Cairo - background


Cairo's impressive witness of a long Egyptian history
 
Cairo's impressive witness of a long Egyptian history
 
 
Cairo is the largest and perhaps most important city in Africa. The city is vital for Afro-Asian Islam. The founders of Cairo called it 'Al-Qahira' - the victorious. Today, a thousand years later, Cairo is crowded, noisy and famous for its traffic jams. But for the Cairenes, the city is still 'the Mother of the World'. Cairo is a city of contrasts, with exotic narrow streets, huge coloured markets, a thousand years of history and a modern, touristy downtown. It is unlike any other place on Earth.
  • Area: 214 km²
  • Population: Greater Cairo = 16.5 million; City = 6.8 million
  • Country: Arab Republic of Egypt
  • People: Egyptians, Bedouins and Berbers make up 99% of its inhabitants
  • Main language: Egyptian Arabic
  • Time Zone: GMT/UTC +2 hours

 
 
Cairo as seen from Landsat 7 ETM
   
Cairo as seen from Landsat 7 ETM on 23 August 2000
 
Cairo is located at the apex of a triangular delta, south of which the River Nile divides into two independent arms. It is a strategic location that was used by the ancient Egyptians. Cairo itself was founded as a Fatimid military camp in 969 AD and grew into a major locus of global economic activity and one of the world's largest cities by the 13th century. By the 18th century the city had lost its global position and lagged behind technologically. Egypt offered little resistance to European imperialism and did not become an independent country until 1952. The signs of imperialism can be seen in the structure of the city of Cairo.
 
 
 
Last update: 16 April 2013


Cairo

 •  Introduction (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eduspace_Global_EN/SEMJGSTTGOF_0.html)

Exercises

 •  Worksheet introduction (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eduspace_Global_EN/SEMFC7UTGOF_0.html)
 •  Exercises using Landsat data (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eduspace_Global_EN/SEM1CZTTGOF_0.html)
 •  Exercises using Ikonos data (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eduspace_Global_EN/SEM332UTGOF_0.html)
 •  Cairo - Then and now (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eduspace_Global_EN/SEMTE6UTGOF_0.html)

Links

 •  References (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Eduspace_Global_EN/SEMK27UTGOF_0.html)

Eduspace - Software

 •  LEOWorks 3 (http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/LEOWorks3.exe)
 •  LEOWorks 3 Tutorial (http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/eduspace/leoworks3-tutorial.pdf)
 •  ArcExplorer (http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/eduspace/ae2setup.zip)

Eduspace - Download

 •  cairo.zip (http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/eduspace/cairo.zip)
 •  cairo_ikonos.zip (http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/cairo_ikonos.zip)
 •  Technical information about Landsat bands (PDF) (http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/eduspace/Technical_data_LANDSAT_bands.pdf)