Cairo

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Cairo
القاهرة
al-Qāhirah
Flag of {{{official_name}}}
Flag
Nickname(s): the city of a thousand minarets, capital of the Arab world
Cairo is located in Egypt
Egypt: site of Cairo (top center)
Coordinates: 30°3′N 31°14′E / 30.05°N 31.233°E / 30.05; 31.233Coordinates: 30°3′N 31°14′E / 30.05°N 31.233°E / 30.05; 31.233
Country  Egypt
Governorate Cairo
Area
 • City 453 km2 (175 sq mi)
 • Urban 6,640 km2 (2,560 sq mi)
 • Metro 86,369 km2 (33,347 sq mi)
Elevation 23 m (75 ft)
Population (2011)
 • City 9,120,350
 • Density 17,190/km2 (44,500/sq mi)
 • Urban 17,290,000
 • Metro 19,439,541
 • Demonym Cairene
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
Area code(s) 2
Website www.cairo.gov.eg
The town center of Cairo, seen from the Cairo tower.
A map of Egypt. Cairo is the light green spot.

Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة, usually transliterated as Al-Qāhirah) is a 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).[1]

The city is the capital and largest city in Egypt.

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.[2] It also is the city with the biggest urban area in Africa

The city is on the Nile River.

Geography[change | change source]

Climate[change | change source]

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
(31.11)		 93.6
(34.22)		 100.2
(37.89)		 109.8
(43.22)		 118.0
(47.78)		 115.5
(46.39)		 108.7
(42.61)		 110.1
(43.39)		 110.7
(43.72)		 106.0
(41.11)		 99.3
(37.39)		 86.4
(30.22)		 118.0
(47.78)
Average high °F (°C) 66.0
(18.89)		 68.7
(20.39)		 74.3
(23.5)		 82.9
(28.28)		 90.0
(32.22)		 93.0
(33.89)		 94.5
(34.72)		 93.6
(34.22)		 90.7
(32.61)		 84.6
(29.22)		 76.6
(24.78)		 68.5
(20.28)		 81.95
(27.75)
Daily mean °F (°C) 56.5
(13.61)		 58.8
(14.89)		 62.4
(16.89)		 70.2
(21.22)		 76.1
(24.5)		 81.1
(27.28)		 81.7
(27.61)		 81.3
(27.39)		 79.0
(26.11)		 73.9
(23.28)		 66.0
(18.89)		 59.0
(15)		 70.5
(21.389)
Average low °F (°C) 48.0
(8.89)		 49.5
(9.72)		 52.9
(11.61)		 58.3
(14.61)		 63.9
(17.72)		 68.2
(20.11)		 72.0
(22.22)		 71.8
(22.11)		 68.9
(20.5)		 63.3
(17.39)		 57.4
(14.11)		 50.7
(10.39)		 60.41
(15.782)
Record low °F (°C) 34.2
(1.22)		 38.5
(3.61)		 41.0
(5)		 45.7
(7.61)		 54.1
(12.28)		 61.0
(16.11)		 64.8
(18.22)		 66.0
(18.89)		 58.1
(14.5)		 54.1
(12.28)		 41.4
(5.22)		 37.0
(2.78)		 34.2
(1.22)
Precipitation inches (mm) 0.20
(5.1)		 0.15
(3.8)		 0.15
(3.8)		 0.04
(1)		 0.02
(0.5)		 0.00
(0)		 0.00
(0)		 0.00
(0)		 0.00
(0)		 0.03
(0.8)		 0.15
(3.8)		 0.23
(5.8)		 0.97
(24.6)
Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN) (1971–2000),[3][4]

History[change | change source]

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.[5]

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.[1]

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[change | change source]

The Egyptian museum

The great pyramids of Giza and the step pyramid of Sakkara are just outside of the city.[1]

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.[1]

Famous Cairenes[change | change source]

People from Cairo are called 'Cairenes'.

Notes[change | change source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hedges, Chris. "What's Doing in Cairo," New York Times. January 8, 1995.
  2. ↑ Demographia World Urban Areas & Population Projections, Demographia, April 2009, http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf, retrieved 9 July 2009
  3. ↑ "Weather Information for Cairo". World Meteorological Organization. http://www.worldweather.org/059/c00248.htm. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Cairo (A) Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/UB/62366.TXT. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  5. ↑ Beeson, Irene. "Cairo, a Millennial," Saudi Aramco World. September/October 1969, pp. 24, 26-30.

References[change | change source]

Other websites[change | change source]

Capitals of Africa

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire · Abuja, Nigeria · Accra, Ghana · Addis Ababa, Ethiopia · Algiers, Algeria · Antananarivo, Madagascar · Asmara, Eritrea · Bamako, Mali · Bangui, Central African Republic · Banjul, Gambia · Bissau, Guinea-Bissau · Bloemfontein (One of 3), South Africa · Brazzaville, Congo Republic · Bujumbura, Burundi · Cairo, Egypt · Cape Town (One of 3), South Africa · Conakry, Guinea · Dakar, Senegal · Djibouti, Djibouti · Dodoma, Tanzania · Freetown, Sierra Leone · Gaborone, Botswana · Harare, Zimbabwe · Jamestown, Saint Helena · Kampala, Uganda · Khartoum, Sudan · Kigali, Rwanda · Kinshasa, Congo Democratic Republic · Libreville, Gabon · Lilongwe, Malawi · Lobamba, Swaziland · Lomé, Togo · Luanda, Angola · Lusaka, Zambia · Moroni, Comoros · Malabo, Equatorial Guinea · Maseru, Lesotho · Mamoudzou, Mayotte · Maputo, Mozambique · Mogadishu, Somalia · Mbabane, Swaziland · Monrovia, Liberia · Nouakchott, Mauritania · Niamey, Niger · N'Djamena, Chad · Nairobi, Kenya · Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso · Port Louis, Mauritius · Porto-Novo, Benin · Praia, Cape Verde · Pretoria (One of 3), South Africa · Rabat, Morocco · Saint-Denis, Réunion · São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe · Tripoli, Libya · Tunis, Tunisia · Victoria, Seychelles · Windhoek, Namibia · Yaoundé, Cameroon · Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire

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