Cairo

Cairo, or Al-Qhirah (pop. 6,663,000), capital of Egypt. It lies at the head of the Nile delta and is the largest African city. It was founded in A.D. 969 by the Fatimid dynasty. The founding of al-Azhar University (970–78) made it the intellectual center of the Islamic world. An allied base during World War II and site of the Cairo Conference, it became capital of Egypt (1952), and remains a major Arab political, economic, and nationalist center. The 1977 Egyptian-Israeli talks were held in Cairo. The nearby pyramids, sphinx, and Memphis ruins make it a tourist center.

See also: Egypt.