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El Mahalla El Kubra ( ar, المحلة الكبرى, , , ) – commonly shortened to ' – is the largest city of the
Gharbia Governorate Gharbia Governorate ( ar, محافظة الغربية ', ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north of the country, south of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, and north of Monufia Governorate. Its capital is Tanta, which is 90 ...
and in the Nile Delta, with a population of 535,278 as of 2012. It is a large industrial and agricultural city in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
, located in the middle of the
Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to ...
on the western bank of the
Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easte ...
Branch tributary. The city is known for its
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...
industry, and hosts the
Misr Spinning and Weaving Company The Misr Spinning and Weaving Company ( ar, شركة مصر للغزل والنسيج), also known as Misr Helwan or the El-Ghazl factory, is a large, publicly owned textile company located in El-Mahalla El-Kubra within the Nile Delta of Egypt ...
which employs around 27,000 people.


Etymology

El Mahalla El Kubra consists of two words: El Mahalla in Arabic means "''district''" or "''encampment",'' El Kubra means ''"great"''. Hence the title collectively means "''The Great Encampment''". It's a rough translation of a Coptic Egyptian name ϯϣⲁⲓⲣⲓ ''"cohabitation"'' or ''"residence"'', but the second part of it – "El Kubra" may come from the
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
name of the same settlement – "Theodosiou Nixis" (, where ⲛⲓⲝⲓⲥ is most likely a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
transcription of Coptic ⲛⲓϣϯ – "great").


History


Roman Egypt

El Mahalla El Kubra was known as "Theodosiou" () or "Theodosiou Nixis" (, where ⲛⲓⲝⲓⲥ is most likely a Greek transcription of Coptic ⲛⲓϣϯ – "great") (which might refer to
Hibiscus cannabinus Kenaf tymology: Persian ''Hibiscus cannabinus'', is a plant in the family Malvaceae also called Deccan hemp and Java jute. ''Hibiscus cannabinus'' is in the genus ''Hibiscus'' and is native to Africa, though its exact origin is unknown. The name ...
) in Ptolematic and Roman Egypt, meanwhile it was known as "ϯϣⲁⲓⲣⲓ" in Coptic records.


Mamluk Egypt & Egypt Eyalet

El Mahalla El Kubra was designated as the capital of
Gharbia Governorate Gharbia Governorate ( ar, محافظة الغربية ', ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north of the country, south of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, and north of Monufia Governorate. Its capital is Tanta, which is 90 ...
in 1320 by Ibn Qalawun, before it was relocated to
Tanta Tanta ( ar, طنطا ' , ) is a city in Egypt with the country's fifth largest populated area and 658,798 inhabitants as of 2018. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia ...
in 1836.


2006–11 protests

Over 15,000 protesters clashed with police in El Mahalla in 2006, following the publication of a cartoon mocking Islam in Denmark. Later in 2006 textile workers struck to protest market reforms, demanding better living conditions. Beginning in April 2008 the city held mass demonstrations protesting the election results of President Hosni Mubarak, claiming election fraud and demanding better wages. Security forces were ordered to crack down on the dissidents, and in May they killed two or three in the city and injured dozens. Images of protesters in Mahalla overturning billboards of Mubarak were viewed by some Egyptians as a turning point in Egyptian politics, according to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
''. ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' has written that protests in El Mahalla from 2006 to 2011 spearheaded larger political changes throughout Egypt. A
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
group established by 28-year-old engineer Ahmad Maher to support striking textile workers in El Mahalla gained 70,000 followers and helped organize support for the strikers nationally. In 2011, protests in Mahalla contributed to the collapse of the Mubarak dictatorship.


2012 protests and declaration of autonomy

On 15 July 2012, 25,000 workers from El Mahalla El Kubra's Misr Spinning and Weaving Company went on strike, demanding increased profit sharing, better retirement benefits and a replacement of the management. The Misr workers were joined by workers from seven other textile factories in the region, and strikes also broke out among doctors and health workers, university workers, and ceramics workers in other parts of Egypt. Clashes between protesters supporting or opposing the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( '), is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic studies, Islamic scholar and scho ...
on November 28 left over 100 people injured. On December 7, the city declared itself autonomous from Egypt, as workers and students, declaring themselves independent from the "Muslim Brotherhood State", cut rail lines and blocked entrances to the city. Protesters stormed the city council and announced their intentions to replace it with a revolutionary council.


Geography


Climate

The Köppen–Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as
hot desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...
(BWh).


Buildings and structures

El Mahalla El Kubra contains
Misr Spinning and Weaving Company The Misr Spinning and Weaving Company ( ar, شركة مصر للغزل والنسيج), also known as Misr Helwan or the El-Ghazl factory, is a large, publicly owned textile company located in El-Mahalla El-Kubra within the Nile Delta of Egypt ...
, the largest cotton manufacturing company in Egypt, and the clock of Big Ben is made by this company.


Economy

El Mahalla El Kubra is home to the largest public sector Egyptian textile company, the
Misr Spinning and Weaving Company The Misr Spinning and Weaving Company ( ar, شركة مصر للغزل والنسيج), also known as Misr Helwan or the El-Ghazl factory, is a large, publicly owned textile company located in El-Mahalla El-Kubra within the Nile Delta of Egypt ...
, employing over 27,000 workers.


Sport

The city has two
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
teams:
Ghazl Al-Mehalla Ghazl El Mahalla Sporting Club ( ar, نادي غزل المحلة الرياضي), commonly referred to as El Mahalla or simply Mahalla, is an Egyptian football club based in El Mahalla El Kubra. They compete in the Egyptian Premier League, the t ...
and
Baladeyet Al-Mahalla Baladeyet El Mahalla Sporting Club ( ar, نادي بلدية المحلة الرياضي), is an Egyptian football club based in El Mahalla, Egypt. The club is currently playing in the Egyptian Second Division The Egyptian Second Division ( ar, ...
.


Notable people

*
Ahmed Elmohamady Ahmed Eissa Elmohamady Abdel Fattah ( ar, أحمد المحمدي; born 9 September 1987) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a right-back and captained the Egypt national football team. Elmohamady moved to Premier Leagu ...
, Egyptian Footballer and Current Captain *
Mahmoud Mokhtar Mahmoud Mukhtar ( ar, محمود مختار) (May 10, 1891 – March 28, 1934) was an Egyptian sculptor. He attended the College of Fine Arts in Cairo upon its opening in 1908 by Prince Yusuf Kamal, and was part of the original "Pioneers" of the ...
, a legendary Egyptian sculptor *
Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria ( grc, Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲩ ⲁ̅ also ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ;  376 – 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 44 ...
,
Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...
from 412 to 444 *
Salah Zulfikar Salah El Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar ( ar, صلاح ذو الفقار; ; 18 January 1926 – 22 December 1993) was an Egyptian actor and film producer. He started his career as a police officer in the Egyptian National Police, before becoming an ac ...
, legendary actor *
Shawky Gharieb Shawky Gharieb Bayoumi ( ar, شوقي غريب بيومي) (born 26 February 1959) is a former football midfielder who played for Ghazl El-Mehalla and the Egypt national football team. He managed the Egypt side that won the bronze medal at the 2 ...
, former footballer and coach * Mohamed Elneny, footballer * Reham Abdel Ghafour, actress


See also

*
List of cities and towns in Egypt A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
April 6 Youth Movement The April 6 Youth Movement ( ar, حركة شباب 6 أبريل) is an Egyptian activist group established in Spring 2008 to support the workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town, who were planning to strike on 6 April. Activists calle ...


References


External links

{{Authority control Populated places in Gharbia Governorate