Mansoura (', , rural: ) is a city in

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 Medit ...

, with a population of 960,423. It is the capital of the

Dakahlia Governorate Dakahlia Governorate ( ar, محافظة الدقهلية ', ) is an Egyptian governorate lying northeast of Cairo. Its area is approximately 3,500 km2. Although the capital of the governorate is Mansoura, it got its name from the ancient to ...

Etymology

''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle against Louis IX of France during the Seventh Crusade.

History

Mansoura was established in 1219 by

al-Kamil Al-Kamil ( ar, الكامل) (full name: al-Malik al-Kamil Naser ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Muhammad) (c. 1177 – 6 March 1238) was a Muslim ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Cr ...

of the Ayyubid dynasty upon a Phatmetic branch of the Nile on a place of several older villages like Al-Bishtamir () and Kafr al-Badamas (, from , "river,canal"). After the Egyptians defeated the Crusaders during the Seventh Crusade, it was named ''Mansoura'' (aka. "The Victorious"). In the Seventh Crusade, the Capetians were defeated and put to flight; between fifteen and thirty thousand of their men fell on the battlefield. Louis IX of France was captured in the main Battle of Fariskur, and confined in the house of Ibrahim Ibn Lokman, secretary of the sultan, and under the guard of the eunuch Sobih. The king's brother was imprisoned in the same house. The sultan provided for their sustenance. The house of Ibrahim Ibn Lokman is now the only museum in Mansoura. It is open to the public and houses articles that used to belong to the French monarch, including his personal thirteenth century

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...

. The Mansura Air Battle on October 14, 1973 occurred during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

fighters attacking Egyptian air bases were intercepted by the Egyptian Air Force. On that day, 160 jet fighters, most belonging to Israel, battled for 53 minutes over Mansoura. Egyptian army claims that despite the numerical and qualitative superiority of the Israeli warplanes, 17 Israeli planes were downed. (2 according to the Israelis). The rest retreated. Egypt announced the loss of six planes, only three of which fell to Israeli fire. The Egyptian government subsequently changed the country's "Air Force Day" from November 2 to October 14, to commemorate the Mansoura Air Battle.

Geography

Location

Mansoura lies on the east bank of the

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...

branch 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 ...

, in the Delta region. Mansoura is about 120 km northeast of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. Across from the city, on the opposite bank of the Nile, is the town of

Talkha Talkha ( ar, طلخا ) is a city in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. The city is located on the west bank of the Damietta, a distributary of the Nile in the Delta region. Is about 120 km northeast of Cairo. Talkha is situated opposite th ...

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).

Culture

The

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and ...

dialect spoken by Mansoura's population is a northern Egyptian Arabic dialect, with noticeable influences from the city's surrounding rural villages, each of which has contributed to the city's population over the years. There are some similarities to

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 some aspects of pronunciation. Mansoura National Museum used to be Dar Ibn Lockman, the house where

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

was imprisoned in 1250 during the Seventh Crusade. Displayed in the museum are the suits of mail and swords of the crusaders, as well as a collection of maps. Huge paintings depict the Battle of Mansoura. The Mansoura branch of the National Library was recently inaugurated as the Mansoura Misr Library. Mansoura is famous for its architectural style, especially the Shinnawi Palace (after Mohamed Bek El-Shinnawi, a member of the

Wafd Party The Wafd Party (; ar, حزب الوفد, ''Ḥizb al-Wafd'') was a nationalist liberal political party in Egypt. It was said to be Egypt's most popular and influential political party for a period from the end of World War I through the 1930 ...

). It was built by an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

architect in 1928. The mosque of El-Saleh Ayoub El-Kebir is one of the most important in Mansoura. It was built by a loyal servant of the Sultan and is located in Al-Sagha Street that separates "Old Mansoura" from the modern city.Mansoura
Like

and Port Said, Mansoura was home to a flourishing

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

community until the Nasser era, when many were forced to leave. Many of the older and best established shops and businesses around the city still bear their original

names. Mansoura also had a small Italian population living in the city too. The first Old English school in the city was established on the site of the old

school in the Toriel area, one of the traditionally relatively affluent residential districts of the city.

