Rod El Farag (, ; also spelled Rawd al-Farag, or Road El-Farag) is a district in the Northern Area 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 ...

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 ...

. Rod El Farag neighbours the

River 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 longest river i ...

to the west,

Bulaq Boulaq ( 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 available on its eastern si ...

district to the south,

Shubra Shubra (, ; also written Shoubra or Shobra) is a district of Cairo, Egypt and it is one of eight districts that make up the Northern Area. Administratively it used to cover the entire area of the three districts of Shubra, Rod El Farag, and El Sa ...

district to the east and al-Sahel district to the north.

History

Rod El Farag started to be cultivated in the 19th century, after changes in 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 ...

course resulted in the accumulation of silt after the annual floods, north of Bulaq creating permanent land. Late-19th-century and early-20th-century maps show the village of Rod al-Farag al-Qadim, and water works and docks by the Nile. As Cairo expanded north, Rod al-Farag became a sub-district of the growing Shubra suburb by the mid-20th century, becoming known for alternative open-air theatres, bars and night clubs after

World War Two World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisi ...

where the careers of many contemporary actors were launched. They included Nagib al-Rīḥānī, ʿAlī al-Kassār, Fāṭima Rushdī, Mohamed Shukūkū, Ismaʿīl Yāsīn, Āmīna Rizq, and Marī Mūnīb.

Wholesale market

In 1947, a large vegetable and fruit wholesale market was built in Rod El Farag, its economy employing many of the district's residents as traders or carriers. The market, and Rod al-Farag in general, was a central character in the 1957 film ''Al-Fetewa'' (The Thug) portraying daily struggles in the market. Eventually the market was relocated in 1996 near the new town of Obour on the outskirts of Cairo, and was renamed after it, while its original location has since hosted a public garden, schools and a 'cultural palace' (public

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...

Other points of interest

The world-famous El-Nozah candy shop, started in 1940. was famous for its home-made

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

, though it relocated to an area on the outskirts of

Greater Cairo The Greater Cairo () is a metropolitan area centered around Cairo, Egypt. It comprises the entirety of the Cairo Governorate, the cities of Imbaba and Giza in the Giza Governorate, and the city Shubra El Kheima in Qalyubia Governorate. Its def ...

. This district also contains good infrastructure, including the French school "Notre Dame des Apotres.

Rod El Farag Bridge

The Rod El Farag Bridge over the

river, which is part of the Tahya Misr Axis crossing the Egyptian capital of

, built by the Egyptian company Arab Contractors, is the world's widest

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

built over the course of 4 years until it was completed in 2019, achieving the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

with a width of 67.3 meters. The 540 meters long bridge has 6 lanes in each direction, has suspension towers which are 92 meters high and 160 suspension cables to hold the bridge. Currently, it is becoming a major tourist attraction in Cairo, where visitors can cross the side pedestrian passageways which have panoramic views of the banks of the Nile and a glass floor see-through walkway where visitors can walk over the Nile. The cable-stayed bridge width reaches 85 metres ( 280.ft ) at the Eastern Entrances, as the Bridge width is increased to accommodate seven different entrance and exit ramps. The Bridge received PTI Award of Excellence in April 2021 from the Post-Tensioning Institute Design and Construction Supervision by ACE Consulting Engineers ( Moharram and Bakhoum ).Arab Consulting Engineers (Moharram and Bakhoum), ACE https://ace-mb.com/ Owner and Project Management EAAF.

References

{{Coord, 30, 04, 34, N, 31, 14, 23, E, region:EG-C_type:city_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Districts of Greater Cairo