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Cairo

القاهرة
Towers on the Nile.jpg
مسجد أحمد ابن طولون1.jpg
Muizz Street - Egypt.jpg
CairoTalaatHarbToEast.jpg
Qalaa from Azhar Park.jpg
Baron Palace.jpg
Clockwise from top:
View of the Nile, Muizz Street, Baron Empain Palace, Cairo Citadel, Talaat Harb Square, Ibn Tulun Mosque
Flag of Cairo
Flag
Nickname(s): 
The City of a Thousand Minarets
Cairo is located in Egypt
Cairo
Cairo
Location in Egypt
Cairo is located in Africa
Cairo
Cairo
Location in Africa
Country  Egypt
Governorate Cairo
Founded 969 CE
Founded by Fatimid dynasty
Area
 • Metropolis 214 km2 (83 sq mi)
 • Metro
17,267.6 km2 (6,667.1 sq mi)
Elevation
23 m (75 ft)
Population
 (2017)
 • Metropolis 19,500,000
 • Density 19,376/km2 (50,180/sq mi)
 • Urban
18,290,000
 • Metro
20,439,541
 • Demonym
Cairene
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
Area code(s) (+20) 2
Website www.cairo.gov.eg
Official name: Historic Cairo
Type: Cultural
Criteria: i, iii, vi
Designated: 1979
State Party: Egypt
Region: Arab States
Kairo 001
The town center of Cairo, seen from the Cairo tower.
EgyptAlQahirah
A map of Egypt. Cairo is the light green spot.

Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة, usually transliterated as Al-Qāhirah) is the capital and largest city in Egypt. The city name can be translated as the one who won. Cairo is sometimes called "Mother of the World" (Um al Dunya).

Cairo has 7,947,121 people. About 17,290,000 people live in its urban area. This makes it the biggest city of the Arab World. It also is the city with the biggest urban area in Africa

The city is on the Nile River.

Geography

Climate

The city of Cairo has a hot desert climate (BWh), meaning it has a hot, sunny and dry climate a year long. The city, however, has more humidity than other cities with the hot desert climate (BWh).

Climate data for Cairo
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 88.0
(31.1)
93.6
(34.2)
100.2
(37.9)
109.8
(43.2)
118.0
(47.8)
115.5
(46.4)
108.7
(42.6)
110.1
(43.4)
110.7
(43.7)
106.0
(41.1)
99.3
(37.4)
86.4
(30.2)
118.0
(47.8)
Average high °F (°C) 66.0
(18.9)
68.7
(20.4)
74.3
(23.5)
82.9
(28.3)
90.0
(32.2)
93.0
(33.9)
94.5
(34.7)
93.6
(34.2)
90.7
(32.6)
84.6
(29.2)
76.6
(24.8)
68.5
(20.3)
82.0
(27.8)
Daily mean °F (°C) 56.5
(13.6)
58.8
(14.9)
62.4
(16.9)
70.2
(21.2)
76.1
(24.5)
81.1
(27.3)
81.7
(27.6)
81.3
(27.4)
79.0
(26.1)
73.9
(23.3)
66.0
(18.9)
59.0
(15.0)
70.5
(21.4)
Average low °F (°C) 48.0
(8.9)
49.5
(9.7)
52.9
(11.6)
58.3
(14.6)
63.9
(17.7)
68.2
(20.1)
72.0
(22.2)
71.8
(22.1)
68.9
(20.5)
63.3
(17.4)
57.4
(14.1)
50.7
(10.4)
60.4
(15.8)
Record low °F (°C) 34.2
(1.2)
38.5
(3.6)
41.0
(5.0)
45.7
(7.6)
54.1
(12.3)
61.0
(16.1)
64.8
(18.2)
66.0
(18.9)
58.1
(14.5)
54.1
(12.3)
41.4
(5.2)
37.0
(2.8)
34.2
(1.2)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.20
(5.1)
0.15
(3.8)
0.15
(3.8)
0.04
(1.0)
0.02
(0.51)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
0.03
(0.76)
0.15
(3.8)
0.23
(5.8)
0.97
(24.57)
Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN) (1971–2000),

History

The area around the city was an important focal point of Ancient Egypt.

In 968, the Fatimids entered Egypt and they made Cairo the capital of their caliphate.

The Al Azhar mosque and university was made in 972. This became the world's oldest university. It is the most widely known seminary in the Islamic world.

In 1992, Cairo was devastated by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that caused 545 deaths, injuring 6,512, and made 50,000 people homeless, the most destructive since 1847.

Tourism

Egypt.Cairo.EgyptianMuseum.01
The Egyptian museum

The great pyramids of Giza and the step pyramid of Sakkara are just outside of the city.

The Egyptian Museum holds the world’s largest collection of antiquities from the time of the ancient Pharaohs. Many treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamun are in this museum.

Famous Cairenes

People from Cairo are called 'Cairenes'.

  • Abu Sa'id al-Afif - Fifteenth Century Samaritian
  • Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • Naguib Mahfouz, novelist, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988.
  • Mido, Professional soccer player with Middlesbrough F.C
  • Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency 2005 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
  • Naguib Sawiris, 62nd richest person on earth in a 2007 list of billionaires, reaching US$10.0 billion with his company Orascom Telecom Holding
  • Farouk El Baz, a great contributor to NASA
  • Sir Magdi Yacoub, leading cardiologist, knight
  • Constantin Xenakis (1931) Greek artist
  • Voula Zouboulaki (1931) Greek actress
  • Hedges, Chris. "What's Doing in Cairo," New York Times. January 8, 1995.



Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: El Cairo para niños

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