Cairo

Cairo (, usually transliterated as Al-Qāhirah) is the capital and largest city in Egypt. The city name can be translated as the one who won. 

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

The city is on the Nile River.

 Geography 
 Climate 

The city of Cairo has a hot desert climate (BWh). It has a hot, sunny and dry climate all year long. The city, however, has more humidity than other cities with the hot desert climate (BWh).

History
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.Beeson, Irene. "Cairo, a Millennial,"  Saudi Aramco World. September/October 1969, pp. 24, 26-30.

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.Hedges, Chris. "What's Doing in Cairo," New York Times. January 8, 1995.

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

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.

 Famous Cairenes 
People from Cairo are called 'Cairenes'.
 Abu Sa'id al-Afif - Fifteenth Century Samaritian
 Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations
 Naguib Mahfouz, novelist, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988.
 Mido, Professional soccer player with Middlesbrough F.C
 Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency 2005 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
 Naguib Sawiris, 62nd richest person on earth in a 2007 list of billionaires, reaching US$10.0 billion with his company Orascom Telecom Holding
 Farouk El Baz, a great contributor to NASA
 Sir Magdi Yacoub, leading cardiologist, knight
 Constantin Xenakis (1931) Greek artist
 Voula Zouboulaki (1931) Greek actress

References

Sources
 Hedges, Chris.  "What's Doing in Cairo," New York Times. January 8, 1995.

 Other websites 



 Cairo information  at yatb.info
 Blog about Cairo
 Places in Cairo 
 Cairo -Citizendium

Category:Capital of Egypt