Shubra (, ; also written Shoubra or Shobra) is a district 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 ...

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 Rod El Farag (, ; also spelled Rawd al-Farag, or Road El-Farag) is a district in the Northern Area of Cairo, Egypt. Rod El Farag neighbours the River Nile to the west, Bulaq district to the south, Shubra district to the east and al-Sahel distric ...

, and

El Sahel El-Sahel of Cairo ( ) is a district in the Northern Area of Cairo, Egypt. It used to form part of a larger district of Shubra that was established as a garden suburb of Cairo in the 19th century until it was subdivided in 1988 into the distri ...

, until it was broken up in 1988. Therefore, many places associated with the original, larger Shubra are known as belonging to it, even though administratively they lie in one of the other two districts. The larger Shubra is historically related to the city of

Shubra El Kheima Shubra El Kheima, (, ) is the fourth-largest city in Egypt after Cairo, Giza and Alexandria. It is located in the Qalyubia Governorate along the northern edge of the Cairo Governorate. It forms part of the Greater Cairo metropolitan area. Hi ...

, although in the

Qalyubiyya Governorate Qalyubia ( ' ) is one of the governorates of Egypt, located in Lower Egypt. It is situated north of Cairo in the Nile Delta region. Its capital is Benha, Banha. Name ''Qalyubia'' is derived from the city of Qalyub, whose name is an arabization ...

immediately to the north of Shubra, and contiguous to it.

Etymology

Although Shubra is a large city district, the name originally derives from the Coptic word ', which means a small village, ''kom'' (hill), or hamlet, as the area was well known for its rich fields that neighbour the

Nile River 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 ...

before it became a part of Cairo. Shubra is a common prefix for many places in Egypt, most of which originated as villages but may today be towns or even cities. For example the villages of Shubra Bekhoum,

Quesna Quesna ( ) is a city in Monufia Governorate, Egypt. It has an area of 49009 feddans (210 square kilometers). The older name of the city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around t ...

, Menoufia, and Shubra Beloula, Qutour, Gharbia, or Qalyubia's industrial city,

History

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

chose the fields around the then village of Shubra El-Kheima for the location of a rural retreat where he built himself a palace in the area overlooking 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 ...

and extended Shubra Street in 1808 from Bab al-Hadid in Cairo, to there. A 'Fountain Pavilion' (''kushk al-fasqia''), nicknamed by French historians as the

Nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

, would be added to the palace gardens by 1821. Over the coming decades Mohamed Ali's heirs would turn the area into a garden suburb lining Shubra Street with their palaces. During the 20th Century, Shubra developed from cultivated fields and palatial gardens into a residential area. The area around the Shubra El-Kheima village north of the intake of the Ismailia Canal, would become the city of

Shubra El-Kheima Shubra El Kheima, (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt, fourth-largest city in Egypt after Cairo, Giza and Alexandria. It is located in the Qalyubia Governorate along the northern edge of the Cairo Governorate. It forms part of the Great ...

in the Qalubia governorate. While the area south of the canal and north of Bulaq called Dawahi Masr (Cairo's Suburbs) would become the larger Shubra district of Cairo. Shubra lost its upper-class status slowly after the tramway was built in 1902 connecting it to the rest of Cairo, turning into a

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

and merchant

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

neighbourhood with numerous cinemas and theatres. The tram was removed in the 1990s as

Cairo Metro Line 2 Cairo Metro Line 2 is the second line of the Cairo Metro in Cairo, Egypt. History Cairo's metro network was greatly expanded in the mid-1990s with the building of Line 2 (red), from Shubra Al Khaimah to Cairo University, with an extension to Giza ...

was being dug, and today the only remaining palatial buildings are the Fountain Pavilion in Shubra El-Kheima, erroneously named Mohamed Ali's Palace, and prince Omar Tousson's palace that was converted into a public school in the 1950s, then later abandoned and is now in the Rod al-Farag district. The Sard Shubra Archive was established in 2021 to preserve histories of Shubra through ephemeral materials including tram tickets, images of historic churches and concert halls, film posters, and legal documents. Sard is housed in the family apartment of founder Mina Ibrahim, an anthropology researcher from Shubra, and registered with the Egyptian Ministry of Internal Trade.

Modern Shubra

The present-day Shubra district is the smaller of the three districts that make up the original Shubra, and is bounded from the west by Shubra Street and the Rod al-Farag district, the south by the

Ramses Station Ramses Railway Station (), also called Misr Station (), is the main railway station of Cairo, Egypt. The name is derived from the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, whose statue was erected by Nasser on the square there in 1955. History The or ...

(Ban al-Hadid) and train yards, and from the west by Ahmed Hilmi Street and the Sharabiya district, and to the north by Khulusi Street and al-Sahel district. It had an estimated 76,695 residents in 2017. Greater Shubra has the highest concentration of Coptic Christians in Cairo. There are several churches throughout the district's neighborhoods, such as the decades-old Church of St. Mary in Massarra and St. George, El-Geushi. Shubra is served by

Cairo Metro The Cairo Metro (, lit. "Cairo Tunnel Metro" or ) is a rapid transit system in Greater Cairo, Egypt. It was the first of the three full-fledged metro systems in Africa and the first in the Middle East to be constructed. It was opened in ...

Line 2, with stations all located under the main Shubra street. There are a large number of mosques in Shubra. One of the most renowned mosques in Shubra is ''el Khazen Dar'' ( Hazindar) mosque, which is named after an occupation at the time of the Ottoman Empire.

Administrative subdivisions

Shubra is sub-divided into four ''shiakhas'' (smallest census blocks) that do not have any administrative duties: * Al-Tir'a al-Bûlâqiyya * Al-Shamâshirgî * Al-Attâr * Gisr Shubrâ Cairo - Shubra District Map

Notable residents

*In the 1940s and 1950s, Nazir Gayyed (before becoming

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria Pope Shenouda III (3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. His papacy lasted 40 years, 4 months, and 4 days, from 14 November 1971 until his death. His official title was Pope of ...

in 1971) was notable in serving the

Coptic Orthodox The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the Apostolic see, See of Alexandria i ...

communities in the district of Shubra, particularly Saint Antonious Church in Shubra. *Bishop Moussa, Bishop of Youth, attended and served the churches in Shubra before being a monk. *Bishop Raphael, General Bishop of down town Cairo, attended and served the churches in Shubra before being a monk. *Bishop Youssef, was also attending and serving Saint Antonious Church in Shubra, before joining St. Mary Monastery (EL-Sorian) as a monk. *Father Raphael Ava Mina (candidate of the 2012 Papacy elections) used to live in Shubra (Gezerat Badran). *

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

, a famous French-Egyptian-Italian singer was born in Shubra in 1933. *

Suad Nasr Suad Nasr Abd El Aziz (; 26 December 1953 – 5 January 2007) was an Egyptian theatre, television, and film actress. She was born in Shubra, Cairo, Egypt. Her fame grew due to her role as the character "Maisa", whom she played in the TV series ' ...

ian

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. * Milad Hanna, professor, writer and political activist.

References

External links

Faculty of Engineering at Shoubra Community website

St Mary Coptic Orthodox Church at Massarra website
{{Authority control Coptic settlements Districts of Cairo