]

During the Fatimid period Fustat reached its apogee in size and prosperity, acting as a center of craftsmanship and international trade and as the area's main port on the Nile.^[65] Historical sources report that multi-story communal residences existed in the city, particularly in its center, which were typically inhabited by middle and lower-class residents. Some of these were as high as seven stories and could house some 200 to 350 people.^[66] They may have been similar to Romaninsulae and may have been the prototypes for the rental apartment complexes which became common in the later Mamluk andOttoman periods.^[66]

However, in 1168 the Fatimid vizierShawar set fire to unfortified Fustat to prevent its potential capture byAmalric, theCrusader king ofJerusalem. While the fire did not destroy the city and it continued to exist afterward, it did mark the beginning of its decline. Over the following centuries it was Cairo, the former palace-city, that became the new economic center and attracted migration from Fustat.^[67][68]

While the Crusaders did not capture the city in 1168, a continuing power struggle between Shawar, King Amalric, and theZengid generalShirkuh led to the downfall of the Fatimid establishment.^[69] In 1169, Shirkuh's nephewSaladin was appointed as the new vizier of Egypt by the Fatimids and two years later he seized power from the family of the last Fatimid caliph,al-'Āḍid.^[70] As the firstSultan of Egypt, Saladin established theAyyubid dynasty, based in Cairo, and aligned Egypt with theSunni Abbasids, who were based inBaghdad.^[71] In 1176, Saladin began construction on theCairo Citadel, which was to serve as the seat of the Egyptian government until the mid-19th century. The construction of the Citadel definitively ended Fatimid-built Cairo's status as an exclusive palace-city and opened it up to common Egyptians and to foreign merchants, spurring its commercial development.^[72] Along with the Citadel, Saladin also began the construction of a new 20-kilometre-long wall that would protect both Cairo and Fustat on their eastern side and connect them with the new Citadel. These construction projects continued beyond Saladin's lifetime and were completed under his Ayyubid successors.^[73]

In 1250, during theSeventh Crusade, the Ayyubid dynasty had a crisis with the death ofal-Salih and power transitioned instead to theMamluks, partly with the help of al-Salih's wife,Shajar ad-Durr, who ruled for a brief period around this time.^[74][75] Mamluks were soldiers who were purchased as young slaves and raised to serve in the sultan's army. Between 1250 and 1517 the throne of theMamluk Sultanate passed from one mamluk to another in a system of succession that was generally non-hereditary, but also frequently violent and chaotic.^[76][77] The Mamluk Empire nonetheless became a major power in the region and was responsible for repelling the advance of theMongols (most famously at theBattle of Ain Jalut in 1260) and for eliminating the lastCrusader states in the Levant.^[78]

Despite their military character, the Mamluks were also prolific builders and left a richarchitectural legacy throughout Cairo.^[79] Continuing a practice started by the Ayyubids, much of the land occupied by former Fatimid palaces was sold and replaced by newer buildings, becoming a prestigious site for the construction of Mamluk religious and funerary complexes.^[80] Construction projects initiated by the Mamluks pushed the city outward while also bringing new infrastructure to the centre of the city.^[81] Meanwhile, Cairo flourished as a centre ofIslamic scholarship and a crossroads on thespice trade route among the civilisations inAfro-Eurasia.^[82] Under the reign of the Mamluk sultanal-Nasir Muhammad (1293–1341, withinterregnums), Cairo reached its apogee in terms of population and wealth.^[83] By 1340, Cairo had a population of close to half a million, making it the largest city west ofChina.^[82]

Multi-story buildings occupied byrental apartments, known as arab' (pluralribā' orurbu), became common in the Mamluk period and continued to be a feature of the city's housing during the later Ottoman period.^[84][85] These apartments were often laid out as multi-storyduplexes or triplexes. They were sometimes attached to caravanserais, where the two lower floors were for commercial and storage purposes and the multiple stories above them were rented out to tenants. The oldest partially-preserved example of this type of structure is the Wikala of AmirQawsun, built before 1341.^[84][85] Residential buildings were in turn organized into close-knit neighbourhoods called aharat, which in many cases had gates that could be closed off at night or during disturbances.^[85]

When the travellerIbn Battuta first came to Cairo in 1326, he described it as the principal district of Egypt.^[86] When he passed through the area again on his return journey in 1348, theBlack Death was ravaging most major cities. He cited reports of thousands of deaths per day in Cairo.^[87][88] Although Cairo avoidedEurope's stagnation during theLate Middle Ages, it could not escape the Black Death, which struck the city more than fifty times between 1348 and 1517.^[89] During its initial, and most deadly waves, approximately 200,000 people were killed by the plague,^[90] and, by the 15th century, Cairo's population had been reduced to between 150,000 and 300,000.^[91] The population decline was accompanied by a period of political instability between 1348 and 1412. It was nonetheless in this period that the largest Mamluk-era religious monument, theMadrasa-Mosque of Sultan Hasan, was built.^[92] In the late 14th century, theBurji Mamluks replaced theBahri Mamluks as rulers of the Mamluk state, but the Mamluk system continued to decline.^[93]

Though the plagues returned frequently throughout the 15th century, Cairo remained a major metropolis and its population recovered in part throughrural migration.^[93] More conscious efforts were conducted by rulers and city officials to redress the city's infrastructure and cleanliness. Its economy and politics also became more deeply connected with the wider Mediterranean.^[93] Some Mamluk sultans in this period, such asBarbsay (r. 1422–1438) andQaytbay (r. 1468–1496), had relatively long and successful reigns.^[94] After al-Nasir Muhammad, Qaytbay was one of the most prolific patrons of art and architecture of the Mamluk era. He built or restored numerous monuments in Cairo, in addition to commissioning projects beyond Egypt.^[95][96] The crisis of Mamluk power and of Cairo's economic role deepened after Qaytbay. The city's status was diminished afterVasco da Gama discovered a sea route around theCape of Good Hope between 1497 and 1499, thereby allowing spice traders to avoid Cairo.^[82]

