Desouk ( ar, دسوق, ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in northern

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. Located 80 km east of

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 ...

, in the

Kafr El Sheikh Governorate Kafr El Sheikh Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. It lies in the northern part of the country, along the western branch of the Nile in the Nile Delta. Its capital is the city of Kafr El Sheikh. Kafr El Sheikh is the first nationwid ...

and had a population of 137,660 inhabitants as of 2011. It is bordered to the west by the

Beheira Governorate Beheira Governorate ( ar, محافظة البحيرة ', , "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorate in Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur. Overview Beheira Governorate ...

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

Buto Buto ( grc, Βουτώ, ar, بوتو, ''Butu''), Bouto, Butus ( grc, links=no, Βοῦτος, ''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 Alexandr ...

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 The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latt ...

, through . The cult of Sobek had presence to the west of Disuq, on the other 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 riv ...

. 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 unplausible. 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 ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, 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 Ahmed Hassan Zewail ( ar, أحمد حسن زويل, ; February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016) was an Egyptian-American chemist, known as the "father of femtochemistry". He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry ...

, Mohammed Roshdy,

Evelyn Ashamallah Evelyn Ashamallah ( ar, إيفيلين عشم الله) is a female Coptic painter, born in Desouk, Kafr el-Sheikh, Egypt in 1948 to Ashamallah Eskandar Hanna and Elaine Mikhail Hanna. She graduated from the faculty of fine arts at Alexandria ...

, and Abdel-Salam Mohammed Nasar, a politician in the city. Population of Desouk (1882-2009)-English

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

hot desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...

(BWh), the same as the rest of

Notable people

* Mohsen Hendawy (born 1981), Egyptian footballer

References

External links