Profile: Giza governorate celebrates its national day

CAIRO – 2 April 2018: Giza governorate celebrates its national day on Saturday. A celebration was held at the General Secretariat of the governorate and included the traditional Egyptian “Tanoura” dance and military music.

Giza Governor Mohamed Kamal el-Daly then lit a flame and youth carried it all the way to the martyr’s memorial at Shobak village in the Badrahsen district.

March 31 marks the anniversary of the battle that took place in 1919 between Nazlet el-Shobak's farmers and British occupation troops.

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Visit Giza’s scenes for free on its national day

The governorate coordinated with some ministries to allow the citizens to visit some scenes for free during the day.

Mit Rahina Open Air Museum

Minister of Antiquities Khaled Anany decided to open the Mit Rahina Open Air Museum for free to visitors during the national day of the governorate.

The Memphis Open Air Museum at Mit Rahina is a small diversion between Saqqara and Giza. It has a number of statues tagged as belonging to Ramses II, an alabaster sphinx, pieces of other statues and the colossi of Ramses II. Most of the displayed artifacts seem to be New Kingdom relics.


Statue of King Ramses II - Mit Rahina open air museum – CC via Wikimedia Commons

Mit Rahina has a great significance in representing the civil life of the ancient city Memphis. The archaeological elements of the site include the museum of the colossal statue of King Ramses II, the great temple of the god Ptah and the palace of King Ramses II.

In the garden of the museum compound, there are numerous masterpieces, such as an alabaster sphinx, an inscribed pedestal and a granite sarcophagus.

Giza Zoo

Minister of Agriculture Abdel Moneam el-Banna approved allowing visitors to the zoo for free also. Giza’s governor said that the governorate used to celebrate this day every year with citizens to extend ways of communication between the executives and the citizens of Giza, adding that the zoo is one of the most important facilities in the governorate, which attracts citizens of different ages.


: FILE – Giza Zoo

The governor added that the heads of Giza’s districts will intensify the work of cleaning and beautification throughout the governorate in order to appear beautiful and clean during the celebration of the National Day.

The Giza Zoo is the biggest animal park in the Middle East, and it was first opened for the public in 1891 during the rule of Khedive Tawfiq.


File: Giza Zoo

Many kinds of rare and endangered animals and birds live in the park and have successfully bred there.

The Zoological Museum, the first and largest of its kind in the Middle East, is located inside the zoo. It displays mummified animals from all over the region and Africa.

Photo: FILE – Giza Zoo

Major locations in Giza

Giza is very rich in ancient Egyptian monuments. The Saqqarah Stepped Pyramid is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis northwest of the city of Memphis.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops, was built by Cheops, second pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty (2613-2494 B.C.) . It is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Sphinx, or the guard of the Kingdom of the Immortal, is a huge rock sculpted in the shape of a lion with a human head.

There is also the Egyptian Sound and Light show that narrates the ancient Devotion history, in addition to several distinguished Pharaonic monuments at Saqqarah, Abu-Sir and Dahshour.

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The Pharaonic Village is an experience like no other in Giza governorate. The instant you begin sailing down the canals that circuit through the island, you are immersed totally in Egyptian history and legend. Everywhere you look, you will find more and more of the sights and sounds of ancient Egypt. It becomes possible to imagine that you have traveled through time to a distant and glorious past.


The Pharaonic Village - official website

Cairo University is Egypt's premier public university, which was known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940 and King Fuad I University from 1940 to 1952.

On December 21, 1908, a ceremony was held in the presence of statesmen and notables to open the university. The first president of the university was Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid .


Cairo University - Official website

A look at Giza governorate

Giza is one of Greater Cairo’s urban governorates. It is located in the center of the country, bordered in the north by Cairo and extending to 6th October City in the southwest, with a total area of 38,157 square kilometers. The total population is 8,632,021.

It includes a stretch of the west bank of the Nile Valley around Giza and a large stretch of desert, including Bahariya Oasis.

Giza is privileged with plenty of ancient Pharoanic monuments, coming second in abundance of Pharoanic monuments after Luxor.