Cairo's political influence diminished significantly after theOttomans defeatedSultan al-Ghuri in theBattle of Marj Dabiq in 1516 andconquered Egypt in 1517. Ruling fromConstantinople,SultanSelim I relegated Egypt to aprovince, with Cairo as its capital.^[97] For this reason, the history of Cairo during Ottoman times is often described as inconsequential, especially in comparison to other time periods.^[82][98][99]

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Cairo still remained an important economic and cultural centre. Although no longer on the spice route, the city facilitated the transportation ofYemenicoffee andIndiantextiles, primarily toAnatolia,North Africa, and theBalkans. Cairene merchants were instrumental in bringing goods to the barrenHejaz, especially during the annualhajj toMecca.^[98][100] It was during this same period thatal-Azhar University reached the predominance among Islamic schools that it continues to hold today;^[101][102] pilgrims on their way to hajj often attested to the superiority of the institution, which had become associated with Egypt's body ofIslamic scholars.^[103] The first printing press of the Middle East, printing inHebrew, was established in Cairoc. 1557 by a scion of theSoncino family of printers,Italian Jews ofAshkenazi origin who operated a press in Constantinople. The existence of the press is known solely from two fragments discovered in theCairo Geniza.^[104]

Under the Ottomans, Cairo expanded south and west from its nucleus around the Citadel.^[105] The city was the second-largest in the empire, behind Constantinople, and, although migration was not the primary source of Cairo's growth, twenty percent of its population at the end of the 18th century consisted of religious minorities and foreigners from around theMediterranean.^[106] Still, whenNapoleon arrived in Cairo in 1798, the city's population was less than 300,000, forty percent lower than it was at the height of Mamluk—and Cairene—influence in the mid-14th century.^[82][106]

TheFrench occupation was short-lived asBritish and Ottoman forces, including a sizeableAlbanian contingent, recaptured the country in 1801. Cairo itselfwas besieged by a British and Ottoman force culminating with the French surrender on 22 June 1801.^[107] The British vacated Egypt two years later, leaving the Ottomans, the Albanians, and the long-weakenedMamluks jostling for control of the country.^[108][109] Continued civil war allowed an Albanian namedMuhammad Ali Pasha to ascend to the role ofcommander and eventually, with the approval of thereligious establishment, viceroy of Egypt in 1805.^[110]

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.^[111][112] However, while Muhammad Ali initiated the construction of public buildings in the city,^[113] those reforms had minimal effect on Cairo's landscape.^[114] Bigger changes came to Cairo underIsma'il Pasha (r. 1863–1879), who continued the modernisation processes started by his grandfather.^[115] Drawing inspiration fromParis, Isma'il envisioned a city ofmaidans and wide avenues; due to financial constraints, only some of them, in the area now composingDowntown Cairo, came to fruition.^[116] Isma'il also sought to modernize the city, which was merging with neighbouring settlements, by establishing apublic works ministry, bringinggas and lighting to the city, and opening a theatre and opera house.^[117][118]

The immense debt resulting from Isma'il's projects provided a pretext for increasing European control, which culminated with theBritish invasion in 1882.^[82] The city's economic centre quickly moved west toward theNile, away from the historicIslamic Cairo section and toward the contemporary, European-style areas built by Isma'il.^[119][120] 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.^[121]

In 1906 theHeliopolis Oasis Company headed by theBelgian industrialistÉdouard Empain and his Egyptian counterpartBoghos Nubar, built a suburb calledHeliopolis (city of the sun in Greek) ten kilometers from the center of Cairo.^[122][123] In 1905–1907 the northern part of theGezira island was developed by the Baehler Company intoZamalek, which would later become Cairo's upscale "chic" neighbourhood.^[124] In 1906 construction began on Garden City, a neighbourhood of urban villas with gardens and curved streets.^[124]

The British occupation was intended to be temporary, but it lasted well into the 20th century. Nationalists stagedlarge-scale demonstrations in Cairo in 1919,^[82] five years after Egypt had been declared a Britishprotectorate.^[125] Nevertheless, this led to Egypt'sindependence in 1922.

TheKing Fuad I Edition of theQur'an^[126] was first published on 10 July 1924 in Cairo under the patronage ofKing Fuad.^[127][128] The goal of the government of the newly formedKingdom of Egypt was not to delegitimize the other variant Quranic texts ("qira'at"), but to eliminate errors found in Qur'anic texts used in state schools. A committee of teachers chose to preserve a single one of the canonical qira'at "readings", namely that of the "Ḥafṣ" version,^[129] an 8th-centuryKufic recitation. This edition has become the standard for modern printings of the Quran^[130][131] for much of the Islamic world.^[132] The publication has been called a "terrific success", and the edition has been described as one "now widely seen as the official text of the Qur'an", so popular among both Sunni and Shi'a that the common belief among less well-informed Muslims is "that the Qur'an has a single, unambiguous reading". Minor amendments were made later in 1924 and in 1936 - the "Faruq edition" in honour of then ruler,King Faruq.^[133]

British troops remained in the country until 1956. During this time, urban Cairo, spurred by new bridges and transport links, continued to expand to include the upscale neighbourhoods of Garden City, Zamalek, and Heliopolis.^[134] Between 1882 and 1937, the population of Cairo more than tripled—from 347,000 to 1.3 million^[135]—and its area increased from 10 to 163 km² (4 to 63 sq mi).^[136]

The city was devastated during the 1952 riots known as theCairo Fire or Black Saturday, which saw the destruction of nearly 700 shops, movie theatres, casinos and hotels in downtown Cairo.^[137] The British departed Cairo following theEgyptian Revolution of 1952, but the city's rapid growth showed no signs of abating. Seeking to accommodate the increasing population,PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser redevelopedTahrir Square and the NileCorniche, and improved the city's network of bridges and highways.^[138] Meanwhile, additional controls of the Nile fostered development within Gezira Island and along the city's waterfront. The metropolis began to encroach on the fertileNile Delta, prompting the government to build desertsatellite towns and devise incentives for city-dwellers to move to them.^[139]

