Cairo

Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world. It sits in northern Egypt along the banks of the Nile River, just south of where the river splits into the delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea. About 22 million people live in the greater Cairo area. That is more than the population of New York City and Los Angeles combined.

Cairo is close to some of the oldest human-made wonders on Earth. Just across the Nile, in a neighborhood called Giza, stand the famous pyramids and the Great Sphinx. These were already thousands of years old when Cairo itself was founded. The Great Pyramid was built around 2560 BCE. Cairo, by contrast, was founded in 969 CE by a Muslim dynasty called the Fatimids. So the pyramids are older to Cairo than Cairo is to us today.

The name Cairo comes from the Arabic word al-Qahirah, which means "the Victorious." For hundreds of years, the city was a center of learning, trade, and religion. Al-Azhar University, founded in 970 CE, is one of the oldest universities in the world still teaching students. Caravans passed through Cairo carrying spices, cloth, and gold between Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Cairo is sometimes called the City of a Thousand Minarets. A minaret is the tall tower attached to a mosque, where a call to prayer is sung five times a day. The old part of the city has hundreds of mosques, some more than a thousand years old. Their domes and minarets fill the skyline.

Modern Cairo is also crowded, fast, and loud. Traffic fills the streets day and night. Markets called souks sell everything from silver jewelry to fresh dates. The Egyptian Museum, near a large square called Tahrir, holds thousands of treasures from ancient Egypt, including the gold mask of King Tutankhamun. A newer museum near the pyramids, called the Grand Egyptian Museum, opened to display even more artifacts.

The Nile is still the city's lifeline, just as it was for the ancient Egyptians. Boats called feluccas, with tall white sails, still drift along the water at sunset. Most of Egypt is desert, so nearly everyone lives within a few miles of the river. Cairo grew up where the desert meets the green farmland of the Nile. Step a short distance in one direction and you are among skyscrapers. Step the other way and you are in sand.