Cairo sprang from the foundations of a recent town, according to the Egyptian time standards. This region was originally settled in the Paleolithic and witnessed the great development of the Neolithic communities. This region was, since the pre dynastic period of the Pharahonic era, a very remote extension of On, the center of Ra cult where the priests of Heliopolis area had worshipped the sun god. It was there, that the battle opposing Horus to Seth took place, according to the Osirian legend. It was also there, that what the Persian invaders built in 525 BC the fort of Babylon to control the trade routes of the Old World. In 117 Trajan, the roman governor of Egypt, repaired the old canal originally built by the older Pharaohs of the 12th dynasty to link, across the Nile dominated by Babylon, from up north, the Mediterranean Sea to east at the Red Sea. During these later periods of that roman's occupation, a Christian community grew up around Babylon where the world's oldest Coptic churches were built, at the end of the 4th century: St. Sergius church and as well as that church of St. Barbara. Taking hold of Babylon in 639, Amr Ibn El As, the leader of the Arab army, conquered Egypt and expelled the Romans. gradually, Egypt has converted to Islamic, the location of Amr's camp, in front of Babylon, became the center of a military city El Fostat or the tent, an extension was to be added by the Abbassides called El Askar or the soldiers, this was followed by another extension added by the Toulounides El Katayea or the tribes, therefore the city grew up in splendor: Amr's mosque, the world's oldest third mosque, the palace of the governor, public bathes, houses, gardens, markets. In 969 Gohar, the Fatimides army leader built, to the north of El Katayea, a much larger city which was then named El Kahera or the victorious Cairo. In 973 El Azhar mosque and its large Islamic University was built.
Cairo became the capital of Egypt in 1176 Saladin built the Citadel and surrounded the old city and the capital, with defensive walls. The reign of Ismail started, in 1865, a new era of modernization: Cairo was enlarged by adding new extensions, wide streets adorned with trees, gardens, Opera house, houses and villas, large hotels. In 1952, a revolution took a place and Egypt became a republic, some of the new cities were built around Cairo to solve the problems of overpopulation. Cairo today is one of the world's largest cities, it is a very metropolitan city, many luxurious hotels, wide variety of restaurants, all types of museums, galleries of arts, Opera house and theaters, 5 large universities, sports clubs and stadiums, zoological gardens and many entertainment centers, movies and shopping centers, the Old Bazaar of Khan El Khalili, a large net of underground metro, bridges and highways, also 2 international airports, floating hotels and restaurants on the Nile, modern hospitals also the banks, aviation and tourist agencies, embassies and cultural centers. And above all of that there is the welcoming Egyptian people.
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