In the second half of the 20th century Cairo continue to grow enormously in both population and area. Between 1947 and 2006 the population ofGreater Cairo went from 2,986,280 to 16,292,269.^[140] The population explosion also drove the rise of "informal" housing ('ashwa'iyyat), meaning housing that was built without any official planning or control.^[141] The exact form of this type of housing varies considerably but usually has a much higher population density than formal housing. By 2009, over 63% of the population of Greater Cairo lived in informal neighbourhoods, even though these occupied only 17% of the total area of Greater Cairo.^[142] According to economist David Sims, informal housing has the benefits of providing affordable accommodation and vibrant communities to huge numbers of Cairo's working classes, but it also suffers from government neglect, a relative lack of services, and overcrowding.^[143]

The "formal" city was also expanded. The most notable example was the creation ofMadinat Nasr, a huge government-sponsored expansion of the city to the east which officially began in 1959 but was primarily developed in the mid-1970s.^[144] Starting in 1977 the Egyptian government established the New Urban Communities Authority to initiate and direct the development of new planned cities on the outskirts of Cairo, generally established on desert land.^{[145][146][147]} These new satellite cities were intended to provide housing, investment, and employment opportunities for the region's growing population as well as to pre-empt the further growth of informal neighbourhoods.^[145] As of 2014, about 10% of the population of Greater Cairo lived in the new cities.^[145]

Concurrently, Cairo established itself as a political and economic hub forNorth Africa and theArab world, with many multinational businesses and organisations, including theArab League, operating out of the city. In 1979 thehistoric districts of Cairo were listed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site.^[9]

In 1992, Cairo was hit by anearthquake causing 545 deaths, injuring 6,512 and leaving around 50,000 people homeless.^[148]

Cairo'sTahrir Square was the focal point of the2011 Egyptian revolution against former presidentHosni Mubarak.^[149] More than 50,000 protesters first occupied the square on 25 January, during which the area's wireless services were reported to be impaired.^[150] In the following days Tahrir Square continued to be the primary destination for protests in Cairo.^[151] The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes. Millions of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Despite being predominantly peaceful in nature, the revolution was not without violent clashes between security forces and protesters, with at least 846 people killed and 6,000 injured. The uprising took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and in other cities in Egypt, following theTunisian revolution that resulted in the overthrow of the long-timeTunisian presidentZine El Abidine Ben Ali.^[152] On 11 February, following weeks of determined popular protest and pressure, Hosni Mubarak resigned from office.

Under the rule of Presidentel-Sisi, in March 2015 plans were announced for another yet-unnamedplanned city to be built further east of the existing satellite city ofNew Cairo, intended to serve as thenew capital of Egypt.^[153]

Cairo is located in northernEgypt, known asLower Egypt, 165 km (100 mi) south of theMediterranean Sea and 120 km (75 mi) west of theGulf of Suez andSuez Canal.^[154] The city lies along theNile River, immediately south of the point where the river leaves its desert-bound valley and branches into the low-lyingNile 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 453 km² (175 sq mi).^[155][156] Geologically, Cairo lies onalluvium andsand dunes which date from thequaternary period.^[157][158]

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 theMokattam highlands on which the city now stands. The land on which Cairo was established in 969 (present-dayIslamic Cairo) was located underwater just over three hundred years earlier, whenFustat was first built.^[159]

Low periods of the Nile during the 11th century continued to add to the landscape of Cairo; a new island, known asGeziret al-Fil, first appeared in 1174, but eventually became connected to the mainland. Today, the site ofGeziret al-Fil is occupied by theShubra district. The low periods created another island at the turn of the 14th century that now composesZamalek andGezira.Land reclamation efforts by theMamluks andOttomans further contributed to expansion on the east bank of the river.^[160]

Because of the Nile's movement, the newer parts of the city—Garden City,Downtown Cairo, and Zamalek—are located closest to the riverbank.^[161] The areas, which are home to most of Cairo'sembassies, are surrounded on the north, east, and south by the older parts of the city.Old Cairo, located south of the centre, holds the remnants ofFustat and the heart of Egypt'sCoptic Christian community,Coptic Cairo. TheBoulaq district, which lies in the northern part of the city, was born out of a major 16th-century port and is now a major industrial centre. The Citadel is located east of the city centre aroundIslamic Cairo, which dates back to the Fatimid era and the foundation of Cairo. While western Cairo is dominated by wide boulevards, open spaces, andmodern architecture of European influence, the eastern half, having grown haphazardly over the centuries, is dominated by small lanes, crowded tenements, andIslamic architecture.

Northern and extreme eastern parts of Cairo, which includesatellite towns, are among the most recent additions to the city, as they developed in the late-20th and early-21st centuries to accommodate the city's rapid growth. The western bank of the Nile is commonly included within the urban area of Cairo, but it composes the city ofGiza and theGiza Governorate. Giza city has also undergone significant expansion over recent years, and today has a population of 2.7 million.^[156] The Cairo Governorate was just north of theHelwan Governorate from 2008 when some Cairo's southern districts, includingMaadi andNew Cairo, were split off and annexed into the new governorate,^[162] to 2011 when the Helwan Governorate was reincorporated into the Cairo Governorate.

According to theWorld Health Organization, the level of air pollution in Cairo is nearly 12 times higher than the recommended safety level.^[163]

In Cairo, and along the Nile River Valley, the climate is ahot desert climate (BWh according to theKöppen climate classification system^[164]).

