Babylon in Egypt, Memphis, Al-Katayi and Heliopolis, which means the City of the Sun - many names were invented by the neighbors of Egypt to its capital. Marvelous Cairo was founded in 969 AD. e. the first pharaoh of Egypt, Narmer. He united two kingdoms under his rule: the northern Red Kingdom and the southern White Kingdom.
Ethnic composition of the city of Cairo
Modern Cairo is 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 goes back many centuries.
How many people are in Cairo, how is the religious, ethnic composition? Initially, Copts who professed Christianity lived on the territory of Cairo. The modern population of Cairo is represented for the most part by immigrants from America, the United Kingdom and a number of Arab countries, as well as ethnic minorities:
- Nubians;
- Northern Sudanese;
- refugees.
Population of Cairo
Inhabitants of rural settlements in Egypt are trying to have several children in the hope that they will help to cope with poverty. But having matured, people are in a hurry to leave their parental home and go to the city. The most frequent shelter for them is the capital. The population of Cairo in 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 capital cities are related to earning opportunities, improving the quality of life.
Deaths and births in Cairo
Important indicators in assessing the quality of life of the population is the birth rate in relation to the death rate. The government of Cairo 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. According to statistics, there are seven deaths per thirty newborns. About two percent of the diseases that are causing the decline in Cairo's urban population are caused by high levels of air pollution.
Age of Cairo residents
Egyptians rarely live to old age. More than seventy-five percent of Egypt's population are young people under 25, and only three percent are people over 65. Cairo is much "older" in this respect. Sixty-four percent of the population of Cairo consists of residents over the age of 15years.
Schools and universities in Cairo
Cairo can be called the educational capital not only of Egypt itself, but of the entire Arab world as a whole. Thanks to the policies of the Egyptian Ministry of Education, a large number of schools and universities operate openly and successfully 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 improves the quality of education. In the schools of Egypt, the system of division of the young population of Cairo, familiar to European society, operates:
- kindergartens for children aged four to six;
- primary school for students aged six to twelve;
- high school for teenagers aged twelve to fourteen;
- high school for students aged fifteen to seventeen.
Major metropolis
Since 1985, Cairo has been a member of the worldwide Association of Major Metropolitan Areas. Greater Cairo consists of three provinces of Egypt: Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia. The population of the Cairo agglomeration in 2016 totaled 22.8 million inhabitants. It is expected that in 2017 the number of settlers will increase by another half a million people. Many tourists from other countries, having come to this country once, stay here forever. It is hard to imagine that just about a century ago, in 1950, the population of Cairo could hardly "keep up" to 2.5 million inhabitants. In the last year alone, the increase was 714 thousand people.
Administrative capital of Egypt
Taking into account the rapid growth of the population of Cairo, we can safely say what the population in Cairo will be by 2030. According to experts, the number of residents of the city will reach 24.5 million people. However, there are problems that need to be addressed in the foreseeable future. The need to provide comfortable living conditions, jobs and homes was the reason for the founding 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 Egypt's second capital.
Tourism in Cairo
Going to Cairo, every tourist must include in his vacation plan a visit to at least a few sights of Cairo. Tourism in any form helps to learn more about the country, to understand the mentality of the people inhabiting it, its history.
Top 4 major tourism destinations for every taste:
- Historical direction. Suitable for lovers of pyramids, museums and mummies. Of considerable interest to tourists can be the architecture and decoration of eastern residential and administrative buildings of past centuries.
- Religious tourism. Egypt combines the two most powerful religions in the world: Christianity and Islam. Having outlined for himself a program of visiting the religious places of Egypt, the tourist will no longer be able to stop. Each new mosque orthe church will capture its uniqueness and dissimilarity to others.
- Cultural objects. This direction intersects with historical tourism, but the tourist will still 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.
- Active rest. Accustomed to long walks around the city, tourists will find in Cairo everything they need for a good holiday. Parks, clubs, extreme sports - hospitable Cairo is ready to offer all this.
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 this or that direction. The fact is that more than 90% of the city's residents are Muslims. A 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 with strangers and travel alone. Men, on the other hand, have great privileges. Polygamy, provided the man is able to provide for all his wives equally, is permitted and quite popular. Many European girls, fascinated by oriental men, stay here to live.
Official holidays
The population of Egypt, including Cairo, loves holidays. There are 10 official holidays:
- New Year, celebrated on January 1st.
- February 22 - Union Day, timed to coincide with the creation of an alliance between Syria and Egypt in1958
- April 25 - liberation of the Sinai Peninsula in 1973.
- May 1 is International Labor Day.
- June 18 - withdrawal of British soldiers from Egypt.
- July 23 - Revolution of 1952.
- September 23 - Egypt wins battle with Israel in 1956.
- October 6 is the celebration of the passage of the Suez Canal.
- October 24 - Egyptian army occupies Suez in 1973.
- December 23 - Egyptian army conquers Port Said in 1965.
Traditions and customs
Traditions and customs of the inhabitants of Cairo are dictated for the most part by the Muslim religion. The Egyptians are patient with European clothing and culture. The customs of the country are built on tolerance and respect. A striking proof of this is the attitude of members of the same family to different religions: Muslim and Christian. Unlike European guests, the Egyptians do not drink alcohol, most often have many children and are superstitious. It is worth being careful in striving to praise something, as the natives of the country can misunderstand this gesture and accuse it of trying to spoil. The same applies to the desire to be kind and inquire about the he alth of children.
Wishing to protect themselves from evil spirits and disasters, the Egyptians dress their sons in women's clothes, call them by other names, do not cut their hair or sew after sunset.
Greetings in Egypt
Special attention should be paid to the featurescommunication with the people of Cairo. The population honors customs and traditions, so any visitor should remember that you should not meddle in someone else's monastery with your charter. The Egyptians are good at distinguishing between just politeness and sincerity in conversation. When an Egyptian greets you with the traditional salam aleikum greeting, it is imperative to respond with a salam as-salaam. It is impolite to greet someone if a person is busy talking with others, and it is also not welcome to greet from afar, loudly shouting words all over the street. It is not permissible for men to extend their hand to women for a handshake, you must wait until she does it first.
