Cairo

 Introduction

Located on the banks of the Nile River, Cairo is Africa's largest city, as well as the largest city in the Arab world. In the course of its thousand-year history it has been the capital of the great Egyptian dynasties of the Middle Ages, a British colonial enclave, and a modern industrialized city. Today it is a teeming, vibrant national capital with one of the world's highest population densities per square mile. Even as the city struggles with the social and environmental effects of overcrowding, it dominates Egypt politically, economically, and culturally and remains a prime tourist destination in spite of a campaign of terrorist activity by Islamic extremists seeking to destabilize the country's government.

Cairo, the largest city in Africa, is located on the Nile River, 160 kilometers (100 miles) inland from the Mediterranean Sea and 135 kilometers (80 miles) west of the Red Sea.

Bus and Railroad Service

Rail service is available between Cairo and all areas of the Nile River Valley. An air-conditioned nonstop express train, the turbino, makes three trips daily between Cairo and Alexandria. Cairo's main railway station is located at Maydan Ramsis. Several bus companies offer inter-city bus service between Cairo and Alexandria, the Nile Valley, the Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula, the Suez Canal, and other destinations. There is nonstop bus service between Cairo and Alexandria, and buses run between Cairo and all major towns.

Airports

Cairo International Airport, an important connecting point between Europe, Asia, and Africa, offers regular service by most major airlines. EgyptAir offers both domestic flights to Luxor, Aswan, and Hurghada and international service.

Shipping

Although it is located on the Nile River, Cairo is not one of Egypt's major shipping cities, all of which have ports on the Mediterranean (Alexandria, Suez, and Port Said).

 Getting Around

Greater Cairo is spread out over both banks of the Nile River, which runs north-south through the center of the city. The neighborhoods of Gizah, Aguza, Mohandisin are on the west bank, the districts of Gazirah and Geziret Al-Rawdah on islands in the river, and the major urban center on the east bank, together with a number of suburbs. Downtown Cairo's streets and avenues are laid out around a series of traffic circles—Maydan Talaat Harb, Maydan Orabi, Maydan Mustafa Kamel, and, at the heart of the city, Maydan Tahrir.

Women and men should wear modest clothing. It is considered disrespectful to the mainly conservative Muslim inhabitants to see visitors walking around wearing clothing which reveal thighs, shoulders, bare backs or cleavage, except at beaches and hotels. Men should also not walk about bare chested or wearing very short shorts outside of hotels or beach resorts.

People do generally tend to dress more liberally at beach resorts, nightclubs, social outings, weddings, or when engaging in any sport, but there are no places to practice nudism or naturism as being nude in public.

History

The first settlement in the region of present-day Cairo was al-Fustat, founded in A. D. 641 as a military encampment by the Arabic commander 'Amr ibn al-'As. Under the dynasties that ruled Egypt over the following centuries, the town grew into a major port city. In A. D. 969 Jawhar, the leader of an Islamic sect called the Fatimids, founded a new city near al-Fustat, initially naming it al-Mansuriyah (its name was later changed to al-Qahirah, or Cairo). When the Fatimids became the rulers of Egypt, founding a dynasty that lasted for two centuries, Cairo became their capital.

When Saladin, a Sunni Muslim, defeated the Crusaders and founded the Ayyubid dynasty in the twelfth century, he retained Cairo as his capital, and it became the center of a vast empire. (Al-Fustat, however, was burned down as part of the "scorched earth" strategy that defeated the Crusaders.) In the thirteenth century, the Ayyubids were eclipsed by Turkish military conquerors known as the Mamluks, who ruled Egypt from A. D. 1260 to 1516. During the first hundred years of Mamluk rule, Cairo experienced its most illustrious period. Al-Azhar University, which had been founded in the tenth century, became the foremost center of learning in the Islamic world, and Cairo played a key role in the east-west spice trade. Most of its greatest buildings were constructed during this period.

 Economy

Cairo is the economic center of Egypt, with two-thirds of the country's gross national product generated in the greater metropolitan area. Industrialization, which began in the nineteenth century, grew rapidly following the 1952 revolution and revolved primarily around textiles (based on Egypt's traditional economic mainstay, long-staple cotton) and food processing. Other industries include iron and steel production and consumer goods. Today the majority of Cairo's work force is employed in service sector jobs, especially in government, financial services, and commerce. The tourism industry is a major source of revenue for the country, along with weapons sales, petroleum, and Suez Canal tariffs (following nationalization of the canal on July 26, 1956). Foreign aid from other countries is also an important source of income.

Although government agricultural subsidies, cheap public transportation, and low-cost medical care help

 keep Cairo's cost of living relatively low, the average Cairene still struggle to make ends meet, often holding down two or more jobs, or going overseas to find work and send money home. The poorest are forced to send their children to work as early as eight or nine years of age, often in "sweatshops" producing manufactured goods.

Sports

Soccer is Cairo's (and Egypt's) most popular sport, boasting players of international stature. Matches are played every weekend to sell-out crowds, and the city's residents eagerly follow games by its two leading teams, Zamalek and Ahli. The soccer season runs from September to May, and matches are held in Cairo Stadium. Horse racing can be seen at the Heliopolis Hippodrome. Every year the city hosts the Cairo Classic, a running and cycling event.

Tourism

Popular for its warm climate and famous as the home of King Tutankhamun's treasures, Cairo is Egypt's most popular tourist city, and tourism is central to the local economy. Roughly one-third of Egypt's hotels (including three Hilton hotels) are located in the city, and souvenir shops and restaurants cater to travelers and locals alike.

In the 1990s, Egypt's $4.1 billion dollar per year tourist industry was threatened by terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists seeking to overthrow the secular government of Hosni Mubarak. In 1996 terrorists killed 18 members of a Greek tour group as they left a hotel on the outskirts of the city, bound for the Pyramids. The following year, nine German tourists were killed in an assault on a tour bus in front of the Egyptian Museum.

In 1996, visitors to Egypt numbered 3,895,942.

 Holidays and Festivals

January 
New Year's Day
Cairo Book Fair

April 
Sinai Liberation Day
Images Festival of Independent Film and Video

May 

Sometimes, men walk in the streets holding hands, and sometimes they even kiss when they meet, and unlike the west, this does not have any sexual meanings. It is a sign of a normal friendship, so do not think it a sign that they are homosexual

With a population of 24 million ,

July 
Revolution Day

September 
Experimental Theatre Festival

October 
National Day
Pharaohs' Rally

November 
Arabic Music Festival

December 
Cairo International Film Festival

Founded: a.d. 969
Location: Near the head of the Nile River delta, Egypt; northeastern Africa

Climate: Desert climate, with hot summers and mild winters; rain is rare, and hamsin dust storms can occur in the spring.
Government: governor-council