History-cal+Growth!

__**The Growth of the City Victorious Through Time **__

He [Raymond] sums up the realities of Cairo's often-puzzling growth trajectory in the following words: "Cairo was a living organism, and each of its elements to a degree reflected the entirety of its history" [Page 267 of The Fascinating History of a Great City: Cairo Narrated throughout Thirteen Centuries]

In the dimly lit dawn of Cairo's beginnings, the noble metropolis of the present was a ..... city founded in 969... by whom?... :D  As to who, we shall tell you now:  Cairo: 969-1517 CE   In 969, the Fatimids, under the leadership of Gohar al-Siqili, conquered Egypt, which had previously been under the rule of the Ikhshidids. The capital of Egypt at the time was Fustat, located just south of Cairo today. Al-Siqili decided to create a new city, solely for the rulers and their family. It was called “Medinet al Qahera”, or “the city victorious”. Around this, strong walls were built, as well as two gates: Bab al-Futuh on the northern side, and Bab al-Zuwayla on the south side. During this era, Cairo was still a fairly small city. The general population was not allowed inside the city walls, a nd so most of them still lived in Fustat. Many also lived on Roda Island in the Nile, which was connected to the mainland by 36 boats. There was also a ferry to take the people to the then-small trading post of Giza.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In 1167, Salah al-Din came to power in Egypt after he prevented the Crusaders from conquering the area. He built the Citadel east of Cairo, near the Muqattam Hills as a center of government, which remained through the 19   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">th   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> century and left a longlasting impression on the city. Salah al-Din also expanded the walls of Cairo; as a result of Crusaders burning much of the surrounding area of Cairo, the common people had been forced to move into the city, and he ensured that they had the basic necessities. To facilitate this, numerous large schools and hospitals were built within Cairo. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Between 1249 and 1517, Egypt was ruled by the Mamluks. Although this period was politically violent, because of a multitude of murders of the Mamluk Sultans, it was a time of stability within Egypt. As patrons of the arts, the Mamluks are responsible for much of Islamic Cairo today, including mosques, madressas, and other public buildings. Trade also flourished, and scholars were hired to write encyclopedias and dictionaries, raising the status of Cairo in the world.

http://menic.utexas.edu/cairo/history/qahira/qahiramap.html

Ottoman Cairo: 1517-1805 CE The Ottoman Turks took a very different approach to the city of Cairo. After they conquered Egypt from the Mamluks in February of 1517, they plundered the city, taking everything that they could find that had any value back to Istanbul. Thus, Cairo was no longer a large city, but a small provincial town, the leaders of which lived elsewhere and spoke a different language. Focus shifted away from Egypt, as the great learning centers and mosques culminated around Istanbul, and an alternate trade route from Europe to Asia was found (around Africa), rendering Egypt unimportant and isolating it from the rest of the world. This all changed, however, in 1798. France had been fighting for India as a colony against the British, and had lost their territory in the United States after they had declared independence. They wanted to have the ability to trade easily with India again, because they valued the spices, silks, and tea that India offered. Napoleon, after studying the geography of the land, thought that the best way to do this was through Egypt, and the French government agreed. The French army set out for Egypt, and, finding little resistance, managed to stay there until 1801, after an agreement with the British. While there, they employed scientists, cartographers, biologists, archaeologists, and others, who recorded details about Egypt’s plant and animal life, buildings, and mapped the area. The final product of this research was called the Description of Egypt, and sparked interest in Egypt by much of Europe’s upper class. The discovery of the Rosetta stone during this time period also heightened the intrigue of the area. http://menic.utexas.edu/cairo/history/ottoman/ottomanmap.html

Cairo: 1805 CE - now

During the years of Khedive Ismail (1863-1879), Cairo underwent a large number of renovations. It is important to keep in mind that at this time the American cotton industry was being hard hit by the effects of the civil war. This meant that the Nile Delta, a place famed for its cotton, generated huge amounts of profit to stimulate the Egyptian economy. This allowed Ismail's vision of a European-ized Cairo to become at least partially true.

Using enormous amounts of money, Ismail succeeded in expanding Cairo to the west, all the way to the banks of the Nile. All throughout the new expansions Ismail added many traditionally European touches. Many of the streets were lined with the then modern gas streetlights, as well as gardens and trees to add to the aesthetics of the city. He also built large public squares and extravagant palaces, many of which are still used in modern Cairo. As well as this, wide boulevards were built throughout much of the new expansions, making for transportation easier, even in the 21st century. In addition to the general expansion on Cairo, Khedive Ismail also built three lasting testimonies to architecture, the Cairo Opera House, The Pyramids Road, and a luxury palace originally intended for a visiting Empress. Each of these impressive additions still is an important part of Cairo. The Opera House is still in use, and the palace has become a luxury hotel. The Pyramids road, stretching from the port of Giza to the pyramids, is still a highly used east-west highway.

However, not all went as planned. As the American cotton industry resumed its full function with the end of the civil war, the Egyptian economy began to slow as the sell of cotton dropped. This meant that the Egyptian government began to default on many of its loans. This prevented Ismail from continuing his expansion of Cairo, and also eventually caused him to be removed from the throne. During the decay of the Egyptian economy due to the American cotton industry, another important part of Khedive Ismail’s plan failed to work correctly. He had intended that a majority of Cairo’s population move out of the older eastern section into his new European-ized western part, allowing him to demolish all but the historically valuable buildings in the eastern part. Unfortunately, Ismail’s plan was never implemented, and Cairo has remained a blend of architectural styles ever since. http://menic.utexas.edu/cairo/history/mohali/mohalimap.html

In 1882, Europeans, the British and French, took a heavy hand in the administration of Egypt, essentially ruling Egypt. They claimed to be overseeing the economy to make sure that it would revive itself, purely out of self-interest as Egypt was heavily in debt. The Khedive of the time had little or no say in almost anything that was done. The Europeans constantly promised that when they were done helping the country, they would pull out, however, this promise was never kept. Instead, the Europeans moved in, and began to change the very city of Cairo. The most modern quarters of Cairo became almost exclusively European, and this influx of wealth allowed for the opening of more Westernized shops and other more superfluous building such as clubs. The most modern parts of Cairo began to become the home to huge apartment blocks, and the Europeans also built two new additional parts of Cairo: Maadi, and Heliopolis in the early 20th century. These areas were very modern and both areas are still used extensively today. The infrastructure of Cairo was also updated with the European’s help, including an extension to the tramways connecting the new Heliopolis and Cairo, and more water pipes and electricity. However, the older sections of Cairo were not as modernized as the mainly European areas of Maadi and Heliopolis.

http://menic.utexas.edu/cairo/history/modern/1920map.html

Most recently, with the late 20th century into the 21st, the growth of Cairo has increased rapidly. The urbanized area of Cairo is increasing by over 1200 hectares per year. Also, many of the rural areas in the immediate vicinity of Cairo are being absorbed by the growing city, and are being transformed into the high-rise apartment complexes that characterize the city. One can only assume that the pattern if rapid growth will continue into the future, however, it appears as if the larger part of this growth has shifted from Cairo proper to some of the nearby governorates, such as Giza and Qalyubiya. These governorates are part of the Greater Cairo Region, and while not part of what is technically dubbed Cairo, they are often thought of as being a part of it. Bibliography:

http://menic.utexas.edu/cairo/history/history1.html Article: "Cairo: Towards Meeting The Challenges" Book: "Cairo; 1001 Years of the City Victorious"