# Dakahlia Governorate

Dakahlia Governorate (Arabic: محافظة الدقهلية Muḥāfaẓah el Daqahliyah, pronounced) is an Egyptian governorate lying northeast of Cairo, Egypt. Its area is approximately 3,500 km$^2$. Although the capital of the governorate is Mansoura, it got its name from the ancient town of Daqahlah (Arabic: دقهلة, from Coptic: ⲧⲕⲉϩⲗⲓ, lit. 'shrine') which is located in the modern Damietta Governorate.

## History
### Archaeology

According to Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in February, 2020, Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered 83 tombs dating back to 4,000 B.C, known as the Naqada III period. Various small pottery pots in different shapes, as well as some sea shells, makeup tools, eyeliner pots and jewels, were also revealed in the burial.
In April 2021, Egyptian archeologists announced the discovery of 110 burial tombs at the Koum el-Khulgan archeological site. Of these, 68 oval-shaped tombs date back to the Predynastic Period, while 37 rectangular-shaped tombs were from Second Intermediate Period. The rest of the tombs date back to the Naqada III period. The tombs also contained the remains of adults and a baby (buried in a jar), a group of ovens, stoves, remnants of mud-brick foundations, funerary equipment, cylindrical, pear-shaped vessels and a bowl with geometric designs.

## Municipal divisions

The governorate is divided into municipal divisions and in January 2023 had an estimated population of 818,012. At times, there is a kism and a markaz with the same name.
Municipal Divisions :
| Anglicized name | Native name | Arabic transliteration | Population (January 2023 Est.) | Type |
| Aga | مركز أجا | Agā | 567,756 | Markaz |
| El Gamaliya | مركز الجمالية | Al-Gamāliyah | 138,291 | Markaz |
| El Kurdi | قسم الكردى | Al-Kurdi | 45,592 | Kism (fully urban) |
| El Mansoura | مركز المنصورة | Al-Manṣūrah | 650,178 | Markaz |
| El Mansoura 1 | قسم اول المنصورة | Al-Manṣūrah 1 | 360,534 | Kism (fully urban) |
| El Mansoura 2 | قسم ثان المنصورة | Al-Manṣūrah 2 | 270,948 | Kism (fully urban) |
| El Manzala | مركز المنزلة | Al-Manzilah | 360,649 | Markaz |
| El Matareya | مركز المطرية | Al-Maṭariyah | 202,191 | Markaz |
| El Senbellawein | مركز السنبلاوين | As-Sinbillāwayn | 605,340 | Markaz |
| Beni Ebeid | مركز بنى عبيد | Banī Ubayd | 141,856 | Markaz |
| Belqas | مركز بلقاس | Bilqās | 568,532 | Markaz |
| Dikirnis | مركز دكرنس | Dikirnis | 379,591 | Markaz |
| Gamasa | قسم جمصة | Gamaṣah | 4,520 | Kism (fully urban) |
| Maḥallat Damanah | مركز محلة دمنة | Maḥallat Damanah | 67,665 | Markaz |
| Minyet El Nasr | مركز منية النصر | Minyat an-Naṣr | 287,468 | Markaz |
| Mit Ghamr | قسم ميت غمر | Mīt Ghamr | 156,109 | Kism (fully urban) |
| Mit Ghamr | مركز ميت غمر | Mīt Ghamr | 694,047 | Markaz |
| Mit Salsil | مركز ميت سلسيل | Mīt Salsīl | 73,417 | Markaz |
| Nabaroh | مركز نبروة | Nabarūh | 301,631 | Markaz |
| Shirbin | مركز شربين | Shirbīn | 454,737 | Markaz |
| Talkha | مركز طلخا | Ṭalkhā | 421,037 | Markaz |
| Timay El Imdid | مركز تمى الأمديد | Timay al-Imdīd | 209,103 | Markaz |

## Population

According to population estimates, in 2015 the majority of residents in the governorate lived in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of 28.2%. Out of an estimated 5,949,001 people residing in the governorate, 4,271,428 people lived in rural areas as opposed to 1,677,573 in urban areas. By 2018, the population had increased to an estimated 6,577,000.

## Overview

The Urology and Nephrology Center of Mansoura University Faculty of Medicine also features a renowned kidney center. Founded in 1983. Under the management of Dr. Mohamed A. Ghoneim.

## Cities and towns

* Aga
* Bilqas
* Damas
* Dikirnis
* El Gamaliya
* El Kurdi
* El Matareya
* El Senbellawein
* Gamasa
* Gogar
* Mansoura
* Manzala
* Mit Elkorama
* Mit Ghamr
* Mit Salsil
* Nabaroh
* Sherbin
* Temay El Amdeed
* Talkha

## Industrial zones

According to the Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), the following industrial zones are located in Dakahlia:
* Southwest Gamasa Industrial Zone
* El-Asafra Industrial Zone

## Notable people
### Arts

* Ahmad Hasan al-Zayyat, writer and intellectual
* Anis Mansour, writer
* Ali Mahmoud Taha, romantic poet
* Adel Emam, movie and stage actor
* Faten Hamama, actress and producer
* Hassan el-Imam, film director
* Iman Mersal, poet
* Khaled El Nabawy, actor
* Mohamed Abla, artist
* Mahmoud Mokhtar, sculptor
* Naguib Surur, poet and playwright
* No'man Ashour, poet and playwright
* Ramy Essam, musician
* Sherif Mounir, movie and stage actor
* Umm Kulthum, renowned singer and songwriter

### Journalists

* Ahmed Mansour (journalist)
* Mohamed Makhzangi, journalist and writer
* Mohammed Hussein Heikal, journalist, writer and politician
* Magdi Mehanna

### Politics

* Ali Pasha Mubarak, one of the most influential and talented of Egypt's 19th century reformers
* Ayman Nour, politician
* Ahmed Gamal El-Din Moussa, former minister
* Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, intellectual, secularist and nationalist
* Abdel Latif Boghdadi, politician
* Khaled Ali, lawyer and Acitvist
* Khairat el-Shater, Islamic political activist
* Mahmoud Sabry El Shabrawy, professor, parliamentarian, intellectual and speaker
* Mohammed Mahdi Akef, former head of Muslim Brotherhood
* Mohamed Abdul Salam Mahgoub, politician
* Omar Abdel-Rahman, Muslim leader and activist
* Sami Hafez Anan, military officer
* Salah Nasr, former intelligence agency directory

### Religion

* Gad el-Haq, former Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
* George El Mozahem, Coptic Orthodox martyr and saint
* Mohamed Metwally Al-Shaarawy, Islamic scholar
* Mahmoud Zakzouk, academic and politician

### Science

* Farouk El-Baz, space scientist
* Mohamed Ghoneim, urologist
* Saad Eddin Ibrahim, academic and sociologist
* Selim Hassan, Egyptologist

### Sports

* Ōsunaarashi Kintarō (Abdelrahman Shalan) sumo wrestler
* Abdel-Zaher El-Saqqa, footballer
* Amr Marey, footballer
* Hussam El-Badrawi, sports shooter
* Mahmoud Fathalla, footballer
* Mahmoud El Khatib, footballer
* Mahmoud Abou El-Saoud, footballer
* Mohamed El Shamy (footballer, born 1996)
* Mimi El-Sherbini, footballer
* Salah Soliman, footballer