Zagazig

Zagazig

Zagazig
Zagazig

Location in Egypt

Coordinates: 30°34′N 31°30′E / 30.567°N 31.500°E / 30.567; 31.500
Country  Egypt
Governorate Sharqia
Founded 1830
Population (2012)
  Total 319,707
Time zone EST (UTC+2)
Area code(s) +(20) 55

Zagazig (Arabic: الزقازيق az-Zaqāzīq  Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ez.zæʔæˈziːʔ], rural: [ez.zæɡæˈziːɡ]) is a city in Lower Egypt. Situated in the eastern part of the Nile delta, it is the capital of the governorate of Sharqia.

In 1999, its population was approximately 279,000, which increased to 302,611 in 2006. It is built on a branch of the Sweet Water Canal and on al-Muˤizz Canal (the ancient Tanaitic channel of the Nile), and is 47 miles by rail north-northeast of Cairo. Situated on the Nile Delta in the midst of a fertile district, Zagazig is a centre of the cotton and grain trade of Egypt. It has large cotton factories and used to have offices of numerous European merchants.

It is located on the Muweis Canal and is the chief hub of the corn and cotton trade. There is a museum of antiquities, the Sharkeya National Museum (sometimes called the Amed Orabi Museum, at Herriat Raznah) that contains many important archaeological exhibits (currently closed for restoration).[1]

Zagazig University, one of the largest universities in Egypt, is also located in the city, with colleges in different fields of science and arts. The Archaeological Museum of the University of Zagazig exhibits significant finds from the nearby sites, Bubastis (Tell Basta) and Kufur Nigm.[2] Also there is a branch for Al-Azhar University, the largest Islamic university in the world.

Zagazig is the birthplace of famous Coptic Egyptian journalist, philosopher and social critic, Salama Moussa.

History

The ruins of the Ancient Egyptian city of Bubastis are located 3 km southeast of town. Bubastis was the ancient capital of the 18th nome, and is home to the feast celebrating the cat-goddess Bastet. Bubastis is the Greek name of the Egyptian Per-Bastet. Bubastis became the capital of Egypt in the 22nd and 23rd Dynasties. There are remains of the temples built by Osorkon II and Nectanebo II. Catacombs where the sacred cats were buried are located behind an Old Kingdom chapel remains that are from the period of Pepi I.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh), as the rest of Egypt.

Climate data for Zagazig
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 17.9
(64.2)
19.4
(66.9)
22.7
(72.9)
26.9
(80.4)
31.2
(88.2)
33.6
(92.5)
33.6
(92.5)
33.5
(92.3)
31.4
(88.5)
29.3
(84.7)
24.5
(76.1)
19.8
(67.6)
26.98
(80.57)
Daily mean °C (°F) 11.9
(53.4)
13
(55)
15.7
(60.3)
19.2
(66.6)
23.2
(73.8)
26
(79)
26.9
(80.4)
26.8
(80.2)
24.7
(76.5)
22.6
(72.7)
18.8
(65.8)
13.9
(57)
20.23
(68.39)
Average low °C (°F) 5.9
(42.6)
6.8
(44.2)
8.8
(47.8)
11.6
(52.9)
15.2
(59.4)
18.4
(65.1)
20.2
(68.4)
20.1
(68.2)
18
(64)
16
(61)
13.2
(55.8)
8
(46)
13.52
(56.28)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 8
(0.31)
4
(0.16)
4
(0.16)
2
(0.08)
2
(0.08)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
2
(0.08)
5
(0.2)
6
(0.24)
33
(1.31)
Source: Climate-Data.org[3]

Notable people

Zagazig Stadium and skyline

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zagazig.

Coordinates: 30°34′N 31°30′E / 30.567°N 31.500°E / 30.567; 31.500

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.