|
Ancient Cairo:
Egypt was the first state to institute an administrative system with a capital as its political and religious center, during the predynastic period, there were various confederations with political heads or kings who resided in a capital, in the heart of the delta, was the capital of lower Egypt, the state emblem was the cobra on the royal red crown.
The capital of Upper Egypt was Nekheb, located between Aswan and Luxor, here the king wore a white crown with a vulture, and the state of the north adopted the papyrus as its symbol, the state of the south the lotus.
After the unification of north and south under King Menes , the city of Memphis became the first capital of unified Egypt, it was located between the north and south, about 22 KM from Cairo.
The ideal location for a capital was always considered that before the branching of the River Nile, thus the capital of Egypt was moved, in the course of time, from Ahnasia, south of Memphis, to Thebes (Luxor), when Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt.
In 332 BC, the capital was transferred to Alexandria, west of the Delta, and when Christianity was introduced into Egypt, the seat of the patriarch was set up between Alexandria and old Cairo, Alexandria remained the capital of Egypt during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.
In 639 Ibn El As arrived in Egypt and introduced Islam, he preferred Alexandria as capital, but the caliph Omar Ibn Al Khatab decided to found a new one, thus in 641, Al Fustat (near the Byzantine fortress of Babylon), the first Islamic capital of Egypt was built.
In 750 the Abbasids drove out the Umayyads, Salah Ibn Ali abandoned Al Fustat and founded Al Askar to the north, this new military capital grew and fused with Al Fustat to form a large city.
In 870 Ahmed Ibn Tulun constructed a third Islamic capital, Al Qatai, around his gigantic mosque, this city also had obviously military features, with its high walls and guard walk, before long it fused with Al Asar and Al Fostat to form a single city.
In 969 a new period began, the head of the Fatimid Army (Gawhar El Siqilli), built the new city of Al Qahira (Now Cairo), whose name meant the victorious, which thereafter became capital of Egypt and center of Islam.
When Al Fostat was constructed, the cities began to shift northwards, Al Qahira was therefore built north of the beginning of a long period during which the city acquired imperial dimensions, and indeed this new capital developed swiftly and grew beyond the confines initially set.
The arrival of Salah El Din in 1176 marked a new stage in the history of Cairo, during the Ayyubid period the citadel was built and work was begun on the great wall that was to surround the cities which formed Al Qahira.
For Cairo the period of Mamluk rule (from 1250 to 1517) was one of construction and urbanization, the Ottomans (from 1517 to 1798) continued the development begun by the Mamluks, favoring various important trading activities, during the reign of Mohamed Ali and his successors the city developed considerably.
Modern Cairo:
One of the principal stretches of the Nile penetrates into the heart of Cairo, of the four islands in this stretch, two are inhabited, the largest Gezira, has numerous hotels of an international level and important buildings, as well as parks, sport clubs, museums and the tower of Cairo, Large buildings and international hotels flank the Nile River, thus giving modern Cairo a new aspect.
The headquarters of the Egyptian radio and TV organization and that of the league of Arab nations are among the most important buildings on the banks of the River Nile, five main bridges unite the different districts of the capital, in the attempt to solve some of the traffic problems which the most important world capitals all have in common.
Gamal Abd El Nasser developed Cairo in all aspects, projects have been constructed, universities have been renovated, even art has been developed, and Cairo has become every man dream to live in. |
Main Activities
