Mansoura المنصورة | |
|---|---|
 .JPG)    From top left: Mansoura Nile river, Mansoura Art, Mansoura buildings, Mansoura sunset, Mansoura bridge, | |
| Nickname: Nile's Bride | |
 The Nile Delta | |
  Mansoura Location in Egypt | |
| Coordinates:31°2′25″N31°22′58″E / 31.04028°N 31.38278°E /31.04028; 31.38278 | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Governorate | Dakahlia |
| Founded | 1219 |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Ayman AbdelMenem Mohtar Hasnan |
| Area | |
• Total | 28.2 km2 (10.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 621,953 |
| • Density | 22,000/km2 (57,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| Area code | +(20) 50 |
| Website | www |
Mansoura[2] (Arabic:المنصورة;Al Manṣūra,IPA:[el.mɑnˈsˤuːɾɑ],rural:[el.mænˈsˤuːɾe]) is a city inEgypt located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of theNile river. The city is the capital of theDakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021.[3]
Mansoura in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after theEl Mansoura Battle (1250) againstLouis IX of France during theSeventh Crusade.
Mansoura was established in 1219 byal-Kamil of theAyyubid dynasty upon aPhatmetic branch ofthe Nile on a place of several older villages like Al-Bishtamir (Arabic:البشطمير) and Kafr al-Badamas (Arabic:كفر البدماص, fromAncient Greek:ποταμός, "river, canal").[4][5] After the Egyptians defeated theCrusaders during theSeventh Crusade, it was namedMansoura (aka. "The Victorious").
In theSeventh Crusade, theCapetians were defeated and put to flight; between fifteen and thirty thousand of their men fell on the battlefield.Louis IX of France was captured in the mainBattle of Fariskur, and confined in the house of Ibrahim Ibn Lokman, secretary of the sultan, and under the guard of the eunuch Sobih. The king's brother was imprisoned in the same house. The sultan provided for their sustenance. The house of Ibrahim Ibn Lokman is now the only museum in Mansoura. It is open to the public and houses articles that used to belong to the French monarch, including his personal thirteenth centurytoilet.[6]
TheMansoura Air Battle[7][8] on October 14, 1973, occurred during theYom Kippur War.Israeli Air Force fighters attacking Egyptian air bases were intercepted by theEgyptian Air Force. On that day, 160 jet fighters, most belonging to Israel, battled for 53 minutes over Mansoura. The Egyptian army claimed that despite the numerical and qualitative superiority of the Israeli warplanes, 17 Israeli planes were downed. (2 according to the Israelis), while the rest retreated.[9][10][11] Egypt announced the loss of six planes, only three of which fell to Israeli fire. The Egyptian government subsequently changed the country's "Air Force Day" from November 2 to October 14, to commemorate the Mansoura Air Battle.[8]
Mansoura lies on the east bank of theDamietta branch of theNile, in theDelta region. Mansoura is about 120 km northeast ofCairo. Across from the city, on the opposite bank of the Nile, is the town ofTalkha.
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate ashot desert (BWh).
| Climate data for Mansoura | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.7 (67.5) | 20.5 (68.9) | 23.1 (73.6) | 27.4 (81.3) | 31.6 (88.9) | 33.9 (93.0) | 35.1 (95.2) | 34.8 (94.6) | 32.9 (91.2) | 30.5 (86.9) | 26.2 (79.2) | 21.5 (70.7) | 28.1 (82.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.4 (56.1) | 14.0 (57.2) | 16.2 (61.2) | 19.8 (67.6) | 23.8 (74.8) | 26.3 (79.3) | 27.8 (82.0) | 27.8 (82.0) | 26.1 (79.0) | 24.0 (75.2) | 20.3 (68.5) | 15.4 (59.7) | 21.2 (70.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.1 (44.8) | 7.4 (45.3) | 9.4 (48.9) | 12.1 (53.8) | 15.9 (60.6) | 18.7 (65.7) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.8 (69.4) | 19.3 (66.7) | 17.6 (63.7) | 14.4 (57.9) | 9.3 (48.7) | 14.4 (57.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 11 (0.4) | 9 (0.4) | 7 (0.3) | 3 (0.1) | 3 (0.1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.1) | 8 (0.3) | 10 (0.4) | 54 (2.1) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 82 | 78 | 75 | 68 | 60 | 61 | 68 | 73 | 78 | 80 | 82 | 82 | 74 |
| Source: Arab Meteorology Book[12] | |||||||||||||
TheEgyptian Arabic dialect spoken by Mansoura's population is a northern Egyptian Arabic dialect, with noticeable influences from the city's surrounding rural villages, each of which has contributed to the city's population over the years. There are some similarities toAlexandrianEgyptian Arabic in some aspects of pronunciation.
Mansoura National Museum used to be Dar Ibn Lockman, the house whereLouis IX was imprisoned in 1250 during theSeventh Crusade. Displayed in the museum are the suits of mail and swords of the crusaders, as well as a collection of maps. Huge paintings depict the Battle of Mansoura.
The Mansoura branch of the National Library was inaugurated in 2008 as the Mansoura Misr Library.[13]
Mansoura is famous for its architectural style, especially the Shinnawi Palace (after Mohamed Bek El-Shinnawi, a member of theWafd Party). It was built by anItalian architect in 1928. The mosque of El-Saleh Ayoub El-Kebir is one of the most important in Mansoura. It was built by a loyal servant of the Sultan and is located in Al-Sagha Street that separates "Old Mansoura" from the modern city.[14]
LikeCairo,Alexandria andPort Said, Mansoura was home to a flourishingGreek community until theNasser era, when many wereforced to leave. Many of the older and best established shops and businesses around the city still bear their originalGreek names. Mansoura also had a small Italian population living in the city too. The first Old English school in the city was established on the site of the oldGreek school in the Toriel area, one of the traditionally relatively affluent residential districts of the city.
TheUniversity of Mansoura was founded in 1962, initially as a branch ofCairo University.[15] TheUrology andNephrology center ofMansoura University founded by ProfMohammed Ghonem is considered to be the best kidney center in the Middle East and Africa.[14]
Mansoura has a sportsstadium (Mansoura Stadium) which is home to itsfootball team.[16]
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31°03′00″N31°23′00″E / 31.05000°N 31.38333°E /31.05000; 31.38333
