Old Cairo (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: مصر القديمة , Miṣr al-Qadīma,
Egyptian pronunciation: Maṣr El-ʾAdīma) is a historic area in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...
, which includes the site of a Roman-era fortress and of Islamic-era settlements pre-dating the founding of
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
proper in AD 969. It is also considered part of what is referred to as "
Historic Cairo" or "Islamic Cairo", and is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
.
History and description
Roman fort and Coptic Cairo
The
Babylon Fortress
Babylon Fortress (; ) is an Ancient Roman fortress, built around 30 BC with the arrival of emperor Augustus in Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile Delta, located in the area known today as Coptic Cairo. It is situated in the former area of t ...
is a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...
around which many of the
Egyptian Christians' oldest churches were built. It is unrelated to ancient
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
or its empire.
The area of
Coptic Cairo
Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo which encompasses the Babylon Fortress, the Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George and many other Coptic churches and historical sites. It is believed in Christian tradition that t ...
is also part of Old Cairo. It comprises ruins of Roman fortifications and many old churches. Modern tourists visit locations such as the
Coptic Museum
The Coptic Museum is a museum in Coptic Cairo, Egypt with the largest collection of Coptic Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded by Marcus Simaika in 1908 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Egypt from its ...
, the Babylon Fortres,
the Hanging Church and other
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet, t ...
churches.

Count Gabriel Habib Sakakini Pasha (1841–1923), who had become a household name in his time, built a palace and a church in the
El-Sakakini area in 1897 and established the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Old Cairo.
Early Muslim city: attractions
Old Cairo contains the remnants of those cities which were capitals before Cairo itself, such as
Fustat
Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by ...
,
al-Askar
Al-‘Askar ( ar, العسكر) was the capital of Egypt from 750–868, when Egypt was a province of the Abbasid Caliphate.
History Background
After the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641, Fustat was established, just north of Coptic Cairo and ...
and
al-Qatta'i. These are the location of the
Mosque of Amr, the first mosque in the entire of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and the
Ibn Tulun Mosque
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun ( ar, مسجد إبن طولون, Masjid Ibn Ṭūlūn) is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is one of the oldest mosques in Egypt as well as the whole of Africa surviving in its full original form, and is the largest mosque in ...
, though little else remains today. The
Ben Ezra Synagogue, also known as the
El-Geniza Synagogue, stands in Fustat.
Fustat, Rashidun and Umayyad capital
After the
Muslim conquest of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...
in 641,
Rashidun
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of ...
commander
Amr ibn al-As established
Fustat
Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by ...
just north of
Coptic Cairo
Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo which encompasses the Babylon Fortress, the Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George and many other Coptic churches and historical sites. It is believed in Christian tradition that t ...
. At
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
Umar's request, the Egyptian capital was moved from
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
to the new city on the eastern side of the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
.
Al-Askar, Abbasid capital
The reach of the Umayyads was extensive, stretching from western
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
all the way to western
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. However, they were overthrown by the Abbasids, who moved the capital of the Umayyad empire itself to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesip ...
. In Egypt, this shift in power involved moving control from the Umayyad city of Fustat slightly north to the Abbasid city of
al-‘Askar. Its full name was ( ar, مدينة العسكري, Madinatu l-‘Askari, lit=City of Cantonments or City of Sections).
Intended primarily as a city large enough to house an army, it was laid out in a grid pattern that could be easily subdivided into separate sections for various groups, such as merchants and officers.
The peak of the Abbasid dynasty occurred during the reign of
Harun al Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
(r. 786-809), along with increased taxes on the Egyptians, who rose up in a peasant revolt in 832 during the time of Caliph
al-Ma'mun (r. 813-833).
Al-Qatta'i, Tulunid capital
Local Egyptian governors gained increasing autonomy, and in 870, governor
Ahmad ibn Tulun
Ahmad ibn Tulun ( ar, أحمد بن طولون, translit=Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn; c. 20 September 835 – 10 May 884) was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria between 868 and 905. Originally a Turkic slave-soldier, in 868 ...
declared Egypt's independence (though still nominally under the rule of the Abbasid Caliph). As a symbol of this independence, in 868 ibn Tulun founded yet another capital,
al-Qatta'i, slightly further north of al-‘Askar. The capital remained there until 905, when the city was destroyed.
Fustat, Abbasid and Fatimid capital
After the destruction of al-Qatta'i, the administrative capital of Egypt returned to al-Fusṭāṭ.
[ However, al-Fusṭāṭ itself was then destroyed by a vizier-ordered fire that burned from 1168 to 1169, as a defensive measure against the attacking Crusader ]Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
.
Al-Qāhirah, Fatimid and later capital
At this time the capital moved to nearby ''al-Qāhirah'' (Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
), founded in 969, where it has remained to this day. Cairo's boundaries grew to eventually encompass the three earlier capitals of al-Fusṭāṭ, al-Qatta'i and al-‘Askar, the remnants of which can today be seen in Old Cairo in the southern part of the city.
Bulaq port and Azbakeya district (15th century)
During the latter half of the 15th century, two final major transformations took place in Cairo: the port of Bulaq
Boulaq ( ar, بولاق, Būlāq from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile.
History
The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land a ...
, and a district called Azbakeya
Azbakeya ( ar, أزبكية; also spelled Al Uzbakeya or Auzbekiya) is one of the central districts of Cairo, Egypt. It contains many historically important establishments. One of these is the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, which was in ...
in the northwest section of the city. The perimeters of the city had been unchanged for the past 300 years according to the map done by the French expedition in 1798 AD. With Barsbay
Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Dīn Bārsbay ( Circassian: Барасбий ал-Ашрэф Сэфудин) ( ar, الأشرف سيف الدين برسباي) was the ninth Burji Mamluk sultan of Egypt from AD 1422 to 1438. He was Circassian by birth and a ...
's conquest of Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
in 1428, Bulaq became the major port of Cairo. By the end of the 15th century, Bulaq was even able to take over the role as the major commercial port from Old Cairo.
Conservation and restoration
The effort to conserve Egypt's monuments has existed since the 19th century. In 1881, Khedive Tawfiq founded the ''Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe The Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe (English: ''Committee for the Conservation of the Monuments of Arab Art'') was an organization established in December 1881 by Khedive Tawfiq which was responsible for the preservation of Isl ...
.''
World Heritage Site
In 1979, UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
designated Old Cairo, as part of wider Historic Cairo, as a World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
, calling it "one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) are performed, in ...
, madrasas, hammams and fountains" and "the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century."
References
World Heritage Sites in Egypt
History of Cairo
Districts of Cairo
Historic districts
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