Wind storms can be frequent, bringingSaharan dust into the city, from March to May and the air often becomes uncomfortably dry. Winters are mild to warm, while summers are long and hot. High temperatures in winter range from 14 to 22 °C (57 to 72 °F), while night-time lows drop to below 11 °C (52 °F), often to 5 °C (41 °F). In summer, the highs often exceed 31 °C (88 °F) but rarely surpass 40 °C (104 °F), and lows drop to about 20 °C (68 °F). Rainfall is sparse and only happens in the colder months, but sudden showers can cause severe flooding. The summer months have high humidity due to its proximity to the Mediterranean coast. Snowfall is extremely rare; a small amount ofgraupel, widely believed to besnow, fell on Cairo's easternmost suburbs on 13 December 2013, the first time Cairo's area received this kind of precipitation in many decades.^[165] Dew points in the hottest months range from 13.9 °C (57 °F) in June to 18.3 °C (65 °F) in August.^[166]

The city of Cairo forms part ofGreater Cairo, the largest metropolitan area in Africa.^[171] While it has no administrative body, the Ministry of Planning considers it as aneconomic region consisting ofCairo Governorate,Giza Governorate, andQalyubia Governorate.^[172] As a contiguous metropolitan area, various studies have considered Greater Cairo be composed of the administrative cities that are Cairo,Giza andShubra al-Kheima, in addition to thesatellite cities/new towns surrounding them.^[173]

Cairo is a city-state where the governor is also the head of the city. Cairo City itself differs from other Egyptian cities in that it has an extraadministrative division between the city and district levels, and that is areas, which are headed by deputy governors. Cairo consists of 4 areas(manatiq, singl. mantiqa) divided into 38 districts(ahya', singl. hayy) and 46 qisms (police wards, 1-2 per district):^[174]

TheNorthern Area is divided into 8 Districts:^[175]

• Shubra
• Al-Zawiya al-Hamra
• Hadayek al-Qubba
• Rod al-Farg
• Al-Sharabia
• Al-Sahel
• Al-Zeitoun
• Al-Amiriyya

TheEastern Area divided into 9 Districts and three new cities:^[176]

• Misr al-Gadidah and Al-Nozha (Heliopolis)
• Nasr City East andNasr City West
• Al-Salam 1 (Awwal) and al-Salam 2 (Than)
• Ain Shams
• Al-Matariya
• Al-Marg
• Shorouk (Under jurisdiction ofNUCA)
• Badr (Under jurisdiction ofNUCA)
• Al-Qahira al-Gadida (New Cairo, three qisms, under jurisdiction ofNUCA)

TheWestern Area divided into 9 Districts:^[177]

• Manshiyat Nasser
• Al-Wayli (Incl. qismal-Daher)
• Wasat al-Qahira (Central Cairo, incl.Al-Darb al-Ahmar,al-Gamaliyya qisms)
• Bulaq
• Gharb al-Qahira (West Cairo, incl.Zamalek qism, Qasr al-Nil qism incl.Garden City and part ofDown Town)
• Abdeen
• Al-Azbakiya
• Al-Muski
• Bab al-Sha'aria

TheSouthern Area divided into 12 Districts:^[178]

• Masr El-Qadima (Old Cairo, includingAl-Manial)
• Al-Khalifa
• Al-Moqattam
• Al-Basatin
• Dar al-Salam
• Sayyidah Zainab District
• Al-Tebin
• Helwan
• Al-Ma'sara
• Al-Maadi
• Tora
• 15th of May (Under jurisdiction ofNUCA)

Since 1977 a number ofnew towns have been planned and built by theNew Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) in theEastern Desert around Cairo, ostensibly to accommodate additional population growth and development of the city and stem the development of self-built informal areas, especially over agricultural land. As of 2022 four new towns have been built and have residential populations:15th of May City,Badr City,Shorouk City, andNew Cairo. In addition, two more are under construction: theNew Administrative Capital.^{[145][179][180]} And Capital Gardens, where land was allocated in 2021, and which will house most of the civil servants employed in the new capital.^[181]

In March 2015, plans were announced for anew city to be built east of Cairo, in an undeveloped area of the Cairo Governorate,^[182] which would serve as theNew Administrative Capital of Egypt.

According to the 2017 census, Cairo had a population of 9,539,673 people, distributed across 46qisms (police wards):^[186][187]

The majority of Egypt and Cairo's population is Sunni Muslim.^[188][189] A significant Christian minority exists, among whomCoptic Orthodox are the majority.^[188][189] Precise numbers for each religious community in Egypt are not available and estimates vary.^[190] Other churches that have, or had, a presence in modern Cairo include theCatholic Church (includingArmenian Catholic,Coptic Catholic,Chaldean Catholic,Syrian Catholic, andMaronite), theGreek Orthodox Church, theEvangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile), and someProtestant churches.^[191] Cairo has been the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church since the 12th century,^[192] and theseat of theCoptic Orthodox Pope is located inSaint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.^[193] Until the 20th century, Cairo had a sizeableJewish community, but as of 2022 only three Jews were reported to be living in the city. A total of 12synagogues in Cairo still exist.^[194]

Cairo's economy has traditionally been based on governmental institutions and services, with the modern productive sector expanding in the 20th century to include developments in textiles and food processing – specifically the production ofsugar cane. As of 2005, Egypt has the largest non-oil based GDP in the Arab world.^[195]

Cairo accounts for 11% of Egypt's population and 22% of its economy (PPP). The majority of the nation's commerce is generated there, or passes through the city. The great majority ofpublishing houses and media outlets and nearly allfilm studios are there, as are half of the nation's hospital beds and universities. This has fuelled rapid construction in the city, with one building in five being less than 15 years old.^[195]

This growth until recently surged well ahead ofcity services. Homes, roads, electricity, telephone and sewer services were all in short supply. Analysts trying to grasp the magnitude of the change coined terms like "hyper-urbanization".^[195]

• Arab American Vehicles Company^[196]
• Egyptian Light Transport Manufacturing Company (Egyptian NSU pedant)
• Ghabbour Group^[197] (Fuso, Hyundai and Volvo)
• MCV Corporate Group^[198] (a part of theDaimler AG)
• Mod Car^[199]
• Seoudi Group^[200] (Modern Motors: Nissan, BMW (formerly); El-Mashreq: Alfa Romeo and Fiat)
• Speranza^[201][202] (former Daewoo Motors Egypt;Chery,Daewoo)
• General Motors Egypt

Cairo, as well as neighbouring Giza, has been established as Egypt's main centre for medical treatment, and despite some exceptions, has the most advanced level ofmedical care in the country. Cairo's hospitals include theJCI-accreditedAs-Salaam International Hospital,^[203]Ain Shams University Hospital,^[204]Dar Al Fouad,^[205]Nile Badrawi Hospital,57357 Hospital,^[206] as well asQasr El Eyni Hospital.

