"Cairo" a Cairo Travel Page by AndreasK

Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East and Africa. Although Cairo itself is only about 1000 years old, parts of it date back to the time of the Pharaohs. Babylon, a Roman fortress city, occupied what is now called Old Cairo. Cairo itself was founded in 969 to replace nearby Al Qatai as the capital of Egypt. Cairo was conquered and controlled by a host of invaders including the Mamluks, the Turks, and Napoleon. In the 19th century, one of the city's rulers, Khedive Ismail (1863-1879), sought to transform Cairo into a European-style city. This, along with the British occupation of Cairo in 1891, led to the development of new suburbs for the affluent Egyptians and foreigners.

The city includes two islands in the Nile, Zamalik (Gezira) and Roda (Rawdah), which are linked to the mainland by bridges.