Cairo (/karo/ KYE-roh; Arabic: ;Coptic: ) is the capital of Egypt and the largest city

in the Middle-East and second-largest in Africa after Lagos. Its metropolitan area is the 15th
largest in the world. Located near the Nile Delta,[1][2] it was founded in 969 CE. Nicknamed "the city
of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a
center of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by Jawhar al-Siqilli "The
Sicilian", of the Fatimid dynasty, in the 10th century CE, but the land composing the present-day
city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is
also associated with Ancient Egypt as it is close to the ancient cities
of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are near the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.
Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Ma r ([ms], ), the Egyptian Arabic pronunciation of
the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence. [3][4] Its official
name is al-Qhirah, means literally: "the Defeater", in reference to the fact that the planet
Mars ("Al Najm Al Qahir") was rising at the time when the city was founded [citation needed] as well as,
"the Vanquisher"; "the Conqueror";Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [elq()he], "the Defeater" or, " "the
Victorious" (al-Qahira) in reference to the much awaited[5] Caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah who arrived
from the old Fatimid Ifriqiyan capital of Mahdia in 973 to the city. The Egyptian name for Cairo is
said to be: Khere-Ohe, meaning: "The Place of Combat", supposedly, in reference to a battle
which took place between the Gods Seth and Horus.[6] Sometimes the city is informally also
referred to as Kayro [kjo].[7] It is also called Umm al-Dunya, meaning "the mother of the
world".[8]
Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well as the world's
second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media,
businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city; the Arab League has had
its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.
With a population of 6.76 million[9] spread over 453 square kilometers (175 sq mi), Cairo is by far
the largest city in Egypt. With an additional 10 million inhabitants just outside the city, Cairo
resides at the center of thelargest metropolitan area in Africa and the Arab World as well as
the 18th-largest urban area in the world.[citation needed] Cairo, like many other mega-cities, suffers from
high levels of pollution and traffic. Cairo's metro, one of only two metros on the African continent,
ranks among the fifteen busiest in the world,[10] with over 1 billion[11] annual passenger rides. The
economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East[12] in 2005, and 43rd globally by Foreign
Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index.[13]