Greater Cairo has long been the hub of education and educational services for Egypt and the region.

Today, Greater Cairo is the centre for many government offices governing theEgyptian educational system, has the largest number of educational schools, andhigher education institutes among other cities and governorates of Egypt.

Some of the International Schools found in Cairo:

Universities in Greater Cairo:

Cairo has an extensive road network,rail system,subway system and maritime services. Road transport is facilitated by personal vehicles, taxi cabs, privately owned public buses andmicrobuses.Cairo International Airport is the country's largest airport and one of the busiest airports in Africa.^[207]

Cairo, specificallyRamses Station, is the centre of almost the entire Egyptian transportation network.^[208]

TheCairo Transportation Authority (CTA) manages Cairo's public transit. The subway system, theCairo Metro, is a fast and efficient way of getting around Cairo. The metro network coversHelwan and other suburbs. It can get very crowded duringrush hour. Two train cars (the fourth and fifth ones) are reserved for women only, although women may ride in any car they want.

Trams in Greater Cairo and Cairo trolleybus were used as modes of transportation, but were closed in the 1970s everywhere except Heliopolis and Helwan. These were shut down in 2014, after the Egyptian Revolution.^[209]

In 2017, plans to constructtwo monorail systems were announced, one linking6th of October to suburbanGiza, a distance of 35 km (22 mi), and the other linkingNasr City toNew Cairo, a distance of 52 km (32 mi).^[210][211]

Two trans-African automobile routes originate in Cairo: theCairo-Cape Town Highway and theCairo-Dakar Highway. An extensive road network connects Cairo with other Egyptian cities and villages. There is a newRing Road that surrounds the outskirts of the city, with exits that reach outer Cairo districts. There are flyovers and bridges, such as the6th October Bridge that, when the traffic is not heavy, allow fast means of transportation from one side of the city to the other.^[208]

Cairo traffic is known to be overwhelming and overcrowded.^[212] Traffic moves at a relatively fluid pace. Drivers tend to be aggressive, but are more courteous at junctions, taking turns going, with police aiding intraffic control of some congested areas.^[208]

• Bolt^[213]
• Cairo Nile Ferry
• Cairo Taxi/Yellow Cab
• Careem
• DiDi^[214]
• Uber

President Mubarak inaugurated the new Cairo Opera House of the Egyptian National Cultural Centres on 10 October 1988, 17 years after the Royal Opera House had been destroyed by fire. The National Cultural Centre was built with the help ofJICA, the Japan International Co-operation Agency and stands as a prominent feature for theJapanese-Egyptian co-operation and the friendship between the two nations.

TheKhedivial Opera House, or Royal Opera House, was the original opera house in Cairo. It was dedicated on 1 November 1869 and burned down on 28 October 1971. After the original opera house was destroyed, Cairo was without an opera house for nearly two decades until the opening of the new Cairo Opera House in 1988.

Cairo held its first internationalfilm festival 16 August 1976, when the firstCairo International Film Festival was launched by the Egyptian Association of Film Writers and Critics, headed by Kamal El-Mallakh. The Association ran the festival for seven years until 1983.^[215]

This achievement lead to the President of the Festival again contacting theFIAPF with the request that a competition should be included at the 1991 Festival. The request was granted.

In 1998, the Festival took place under the presidency of one of Egypt's leading actors,Hussein Fahmy, who was appointed by theMinister of Culture,Farouk Hosni, after the death of Saad El-Din Wahba. Four years later, the journalist and writer Cherif El-Shoubashy became president.

The Cairo Geniza is an accumulation of almost 200,000 Jewish manuscripts that were found in thegenizah of theBen Ezra Synagogue (built 882) of Fustat, Egypt (now Old Cairo), the Basatin cemetery east of Old Cairo, and a number of old documents that were bought in Cairo in the later 19th century. These documents were written from about 870 to 1880 AD and have been archived in various American and European libraries. The Taylor-Schechter collection in theUniversity of Cambridge runs to 140,000 manuscripts; a further 40,000 manuscripts are housed at theJewish Theological Seminary of America.

Football is the most popular sport in Egypt,^[216] and Cairo has sporting teams that compete in national and regional leagues, most notablyAl Ahly andZamalek SC, who were theCAF first and second African clubs of the 20th century. The annual match between Al Ahly and El Zamalek is one of the most watched sports events in Egypt. The teams form the major rivalry of Egyptian football. They play their home games atCairo International Stadium, which is the second largest stadium in Egypt, as well as the largest in Cairo.

