Desouk (, ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in northern

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Located 80 km east of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate and had a population of 137,660 inhabitants as of 2011. It is bordered to the west by the

Beheira Governorate Beheira ( ', , "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorates of Egypt, governorate in northern Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur. Overview Beheira Governorate enjoys an impo ...

. Desouk dates back to at least c. 3200 BC and was part of the ancient city of

Buto Buto (, , ''Butu''), Bouto, Butus (, ''Boutos'')Herodotus ii. 59, 63, 155. or Butosus was a city that the Ancient Egyptians called Per-Wadjet. It was located 95 km east of Alexandria in the Nile Delta of Egypt. What in classical times the ...

before the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. From 1250 to 1517, the city of Desouk was part of the Gharbia province. From 1798 to 1801, it was part of the now-defunct Rosetta province.

Etymology

The city's name could be derived from , attested on a statuette from Sais dating to the Third Intermediate Period, through , or from , attested in Greek as ''Thasoukhios'' () and ''Tasoukis'' (). The cult of Sobek had presence to the west of Disuq, on the other side of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

. Other proposal derives it from the rare Arabic verb ''dasaqa'' "to overflow (about a basin)" and its nominal form ''daysaq'' "bassin full of water" which in turn has its origin in , but it is considered implausible. Another improbable etymology is a Copto-Arabic word combining the Coptic feminine definite article ''ti-'' () with .

Overview

Desouk is a member of the Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities due to the location of important Islamic shrines in the city, such as the tomb of Egyptian

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Saint Ibrahim El Desouki, which is located in the main mosque in the center of Desouk. Desouk lies on the Nile, on the eastern banks of the Rosetta branch, where there are only two bridges entering the city. Many important Egyptians hail from Desouk: Youssef El-Mansy, Ahmed Zewail, Mohammed Roshdy, Evelyn Ashamallah, and Abdel-Salam Mohammed Nasar, a politician in the city.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh), the same as the rest of

Tourism

Desouk is renowned for the presence of Ibrahim El Desouki Mosque, which attracts over a million visitors annually on average. The mosque is the final resting place of the last Sufi pole, Imam Ibrahim El Desouki, established around the year 1277. It currently covers an area of 6400 square meters, and the Ladies' Mosque occupies 600 square meters, making it one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world in terms of area. It houses a university Islamic library as well. In Desouk, an annual celebration is held for the birth of Ibrahim El-Desouki in October, lasting a week with strict security measures. The celebration honors the memory of 77 Sufi orders from various parts of the world. During this time, the city attracts more than a million visitors from various provinces of Egypt and some countries worldwide, making it one of the largest religious celebrations in Egypt. Among the festivities, the custodian of the Ibrahim El-Desouki shrine rides a horse and is paraded through the streets of Desouk after the afternoon prayer on the final day of the celebration. Additionally, an annual celebration of Ragabiya is held in late April or early May each year, lasting for a week as well. There are numerous Pharaonic artifacts in the ancient city of

, which served as the political capital of the

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...

. Its construction dates back to the Predynastic period, and it is located northeast of Desouk, about 12 km away. Buto was a significant religious center where every king or prince, upon ascending to rule, was required to go to Buto to legitimize their rule by the priests. This was done for worship and to draw closer to the goddess

Wadjet Wadjet (; "Green One"), known to the Greek world as Uto (; ) or Buto (; ) among other renderings including Wedjat, Uadjet, and Udjo, was originally the ancient Egyptian Tutelary deity, local goddess of the city of Dep or Buto in Lower Egypt, ...

, the Lady of the City, a central figure in the Egyptian myth of

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

and

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

. The area is characterized by several artifacts, some dating back to the Predynastic period, such as the Wadjet Temple,

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

Statue, and the double statue of the goddess

Sekhmet In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis , from ; ) is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of medicine. Sekhmet is also a solar deity, sometimes given the epithet "the Eye of Ra, eye of Ra". She is often associated with the goddesses Hatho ...

and King

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

, among many other artifacts. Locally, the region is known as "Tall Al-Fara'in," named after the founding pharaohs. It spans an area of 175 acres (0.7 km²).الدستور، الخميس 26 يونيو 2010

Notable people

* Ahmed Zewail (born 1946), Egypt chemist, first Egyptian and Arab to be awarded with Nobel in a scientific field * Mohsen Hendawy (born 1981), Egyptian football player * Omar Assar (born 1991), Egyptian table tennis player * كرم مطاوع

References

External links

The official site of Presidency of Desouk City
(Arabic)

(Arabic, English)
The official site of Desouk City in Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate
(Arabic, English) {{Egyptian Cities Populated places in Kafr El Sheikh Governorate Cities in ancient Egypt Populated places established in the 8th millennium BC 8th-millennium BC establishments