Education

The University of Mansoura was founded in 1962, initially as a branch of

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

. The

Urology Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

and Nephrology center of

Mansoura University Mansoura University was founded in 1972 in Mansoura city, Egypt. It is in the middle of the Nile Delta. It is one of the biggest Egyptian universities and has contributed much to the cultural and scientific life in Mansoura and Egypt. History T ...

founded by Prof Mohammed Ghonem is considered to be the best kidney center in the Middle East and Africa. Mansoura has a sports stadium ( Mansoura Stadium) which is home to its football team.

Clubs (Sport)

* Gezert Elward Sport Club: It is located directly on the Nile and has tennis courts, swimming, gymnastics, squash and social club. Recently, the gymnastics team participated under the seven-year club in the Republic Championship and received 2 gold medals 13 silver and 1 bronze and 1 participation. * Mansoura Sports Club: It has an official football field. * Mansoura Sports Stadium: It has an official football field, swimming pool, social club and many sports facilities.
The Olympic Village (Mansoura University Stadium)
It covers an area of 15 acres and is open to university students, faculty members and those wishing to play abroad in individual and group games.
Nile Club
The club was established by decision of the University Council in its session held on 12/27/1993, provided that it has financial, administrative and technical resignation, and it is located in Rose Island in the lower walkway in Mansoura. The club is a cultural, social, sports and recreational center for faculty members, their assistants, and university staff.

Notable people

* Reem Bassem; Economic Development Specialist. *

Adel Emam Adel Emam ( ar, عادل إمام; born 17 May 1940 is an Egyptian film, television, and stage actor. He is primarily a comedian, but he has starred in more serious works and, combined comedy with romance especially in his earlier films, which ...

; Egyptian actor. * Hassan El-Imam; Egyptian film director, titled Box-office King * Mohamed Ghoneim Urologist. *

Anis Mansour Anis Mansour, also transliterated as Anīs Manṣūr ( ar, أنيس منصور, ) (18 August 1924 – 21 October 2011) was an Egyptian writer. Biography Mansour was born in Al-Mansoura on 18 August 1924. He obtained his BA in philosophy at Cair ...

; Egyptian writer. *

Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq also spelled Jadd al-Haqq ( ar, جاد الحق علي جاد الحق) (5 April 1917 – 15 March 1996) was Grand Imam of Al-Azhar from 1982 to 1996. Tim Winterbr>OBITUARY: Sheikh Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq ''The Indepen ...

;

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar The Grand Imam of al-Azhar ( ar, الإمام الأكبر), also known as Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar ( ar, links=no, شيخ الأزهر الشريف), currently Ahmed el-Tayeb, is a prestigious and a prominent official title in Egypt. He is conside ...

from 1982 to 1996; Public figure; Islamic scholar. * Ibrahim Salah; Footballer. * Muhammad Metwali Alsharawi; Public figure; Islamic scholar. * Pope Tawadros II; Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. *

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...

; Singer, title Kawkab al-Sharq. *

Farouk El-Baz Farouk El-Baz ( arz, فاروق الباز, ''Pronunciation'': ) (born January 2, 1938) is an Egyptian American space scientist and geologist, who worked with NASA in the scientific exploration of the Moon and the planning of the Apollo program. ...

; Space Scientist. *

Ahmed Hamdi Ahmed Hamdi (20 May 1929 – 14 October 1973) was an Egyptian engineer and a general of the 3rd Army of Egypt during the October War. He was killed while crossing the Suez Canal with his soldiers and was awarded the Sinai star posthumous ...

* Hesham Sallam * Kareem Abu-Elmagd

References

External links

* * http://www.dakahliya.gov.eg/Dakhlya/PDF_Files_/Dr_Ayman.pdf *
Official website
{{Coord, 31, 03, 00, N, 31, 23, 00, E, type:city(1600000)_region:EG, display=title Populated places in Dakahlia Governorate Governorate capitals in Egypt Cities in Egypt Metropolitan areas of Egypt Crusade places 1219 establishments Medieval cities of Egypt Populated places established in the 1210s 13th-century establishments in the Ayyubid Sultanate