Gezira is an island in the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

, in central

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. The southern portion of the island contains the Gezira district, and the northern third contains the

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

district. Gezira is west of

downtown Cairo Downtown Cairo ( arz, وسط البلد '' "middle of town")'', has been the urban center of Cairo, Egypt, since the late 19th century, when the district was designed and built. History Downtown Cairo was designed by prestigious French archit ...

and

Tahrir Square Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations in Cai ...

, connected across the Nile by four bridges each on the east and west sides, the

Qasr El Nil Bridge The Qasr El Nil Bridge (originally named ''Khedive Ismail Bridge''), also commonly spelled Kasr El Nil Bridge, is a historic structure dating from 1931 which replaced the first bridge to span the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt. It connects ...

, 15 May Bridge, Al-Gala'a Bridge and

6th October Bridge The 6th October Bridge ( ar, كوبري 6 أكتوبر, ) is an elevated highway in central Cairo, Egypt. The bridge and causeway crosses the Nile twice from the west bank suburbs, east through Gezira Island to Downtown Cairo, and on to connect ...

. Under 19th century ruler

Khedive Ismail Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his gran ...

the island was first called "Jardin des Plantes" (French for "Garden of Plants"), because of its great collection of

exotic plants An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

shipped from all over the world.

Landmarks

Cairo Tower The Cairo Tower ( arz, برج القاهرة, ''Borg El-Qāhira'') is a free-standing concrete tower in Cairo, Egypt. At , it was the tallest structure in Egypt for 37 years until 1998, when it was surpassed by the Suez Canal overhead powerline cr ...

(1960), the tallest

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

structure in

, built near the Gezira Sporting Club. * Egyptian Opera House (1988), built near the Cairo Tower. *

El Sawy Culture Wheel El Sawy Culture Wheel ( ar, ساقية الصاوى) ( transliterated: Sakkiat Al-Sawy) is a cultural center on Gezira Island in the Zamalek district on central Cairo, Egypt. Named after its founder and owner, Abdelmoniem El-Sawy, it is considered ...

Centre (2003) ( ar, ساقية الصاوى), located beneath 15 May Bridge in Zamalek, one of the most important cultural venues in Egypt. *

Gezira Sporting Club The Gezira Sporting Club ( ar, نادى الجزيرة الرياضى, transliteration:''nādī al-ǧazyrah al-reyādī'') is the largest multi-sport facility in Egypt. It was founded in 1882 and was originally called Khedivial Sporting Club. I ...

(1882), the oldest club in Egypt. * Al Ahly SC main branch, founded in 1907 by Omar Lotfi as a gathering place for student unions against the British Occupation.

Education

Schools on the island include: *

Lycée Français du Caire In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Zamalek Primary Campus *

Pakistan International School Cairo Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in Zamalek * Previously, the

British International School in Cairo The British International School, Cairo (BISC) is a private British school in Beverly Hills, a compound within the 6th of October City, in Greater Cairo, Egypt. BISC was previously in Zamalek. It moved from its Zamalek location in September 2008 ...

(BISC) in ZamalekHome
" British International School in Cairo. 24 January 2001. Retrieved on 19 July 2018. "Our physical address is: 5 El Yemeni Street Zamalek Cairo Egypt"

Sports

Gezira Island is home to the basketball club Al Gezira Cairo, 2017 Champion of the

Egyptian Basketball Super League The Egyptian Basketball Super League, also known as the Egyptian Basketball Premier League A, is the top professional basketball division of the Egyptian basketball league system. Administrated by the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBBFED), it is ...

. Al Ahly SC is located on Gezira island.

Gallery

File:CH-NB - Aegypten, Kairo und Nil - Eduard Spelterini - EAD-WEHR-32043-B.tif, Gezira (on the left) in 1904 File:Gardens of Gezira Island.jpg, El Gezira Gardens File:Egypt-2A-010 - Cairo (2217349050).jpg, Cairo Tower with Al-Gala Bridge File:Beauty Of Egypt.JPG, Southern Tip of Gezira Island Cairo, Nile River, Gezira Island, Egypt.jpg, El Gezira Tower

References

External links