Cairo

The name of Cairo is derived from the Arabic al-Qāhirah (القاهرة), meaning 'the Vanquisher' or 'the Conqueror', given by the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu'izz following the establishment of the city as the capital of the Fatimid dynasty. Its full, formal name was al-Qāhirah al-Mu'izziyyah (القاهرة المعزيّة), meaning 'the Vanquisher of al-Mu'izz'. It is also supposedly due to the fact that the planet Mars, known in Arabic by names such as an-Najm al-Qāhir (النجم القاهر, 'the Conquering Star'), was rising at the time of the city's founding. Egyptians often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (IPA: [mɑsˤɾ]; مَصر), the Egyptian Arabic name for Egypt itself, emphasising the city's importance for the country. There are a number of Coptic names for the city. …

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. …

Cairo is located in northern Egypt, known as Lower Egypt, 165 kilometres (100 mi) south of the Mediterranean Sea and 120 kilometres (75 mi) 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 453 square kilometres (175 sq mi). 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. …

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 of JICA, the Japan International Co-operation Agency and stands as a prominent feature for the Japanese-Egyptian co-operation and the friendship between the two nations. The Egyptian Royal 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 Cairo Opera House in 1988. …

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 of sugar cane. As of 2005, Egypt has the largest non-oil based GDP in the Arab world. 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 of publishing houses and media outlets and nearly all film 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. …

Downtown Cairo is the heart of the city and was established during the reign of Isma'il Pasha of Egypt, coinciding with the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal. Its core layout, with public squares and grand boulevards, was inspired by the ideas of Baron Haussmann, the French administrator who remodelled Paris in the same era. The area includes major landmarks such as Tahrir Square, the adjacent Egyptian Museum, and Talaat Harb Street and its public square, where a statue of economist and entrepreneur Talaat Harb stands. The area also encompasses Abdeen Palace, the former royal residence now used as the official presidential palace, which houses several museums. …