Giza

: "You may have been looking for the Great Pyramid of Giza.": "For the three pyramids of Giza, visit the Giza pyramid complex.": "Gizeh" redirects here. Gizeh is also a popular brand in Germany of cigarette rolling papers; see Mascotte (rolling papers)."

Giza or Gizah ( _ar. الجيزة, transliterated "el-Gīzah") is a town in Egypt on the west bank of the Nile river, some 20 km southwest of central Cairo and now part of the greater Cairo metropolis. It is the capital of the Al Jizah Governorate, and is located near the northeast border of this governorate in coordinates. It is located right on the banks of the Nile River. Its population is 2,681,863in the 2006 national census, the governate has 4,779,000 (1998). Its large population makes it the 2nd largest suburb in the world, tied with Incheon, Korea and Quezon City, Philippines, second only to Yokohama, Japan.

Giza is most famous as the location of the Giza Plateau: the site of some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world, including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, including the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a number of other large pyramids and temples.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was once advocated (1884) as the location for the Prime Meridian, a reference point used for determining a base longitude. ["The Canary Islands and the Question of the Prime Meridian: The Search for Precision in the Measurement of the Earth", Wilcomb E. Washburn. [http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/geo/WASHBR04.GEO link] ]

History

Giza's most famous archaeological site, the Giza Plateau, holds some of the most astonishing monuments in Egyptian history. Once thriving with the Nile that flowed right into the Giza Plateau, the Pyramids of Giza were built overlooking the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, which was near modern day Cairo.

The Giza Plateau is also home to many other Ancient Egyptian monuments, including the tomb of Pharaoh Djet of the First dynasty, as well as that of Pharaoh Ninetjer of the Second dynasty.

The city itself has seen some changes over time. Changes in infrastructure during the different occupations of Egypt by various rulers, including the British in the 19th and early 20th century, focused on the construction of roads, streets, and buildings in the area. It is commonly misunderstood that the Giza area is a complete desert area; however, Giza has become a thriving centre of Egyptian culture and is quite heavily populated,many facilities and buildings in the current area. Giza saw much attention in particular to its vast amount of ancient Egyptian monuments found on the Giza Plateau, and has astonished thousands of visitors and tourists over the years. Giza's infrastructure saw much attention from both the British government prior to the 1952 coup d'etat, as well as the current Egyptian government due to the city's importance in tourism. Parts of Giza include el Haram, famous for its night clubs, Zamalek, predominantly populated by middle class Egyptians and el Mohandeseen.

Economy

Industries here include movies, chemicals, machinery and cigarettes. In addition, Giza has many luxury apartment buildings along the Nile, making it a popular place to live.

International access

Access to the city of Giza, which has its own Governorate adjacent to the governorate of Cairo, is dependent on Cairo International Airport. another local airport is found in Giza, called Imbaba Airport, but recently the Egyptian government decided to close the area, and turn it into a cultural, or an athletic area.

Education

Giza's learning institutions include the University of Cairo (moved here in 1924) and the Academy of the Arabic Language (established 1932).

=Twinnings=

*flagicon|USA Los Angeles, United States
*flagicon|Sweden Rinkeby, Stockholm, Sweden

See also

*Pyramids of Giza
*Great Sphinx

Notes & references

External links

* [http://www.gizapyramids.org/ Giza Archives Project]
* on