Cairo Egypt | Super City

Cairo Egypt remains the capital of the Arab Republic of Egypt and its largest and most important city.

It is considered the largest Arab city in terms of population and area. Cairo ranks second in Africa and seventeenth in the world in terms of population.
According to statistics (in 2023), its population was 10.2 million people, which represents 10% of Egypt’s total population.
The city of Cairo is one of the most culturally and civilizationally diverse cities, as it has witnessed many different historical eras over the centuries, and there are numerous ancient and modern monuments.
It has become an open museum containing Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic antiquities.

The history of the foundation of Cairo Egypt

The history of Cairo dates back to the founding of the Pharaonic city of On, or Heliopolis (currently Ain Shams).

which is considered the oldest capital of the ancient world.
As for Cairo in its current style, its foundation dates back to the Islamic conquest of Egypt by Amr ibn al-Aas in 641 AD, the founding of the city of Fustat.

Then, the military town was founded by the Abbasids, and the construction of the city of al-Qata’i was completed by Ahmed ibn Tulun.
With the entry of the Fatimids into Egypt, the commander Jawhar al-Siqilli began to build the new capital of the Fatimid state by order of the Fatimid Caliph al-Muizz li-Din Allah in the year 969 AD, and the Caliph named it “Cairo.”

Cairo has had many names over the centuries; it’s the city of a thousand minarets, the guarded Egypt, and the Cairo of the Moez.

Construction and Development of Cairo Egypt

During the Islamic era, Cairo witnessed the most beautiful architecture, represented by the construction of castles, fortresses, walls, schools, and mosques, which gave it an aesthetic profile still present in its ancient neighborhoods.
Cairo is considered a governorate and a city; that is, it is a governorate that occupies the entire area of ​​a city and, at the same time, a large city that constitutes a governorate in its own right and is divided into 37 neighborhoods.
Cairo celebrates its National Day on July 6 every year, which is the day that coincides with the laying of the foundation stone of the city in 969 AD.

Cairo is also the seat of many regional and international organizations, such as the headquarters of the League of Arab States and the regional offices of each of them:
WHO, FAO, ICAO, ITU, UNFPA, UN Women, UNDP Headquarters, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The United Nations, as well as the headquarters of the African Basketball Confederation.

Reasons for its name

There are different opinions as to why Cairo was given this name.
Some believe that the word “Cairo” means “Kahi-Ra,” meaning the home of the god Ra. Others believe that it was named after a dome in the Fatimid palaces called Cairo. Some say it was named after the almighty planet known as Mars.
It was said that Jawhar al-Siqilli initially named the city al-Mansuriyya after the city of al-Mansuriyya, which he settled outside Kairouan al-Mansur Billah, the father of al-Mu’izz Lidin Allah. This name continued until al-Mu’izz came to Egypt and named it Cairo, four years after its foundation.

The city of Cairo has several famous names, including Egypt Al-Mahrousa, Cairo of Al-Moez, the City of a Thousand Minarets, and the Jewel of the Orient.

The Position of Cairo Egypt, Throughout History

Cairo gained its status and influence on various civilizations due to its strategic location, which the Egyptian people chose for it since the dawn of civilization.
It was distinguished from other historical capitals by continuity.
Its development formed a series of episodes that began with the first capital of unified Egypt, which in pre-dynastic times was called the city of “On.” Later, it was known by the Greek name Heliopolis, or today, Ain Shams.

After the Islamic conquest of Egypt, Amr ibn al-Aas built the city of Fustat in the year 21 AH/641 AD, built a mosque known by his name, and established the places of the Arab tribes.
After the establishment of the Abbasid state and the elimination of the Umayyad state, the Abbasids founded the military city in a place known as Al-Hamra Al-Aqsa, located northeast of Fustat, and there they established their homes and residences, built the House of the Emirate and the barracks of the soldiers, and then Al-Fadl bin Saleh built the Military Mosque. As the days passed, the military connected to Fustat, and it became a large city with streets laid out and mosques and markets built.

That was until Ahmed Ibn Tulun took over Egypt and saw that the military city was not big enough for his entourage and soldiers, so he climbed Mount Mokattam and saw an empty land between the military and Mokattam, so he planned the site of his new city, which was called Al-Qata’i.
Almost a hundred years after the founding of Al-Qata’i, the Fatimids entered Egypt under the leadership of Jawhar Al-Siqilli, whom Al-Mu’izz Lidin Allah commissioned.
He began laying the foundations of “Cairo” northeast of Al-. Qata’i also laid the foundations of the Fatimid Grand Palace, and he started building the Al-Azhar Mosque next to it.

Cairo is the Capital of Egypt

The blog tells about Cairo Egypt, the history of Cairo, the construction of Cairo, and Islamic Cairo

Check out our resources on Cairo