Also, for historical purposes, Cairo is much like Alexandria in that the history of Egypt during the Greek period is much the same as the history of Alexandria. For Cairo, see:
Islamic Period
- Abbasid Period
- Fatimid Period
- Ayyubid Period
- Mameluke Period
- Bahri Mameluke Period
- Burgi Mameluke Period
- Ottoman Turk Period
- French Occupation Period
- British Occupation Period
While the City of Cairo sprang from the foundations of a "recent"
town, by Egyptian historical standards, it is no wonder that this
location developed the foremost Egyptian city. With one of the few
river crossings, the area around Cairo was originally settled in
Paleolithic times and later saw the development of Neolithic trading
communities.
Yet it was Menes, the legendary first King-God of the Dynastic period
who united upper and lower Egypt and established his capital at
Memphis. While it has been suggested that Memphis already existed upon
Menes arrival, what is known is that this city, with its ruins 15 miles
south of current Cairo, was a dominate influence throughout most of
Egypt's pharaonic history. Nearby Memphis (nine miles north and on the
opposite side of the Nile) was the contemporary religious center of On
located in the community the Greeks called Heliopolis, not to be
confused with the nearby modern suburb of Cairo by the same name.
In 525 BC, the invading Persians conquered Egypt and built a
strategic fort north of Memphis called Babylon-on-the-Nile. This was
where the Persians controlled Egypt until its capture by Alexander in
332 BC. During the Greek period, the fort held little importance, but
after the Roman conquest, it regained prominence as a stronghold
because of its strategic location guarding the Roman trade routes. The
Roman general Trajan repaired the old Red Sea Canal, originally built
by the pharaohs, which allowed vessels to sail up the Red Sea, turn
west toward Babylon, and then down the Nile to the Mediterranean.
During the Roman period, Babylon continued to be a dominant influence
in the region and a Christian community grew up around it, which was
likewise a prominent center of the new religion. It was here that St.
Mark lived, and where St. Peter sent his greetings from the sister
church in Rome. But in the later Roman period, the Coptic church of
Egypt grew apart from most of the world's Christianity. This split
resulted in unrest and often persecution of the Coptics. Hence, when
the Arab Muslims led by Amr arrived in 640 AD, Babylon was an easy
target and was captured after a disastrous battle for the Romans. Soon,
all of Egypt was in the hands of the Islamic Arabs.
Legend has it that when Amr departed the Babylon area to lay siege to
Alexandria, he left his tent standing in the tent camp next to
Babylon. Upon his return, the tent was still standing and a dove had
built a nest in it. So it was here that Amr built his Mosque, the first
in Egypt, and around the Mosque, Fustat or al-Fustat al-Misr (the Camp
of Egypt), the City of the Tents and the original Muslim capital of
Egypt grew up from his original tent encampment. This encampment was
divided into khittat, or districts which originally divided the various
Arab tribes which made up Amr's army.
Throughout ancient times, Egypt has been one of the most important
trade routes for the world and so it was from that, just as the archaic
cities which proceeded Fustat, this new city also prospered from all
manner of goods which where transshipped to wealthy markets in Europe.
They also developed their own markets in spices, textiles and perfumes
which were legendary throughout the world. Beginning as a haphazard
conglomeration of tents and huts, Fustat grew into a sophisticated
commercial center where its residents enjoyed great wealth. They built
high rise houses with rooftop gardens, public baths modeled from the
Romans (but smaller, earning the name al-hammamat al-far, or mouse
baths). Their architecture grew in both splendor and magnitude, and
they even built covered streets to protect themselves from the sun.
موضوع: cairo tourisme 
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