The Cairo International Stadium was built in 1960. Its multi-purpose sports complex houses the main football stadium, anindoor stadium, satellite fields that hold regional and continental games, including theAfrican Games, U17 Football World Championship and the2006 Africa Cup of Nations. Egypt later won the competition and the next edition in Ghana (2008) making the Egyptian and Ghanaian national teams the only to win the African Nations Cup back to back. Egypt won the title for a record six times in the history of African Continental Competition. This was followed by a third consecutive win in Angola in 2010, making Egypt the only country with a record 3-consecutive and 7-total Continental Football Competition winner. As of 2021, Egypt's national team is ranked #46 in the world by FIFA.^[217]

Cairo failed at the applicant stage when bidding for the2008 Summer Olympics, which was hosted in Beijing.^[218] However, Cairo did host the2007 Pan Arab Games.^[219]

There are other sports teams in the city that participate in several sports includingGezira Sporting Club, el Shams Club,Shooting Club,Heliopolis Sporting Club, and several smaller clubs. There are new sports clubs in the area of New Cairo (one hour far from Cairo's downtown), these are Al Zohour sporting club, Wadi Degla sporting club and Platinum Club.^[220]

Most of the sports federations of the country are located in the city suburbs, including theEgyptian Football Association.^[221] The headquarters of theConfederation of African Football (CAF) was previously located in Cairo, before relocating to its new headquarters in6 October City, a small city away from Cairo's crowded districts. In 2008, the Egyptian Rugby Federation was officially formed and granted membership into theInternational Rugby Board.^[222]

Egypt is internationally known for the excellence of its squash players who excel in professional and junior divisions.^[223] Egypt has seven players in the top ten of the PSA men's world rankings, and three in the women's top ten.Mohamed El Shorbagy held the world number one position for more than a year.Nour El Sherbini has won the Women's World Championship twice and been women's world number one. On 30 April 2016, she became the youngest woman to win the Women's World Championship. In 2017 she retained her title.

Cairo is the official end point ofCross Egypt Challenge where its route ends yearly in the most sacred place in Egypt, under theGreat Pyramids of Giza with a huge trophy-giving ceremony.^[224]

Tahrir Square was founded during the mid 19th century with the establishment of modern downtown Cairo. It was first named Ismailia Square, after the 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail, who commissioned the new downtown district's 'Paris on the Nile' design. After theEgyptian Revolution of 1919 the square became widely known as Tahrir (Liberation) Square, though it was not officially renamed as such until after the1952 Revolution which eliminated the monarchy. Several notable buildings surround the square including, the American University in Cairo's downtown campus, theMogamma governmental administrative Building, the headquarters of theArab League, the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel, and theEgyptian Museum. Being at the heart of Cairo, the square witnessed several major protests over the years. However, the most notable event in the square was being the focal point of the2011 Egyptian Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak.^[225] In 2020 the government completed the erection of a new monument in the center of the square featuring an ancientobelisk from the reign ofRamses II, originally unearthed atTanis (San al-Hagar) in 2019, and four ram-headedsphinx statues moved fromKarnak.^{[226][227][228]}

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world. It has 136,000 items on display, with many more hundreds of thousands in its basement storerooms. Among the collections on display are the finds from thetomb of Tutankhamun.^[229]

Much of the collection of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, including the Tutankhamun collection, are slated to be moved to the newGrand Egyptian Museum, under construction inGiza and was due to open by the end of 2020.^[230][231]

The Cairo Tower is a free-standing tower with a revolving restaurant at the top. It is one of Cairo's landmarks and provides a bird's eye view of the city to the restaurant patrons. It stands in the Zamalek district on Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the city centre. At 187 m (614 ft), it is 44 m (144 ft) higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza, which stands some 15 km (9 mi) to the southwest.^[232]

This area of Cairo is so-named as it contains the remains of the ancient Roman fortress of Babylon and also overlaps the original site of Fustat, the first Arab settlement in Egypt (7th century AD) and the predecessor of later Cairo. The area includes Coptic Cairo, which holds a high concentration of old Christian churches such as theHanging Church, theGreek Orthodox Church of St. George, and other Christian or Coptic buildings, most of which are located in an enclave on the site of the ancient Roman fortress. It is also the location of theCoptic Museum, which showcases the history ofCoptic art from Greco-Roman to Islamic times, and of theBen Ezra Synagogue, the oldest and best-knownsynagogue in Cairo, where the important collection of Geniza documents were discovered in the 19th century.^[233]

To the north of this Coptic enclave is the Amr ibn al-'As Mosque, the first mosque in Egypt and the most important religious centre of what was formerly Fustat, founded in 642 AD right after the Arab conquest but rebuilt many times since.^[234] A part of the former city of Fustat has also been excavated to the east of the mosque and of the Coptic enclave,^{[235][236][237]} although the archeological site is threatened by encroaching construction and modern development.^[236][238] To the northwest of Babylon Fortress and the mosque is the Monastery of Saint Mercurius (orDayr Abu Sayfayn), an important and historic Coptic religious complex consisting of theChurch of Saint Mercurius, the Church of Saint Shenute, and the Church of the Virgin (also known asal-Damshiriya).^[239] Several other historic churches are also situated to the south of Babylon Fortress.^[240]

Cairo holds one of the greatest concentrations of historical monuments ofIslamic architecture in the world.^[241] The areas around the old walled city and around the Citadel are characterized by hundreds of mosques, tombs,madrasas, mansions,caravanserais, and fortifications dating from the Islamic era and are often referred to as "Islamic Cairo", especially in English travel literature.^[242] It is also the location of several important religious shrines such as theal-Hussein Mosque (whose shrine is believed to hold the head ofHusayn ibn Ali), the Mausoleum of Imamal-Shafi'i (founder of theShafi'imadhhab, one of the primary schools of thought in SunniIslamic jurisprudence), theTomb of Sayyida Ruqayya, theMosque of Sayyida Nafisa, and others.^[243]

The first mosque in Egypt was the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in what was formerly Fustat, the first Arab-Muslim settlement in the area. However, the Mosque of Ibn Tulun is the oldest mosque that still retains its original form and is a rare example of Abbasid architecture from theclassical period of Islamic civilization. It was built in 876–879 AD in a style inspired by the Abbasid capital ofSamarra in Iraq.^[244] It is one of the largest mosques in Cairo and is often cited as one of the most beautiful.^[245][246] Another Abbasid construction, theNilometer on Roda Island, is the oldest original structure in Cairo, built in 862 AD. It was designed to measure the level of the Nile, which was important for agricultural and administrative purposes.^[247]

