Babylon in Egypt, Memphis, Al-Kataya and Heliopolis, which means City of the Sun, - many neighbors came up with the neighbors of Egypt in its capital. Marvelous Cairo was founded in 969 AD. e. Egypt's first pharaoh, Narmer. He united under his rule two kingdoms: the northern Red Kingdom and the southern White Kingdom.
Ethnic composition of the city of Cairo
Modern Cairo is located about 25 km north of its historical predecessor. The city is famous not only for mosques and museums, Cairo is the largest city ​​in Africa. The history of the population of the city of Cairo and its environs dates back many centuries.
How many people are in Cairo, how is the religious, ethnic composition? Initially, Copts professing Christianity lived in Cairo. The modern population of Cairo is represented mainly by immigrants from America, the United Kingdom and a number of Arab countries, as well as ethnic minorities:
- Nubians
- northern Sudanese;
- refugees.
Cairo population
Residents of rural Egypt are trying to have a few children in the hope that they will help alleviate poverty. But having matured, people are in a hurry to leave their parental home and go to the city. The most frequent haven for them is the capital. The population of Cairo for 2016 is twelve million inhabitants, taking into account the surrounding area, this figure reaches twenty and a half million people. The reasons for moving to the capital cities are connected with earning opportunities, improving the quality of life.
Mortality and fertility in Cairo
Important indicators in assessing the quality of life of the population are the birth rate in relation to the mortality rate. The Cairo government is actively fighting malnutrition, bacterial infections and severe air pollution. Despite this, mortality remains quite high. The population of Cairo for 2016 is also represented by the following demographic indicator. For thirty newborns, according to statistics, there are seven deaths. About two percent of the diseases leading to a reduction in the urban population of Cairo are caused by a high degree of air pollution.
Age of Cairo
Egyptians rarely live to old age. More than seventy-five percent of Egypt's population is young people under 25 years old, and only three percent are people over 65 years old. Cairo in this regard is much "older." Sixty-four percent of the population of Cairo consists of residents over 15 years of age.
Schools and universities in Cairo
Cairo can be called the educational capital of not only Egypt itself, but also the entire Arab world as a whole. Thanks to the policies of the Egyptian Ministry of Education, a large number of schools and universities are openly and successfully operating in Cairo. One of the oldest centers of Muslim education, Al-Azhar University, was founded in 975 AD. e.
School and higher education in Egypt is supervised by the World Bank and other international organizations, which can improve the quality of education. Egyptian schools have a system of dividing the young population of Cairo that is familiar to European society:
- kindergartens for children aged four to six years;
- elementary school for students aged six to twelve;
- High School for adolescents between the ages of twelve and fourteen;
- high school for students aged fifteen to seventeen.
Large metropolis
Since 1985, Cairo has been a member of the worldwide Association of Large Metropolises. Greater Cairo consists of three provinces of Egypt: Cairo, Giza and Qalyubiya. The population of the Cairo agglomeration in 2016 totaled 22.8 million inhabitants. In 2017, the number of settlers is expected to increase by another half a million people. Many tourists from other countries, having arrived in this country once, stay here forever. It is hard to imagine that just about a century ago, in 1950, the population of Cairo hardly “reached” 2.5 million inhabitants. Over the past year alone, an increase of 714 thousand people.
The administrative capital of Egypt
Given the rapid population growth rate in Cairo, we can safely say what population will be in Cairo by 2030. According to experts, the number of residents in the city will reach 24.5 million. However, problems arise that need to be addressed in the foreseeable future. The need to provide comfortable living conditions, workplaces and residential buildings was the reason for the foundation of the administrative capital of Egypt.
The new city was announced back in 2015, but the name is still kept secret. It is planned that in 2018 the city will begin to receive the first residents. The construction of the first 18,000 residential buildings is nearing completion, and soon tourists will be able to visit the streets of the second capital of Egypt.
Cairo Tourism
Going to Cairo, every tourist is obliged to include at least several sights of Cairo in his vacation plan . Tourism in any form helps to learn more about the country, to understand the mentality of the people living in it, its history.
Top 4 main areas of tourism for every taste:
- Historical direction. Suitable for lovers of pyramids, museums and mummies. Of considerable interest to tourists may be the architecture and decoration of the eastern residential and administrative buildings of past centuries.
- Religious tourism. Egypt combines the two most powerful religions of the world: Christianity and Islam. Having outlined a program for visiting religious places in Egypt, a tourist will not be able to stop. Each new mosque or church will be captivated by its uniqueness and dissimilarity to others.
- Cultural sites. This direction intersects with historical tourism, but nevertheless, the tourist will be able to pay more attention to the traditions and customs of the people. Such tourism provides a good opportunity to understand the Egyptians and their way of life.
- Leisure. Accustomed to long walks around the city, tourists will find in Cairo everything you need for a good vacation. Parks, clubs, extreme sports - all this is offered by hospitable Cairo.
Religious Features
When planning a trip to the capital of Egypt, you should not lose sight of which religion is dominant and how many percent of the population of Cairo profess one direction or another. The fact is that more than 90% of the inhabitants of the city are Muslims. Strict religion dictates its own rules for the male and female population of the country and city. Girls must wear closed long clothes, they are forbidden to talk to strangers and travel alone. Men have great privileges. Polygamy, provided that a man is able to provide equally all his wives, is permitted and quite popular. Many European girls, fascinated by eastern men, remain here to live.
Official holidays
The population of Egypt, including Cairo, loves the holidays. There are 10 official festivals:
- New Year, celebrated on January 1.
- February 22 - Union Day, dedicated to the creation of the alliance of Syria and Egypt in 1958.
- April 25 - The liberation of the Sinai Peninsula in 1973.
- May 1 is International Labor Day.
- June 18 - the removal of British soldiers from Egypt.
- July 23 - 1952 revolution.
- September 23 - Egypt wins the battle with Israel in 1956.
- October 6 - celebration of the passage of the Suez Canal.
- October 24 - The Egyptian army occupies the territory of Suez in 1973.
- December 23 - The Egyptian army conquers Port Said in 1965.
Traditions and customs
The traditions and customs of the inhabitants of Cairo are dictated mostly by the Muslim religion. Egyptians are patient with European clothing and culture. The country's customs are built on tolerance and respect. A vivid proof of this can be the attitude of members of one family to different religions: Muslim and Christian. Unlike European guests, the Egyptians do not drink alcohol, most often have many children and are superstitious. You should be careful in trying to praise something, because the indigenous people of the country can understand this gesture incorrectly, and accuse them of trying to bring damage. The same applies to the desire to show courtesy and inquire about the health of children.
Wanting to protect themselves from evil spirits and disasters, the Egyptians dress their sons in women's clothes, call them by other people's names, do not cut their hair and do not sew after sunset.
Greetings in Egypt
Particular attention should be paid to the features of communication with the inhabitants of Cairo. The population respects customs and traditions, so any visitor should remember that you should not meddle in a foreign monastery with your charter. The Egyptians clearly distinguish between politeness and sincerity in conversation. When the Egyptian greets the traditional salutation “salam alleykum”, it is imperative to answer “waallukum al-salam”. It is impolite to greet someone, if a person is busy talking with others, he is also not welcome to say hello from afar, screaming words out loud all over the street. Men are not allowed to reach out to women for a handshake, you have to wait until she does it first.