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

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 on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch 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 ...

river. The city is the capital of the

Dakahlia Governorate Dakahlia ( ', ) is an Egyptian governorate lying northeast of Cairo, Egypt. Its area is approximately 3,500 km2. Although the capital of the governorate is Mansoura, it got its name from the ancient town of Daqahlah (, from ) which is locat ...

and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021.

Etymology

''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle (1250) against

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

during the

Seventh Crusade The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...

History

Mansoura was established in 1219 by

al-Kamil Al-Malik al-Kamil Nasir ad-Din Muhammad (; – 6 March 1238), titled Abu al-Maali (), was an Egyptian ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Crusade. He was known to the Franki ...

of the

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

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

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

rs during the

, it was named ''Mansoura'' (aka. "The Victorious"). In the

, the Capetians were defeated and put to flight; between fifteen and thirty thousand of their men fell on the battlefield.

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 waste (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 p ...

. The Mansoura 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 fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

fighters attacking Egyptian air bases were intercepted by the

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) () is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy ...

. On that day, 160 jet fighters, most belonging to Israel, battled for 53 minutes over Mansoura. The Egyptian army claimed that despite the numerical and qualitative superiority of the Israeli warplanes, 17 Israeli planes were downed. (2 according to the Israelis), while 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 ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...

branch of the

, in the

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

region. Mansoura is about 120 km northeast of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

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

Talkha Talkha ( ) 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 the city of Mans ...

Climate

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

Culture

The

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian, or simply as Masri, is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic variety in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt. The esti ...

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 ( ; ) 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 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), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

was imprisoned in 1250 during the

. 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 inaugurated in 2008 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 (; , ''Ḥizb al-Wafd'') was a nationalist Liberalism, 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 1930s. During th ...

). 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

, Mansoura was home to a flourishing

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

community until the

Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

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 () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

. The

Urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

and

Nephrology Nephrology is a specialty for both adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (renal physiology) and kidney disease (renal pathophysiology), the preservation of kid ...

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 ...

founded by Prof Mohammed Ghonem is considered to be the best kidney center in the Middle East and Africa. Mansoura has a sports

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

( Mansoura Stadium) which is home to its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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

* Kareem Abu-Elmagd, Egyptian-American organ transplant surgeon * Ahmed El-Ghandour (Da7ee7), Youtuber and educator *

Adel Emam Adel Mohammed Emam (; born on 17 May 1940), is an Egyptians, Egyptian Cinema of Egypt, film, Television in Egypt, television, and Egyptian Theatre, stage actor, known for his extensive career with over 150 artistic works, including films, plays, a ...

, actor *

Mohamed Ghoneim Mohamed Ahmed Ghoneim is an Egyptian urologist. Career Ghoneim is a graduate of the University of Cairo. He is one of the founders of the Ghoneim Urology and Nephrology Center for Management of Renal and Urological Disorders (a World Health O ...

, urologist *

Faten Hamama Faten Ahmed Hamama (, ; 27 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an Egyptian film and television actress and film producer. She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity an ...

, actress * Ahmed Hamdi, engineer * Ahmed Hamed, Olympic pentathlete *

Anis Mansour Anis Mansour, also transliterated as Anīs Manṣūr (, ) (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 Cairo University in 1947 and ...

; writer *

Hassan El-Imam Hassan el-Imam ( , ; March 6, 1919, in Mansoura, Egypt – January 29, 1988) was a prominent Egyptian film director. He was nicknamed the Box-office King. Early life Hassan El-Imam was born on March 6, 1919, in the city of Mansoura, his father E ...

, film director, titled Box-office King * Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq,

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar The Grand Imam of al-Azhar (), also known as Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar (), is a prestigious and a prominent official title in Egypt and the Islamic world. The current Grand Imam is Ahmed el-Tayeb, who assumed the role on 10 March 2010. The Grand ...

from 1982 to 1996; public figure and 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 * Ibrahim Salah; footballer * Hesham Sallam, paleontologist * Soheir Zaki, dancer

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