The settlement that was formally named Cairo (Arabic:al-Qahira) was founded to the northeast of Fustat in 959 AD by the victorious Fatimid army. The Fatimids built it as a separate palatial city which contained their palaces and institutions of government. It was enclosed by a circuit of walls, which were rebuilt in stone in the late 11th century AD by the vizier Badr al-Gamali,^[248] parts of which survive today at Bab Zuwayla in the south and Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr in the north. Among the extant monuments from the Fatimid era are the largeMosque of al-Hakim, theAqmar Mosque,Juyushi Mosque,Lulua Mosque, and theMosque of Al-Salih Tala'i.^[249][243]

One of the most important and lasting institutions founded in the Fatimid period was the Mosque of al-Azhar, founded in 970 AD, which competes with theQarawiyyin inFes for the title of oldest university in the world.^[250] Today, al-Azhar University is the foremost Center of Islamic learning in the world and one of Egypt's largest universities with campuses across the country.^[250] The mosque itself retains significant Fatimid elements but has been added to and expanded in subsequent centuries, notably by the Mamluk sultans Qaytbay and al-Ghuri and by Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda in the 18th century.^[251]

The most prominent architectural heritage of medieval Cairo, however, dates from the Mamluk period, from 1250 to 1517 AD. The Mamluk sultans and elites were eager patrons of religious and scholarly life, commonly building religious or funerary complexes whose functions could include a mosque, madrasa,khanqah (forSufis), asabil (water dispensary), and a mausoleum for themselves and their families.^[79] Among the best-known examples of Mamluk monuments in Cairo are the hugeMosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan, theMosque of Amir al-Maridani, theMosque of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad (whose twin minarets were built above the gate of Bab Zuwayla), theSultan Al-Ghuri complex, thefunerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay in theNorthern Cemetery, and the trio of monuments in theBayn al-Qasrayn area comprising thecomplex of Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun, theMadrasa of al-Nasir Muhammad, and theMadrasa of Sultan Barquq. Some mosques includespolia (often columns orcapitals) from earlier buildings built by theRomans,Byzantines, orCopts.^[241]

The Mamluks, and the later Ottomans, also builtwikalas or caravanserais to house merchants and goods due to the important role of trade and commerce in Cairo's economy.^[252] Still intact today is theWikala al-Ghuri, which today hosts regular performances by the Al-Tannoura Egyptian Heritage Dance Troupe.^[253] TheKhan al-Khalili is a commercial hub which also integrated caravanserais (also known askhans).^[254]

The Citadel is a fortified enclosure begun bySalah al-Din in 1176 AD on an outcrop of theMuqattam Hills as part of a large defensive system to protect both Cairo to the north andFustat to the southwest.^[252] It was the centre of Egyptian government and residence of its rulers until 1874, whenKhedive Isma'il moved to'Abdin Palace.^[255] It is still occupied by the military today, but is now open as a tourist attraction comprising, notably, theNational Military Museum, the 14th centuryMosque of al-Nasir Muhammad, and the 19th centuryMosque of Muhammad Ali which commands a dominant position on Cairo's skyline.^[256]

Khan el-Khalili is an ancientbazaar, or marketplace adjacent to theAl-Hussein Mosque. It dates back to 1385, when Amir Jarkas el-Khalili built a large caravanserai, or khan. (A caravanserai is a hotel for traders, and usually the focal point for any surrounding area.) This original caravanserai building was demolished bySultan al-Ghuri, who rebuilt it as a new commercial complex in the early 16th century, forming the basis for the network of souqs existing today.^[257] Many medieval elements remain today, including the ornate Mamluk-style gateways.^[258] Today, the Khan el-Khalili is a major tourist attraction and popular stop for tour groups.^[259]

In the present day, Cairo is a heavily urbanized city. Because of the influx of people into the city, lone standing houses are rare, and apartment buildings accommodate for the limited space and abundance of people. Single detached houses are usually owned by the wealthy.^[260] Formal education is also seen as important, with twelve years of standard formal education. Cairenes can take a standardized test similar to theSAT to be accepted to an institution of higher learning, but most children do not finish school and opt to pick up a trade to enter the work force.^[260] Egypt still struggles withpoverty, with almost half the population living on $2 or less a day.^[261]

The civil rights movement for women in Cairo – and by extent, Egypt – has been a struggle for years. Women are reported to face constant discrimination, sexual harassment, and abuse throughout Cairo. A 2013UN study found that over 99% ofEgyptian women reported experiencing sexual harassment at some point in their lives.^[262] The problem has persisted in spite of new national laws since 2014 defining and criminalizing sexual harassment.^[263] The situation is so severe that in 2017, Cairo was named by one poll as the most dangerousmegacity for women in the world.^[264] In 2020, the social media account "Assault Police" began to name and shame perpetrators of violence against women, in an effort to dissuade potential offenders.^[265] The account was founded by studentNadeen Ashraf, who is credited for instigating an iteration of the#MeToo movement in Egypt.^[266]

Theair pollution in Cairo is a matter of serious concern. Greater Cairo's volatilearomatic hydrocarbon levels are higher than many other similar cities.^[267] Air quality measurements in Cairo have also been recording dangerous levels oflead,carbon dioxide,sulphur dioxide, andsuspended particulate matter concentrations due to decades of unregulatedvehicle emissions, urban industrial operations, and chaff and trash burning. There are over 4,500,000 cars on the streets of Cairo, 60% of which are over 10 years old, and therefore lack modern emission cutting features. Cairo has a very poor dispersion factor because of its lack of rain and its layout of tall buildings and narrow streets, which create a bowl effect.^[268]

In recent years, a black cloud (as Egyptians refer to it) ofsmog has appeared over Cairo every autumn due totemperature inversion. Smog causes serious respiratory diseases and eye irritations for the city's citizens. Tourists who are not familiar with such high levels of pollution must take extra care.^[269]

