Cairo

The name of Cairo is derived from the Arabic al-Qāhirah, meaning 'the Vanquisher' or 'the Conqueror'.

Cairo's oldest extant churches, such as the Church of Saint Barbara, are located inside the fortress walls in what is now known as Old Cairo.

The Nilometer, built on Roda Island near Fustat in 861, is the oldest preserved Islamic-era structure in Cairo today.

Cairo's population more than tripled from 347,000 to 1.3 million between 1882 and 1937.

Cairo's Tahrir Square was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak.