Cairo

Lore & Background

The name of Cairo is derived from the Arabic al-Qāhirah, meaning 'the Vanquisher' or 'the Conqueror', given by the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu'izz following the establishment of the city as the capital of the Fatimid dynasty. Its full, formal name was Qāhirat al-Mu'izz, meaning 'the Victorious City of al-Mu'izz'. It is also supposedly due to the fact that the planet Mars, known in Arabic as al-Qāhir (the Conquering Star), was rising at the time of the city's founding. Egyptians often refer to Cairo as Maṣr, the Egyptian Arabic name for Egypt itself. Cairo has since become a longstanding centre of political and cultural life, and is titled 'the city of a thousand minarets' for its preponderance of Islamic architecture. Cairo's historic center was awarded World Heritage Site status in 1979.

In Their Own Story

As the sun bleeds gold over the Citadel, the call to prayer from the Mosque of Muhammad Ali doesn't just drift; it cascades down into the labyrinthine veins of Khan el-Khalili. The air is thick with the scent of roasting coffee and cardamom, competing with the exhaust of a taxi driver weaving through gridlock, his horn blaring a rhythmic, defiant counterpoint to street vendors hawking fresh sugarcane juice and tarnished brass lanterns. Nearby, a traveler pauses at Al-Azhar Park's edge, watching the silhouette of the medieval skyline cut against the twilight—a sea of terracotta rooftops where the past doesn't just echo; it shouts over the frantic heartbeat of the present.

Reader's Guide

Cairo is home to Egypt's oldest university, Al-Azhar University, one of the oldest universities in the world, as well as the oldest and largest film and music industry in Africa and the Arab world. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in Cairo, such as the headquarters of the Arab League, and the regional offices of the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations Development Programme. The city is considered a regional center of finance and commerce, academics and the arts, and is home to the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Cairo Opera House, while the Academy of Arts provides visual arts education. The Cairo Metro, opened in 1987, is the oldest metro system in Africa, and ranks amongst the fifteen busiest in the world, with over 1 billion annual passenger rides.

Did You Know?

• Cairo is known historically as al-Qāhirah, meaning 'the Vanquisher' or 'the Conqueror'.
• Al-Azhar University is one of the oldest universities in the world, but the source does not specify it as the oldest degree-granting university still in operation.
• The Cairo Metro, opened in 1987, is the oldest metro system in Africa.