Cairo also has many unregistered lead andcoppersmelters which heavily pollute the city. The results of this has been a permanent haze over the city withparticulate matter in the air reaching over three times normal levels. It is estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 people a year in Cairo die due to air pollution-related diseases. Lead has been shown to cause harm to thecentral nervous system and neurotoxicity particularly in children.^[270] In 1995, the first environmental acts were introduced and the situation has seen some improvement with 36 air monitoring stations andemissions tests on cars. Twenty thousand buses have also been commissioned to the city to improve congestion levels, which are very high.^[271]

The city also suffers from a high level of land pollution. Cairo produces 10,000 tons of waste material each day, 4,000 tons of which is notcollected ormanaged. This is a huge health hazard, and the Egyptian Government is looking for ways to combat this. The Cairo Cleaning and Beautification Agency was founded to collect and recycle the waste; they work with theZabbaleen community that has been collecting and recycling Cairo's waste since the turn of the 20th century and live in an area known locally asManshiyat naser.^[272] Both are working together to pick up as much waste as possible within the city limits, though it remains a pressing problem.

Water pollution is also a serious problem in the city as thesewer system tends to fail and overflow. On occasion,sewage has escaped onto the streets to create a health hazard. This problem is hoped to be solved by a new sewer system funded by theEuropean Union, which could cope with the demand of the city.^{[citation needed]} The dangerously high levels ofmercury in the city's water system hasglobal health officials concerned over related health risks.^{[citation needed]}

TheHeadquarters of the Arab League is located atTahrir Square in downtown Cairo.

Cairo istwinned with:^[273]

• Zulfikar family, Egyptian noble family
• Rabab Al-Kadhimi (1918–1998), dentist and poet
• Wael Alaa (born 1987), musician known as Neobyrd
• Amr Aly (born 1962), American soccer player and Olympian
• Gamal Aziz, also known as Gamal Mohammed Abdelaziz, former president and chief operating officer ofWynn Resorts, and former CEO ofMGM Resorts International, indicted as part of the2019 college admissions bribery scandal
• Yasser Arafat (1929–2004), born Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini, was the 3rd Chairman of ThePLO and first president of thePalestinian Authority
• Abu Sa'id al-Afif, 15th-century Samaritan
• Ezz El-Dine Zulficar (1919–1963), Egyptian film director, screenwriter, actor and producer, known for his distinctive style, which blends romance and action. Zulficar was one of the most influential filmmakers in theEgyptian Cinema's golden age.
• Boutros Ghali (1922–2016), formerSecretary-General of the United Nations
• Dalida (1933–1987), Italian-Egyptian singer who lived most of her life in France, received 55 golden records and was the first singer to receive adiamond disc
• Farouk El-Baz (born 1938),Egyptian Americanspace scientist who worked withNASA to assist in the planning of scientific exploration of the Moon, including the selection of landing sites for the Apollo missions and the training of astronauts in lunar observations and photography
• Ahmed Mourad Bey Zulfikar (1888–1945), Egyptian chief of police
• Freddy Elbaiady (born 1971), Egyptian politician
• Mohamed ElBaradei (born 1942), formerDirector General of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency,2005 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
• C. S. Forester (1899–1966), English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare, born in Cairo.
• Nourane Foster (born 1987), Cameroonian entrepreneur, politician and member of the National Assembly
• William Donald Hamilton (1936–2000), British evolutionary biologist, was born in Cairo
• Mauro Hamza (born 1965/1966), fencing coach
• Taco Hemingway (born 1990), Polish hip-hop artist
• Dorothy Hodgkin (1910–1994), British chemist, credited with the development ofprotein crystallography,Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964
• Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006), novelist,Nobel Prize in Literature laureate in 1988
• Roland Moreno (1945–2012), French inventor, engineer, humorist and author who invented thesmart card
• Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918–1970), Egyptian politician who served as thesecond President of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970.
• Ahmed Sabri (1889–1955), painter
• Dina Zulfikar (born 1962), film distributor and animal welfare activist
• Mohamed Sobhi (born 1948), film, television and stage actor, and director
• BlessedMaria Caterina Troiani (1813–1887),charitable activist
• Magdi Yacoub (born 1935), Egyptian-British cardiothoracic surgeon
• Hesham Youssef, Egyptian diplomat
• Ahmed Zulfikar (1952–2010), mechanical engineer and entrepreneur
• Naguib Sawiris (born 1954), businessman, 62nd richest person on Earth in 2007list of billionaires, reaching US$10.0 billion with his companyOrascom Telecom Holding
• Yakub Kadri Karaosmanoğlu (1889–1974), Turkish novelist
• Mona Zulficar (born 1950), lawyer andhuman rights activist. She was included in theForbes 2021 list of the "100 most powerful businesswomen in the Arab region".
• Ismail Pacha (1830–1895), Egyptian politician who served asKhedive ofEgypt from 1863 to 1879
• Avi Cohen (1956–2010), Israeli international footballer
• Maghlatay ibn Qalij (1291–1361), Islamic scholar and author of theMamluk era.

• Charles Ayrout
• Cultural tourism in Egypt
• List of buildings in Cairo
• List of cities and towns in Egypt
• Outline of Cairo
• Outline of Egypt
• Architecture of Egypt

• Cairo City Government
• Coptic Churches of Cairo
•   Geographic data related toCairo atOpenStreetMap
• Map of Cairo, 1914.Archived 24 July 2019 at theWayback Machine Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel.
• Maps of Cairo.Archived 18 October 2021 at theWayback MachineHistoric Cities Research Project.Archived 25 March 2022 at theWayback Machine

• Cairo 360-degree full-screen images
• Cairo Travel Photos Pictures of Cairo published underCreative Commons License
• Call to CairoTime-lapse film of Cairo cityscapes
• Cairo, Egypt – video byGlobal Post
• Photos of Cairo / Travel