Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'', ''Geeza''; arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest 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 ...

after

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

and fourth-largest city in Africa after

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

and Cairo. It is the capital of

Giza Governorate Giza Governorate ( ar, محافظة الجيزة ') is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is in the center of the country, situated on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Cairo. Its capital is the city of Giza. It includes a stretch of ...

with a total population of 9.2 million as of 2021. It is located on the west bank of 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 riv ...

, southwest of central Cairo, and is a part of the

Greater Cairo The Greater Cairo Region (GCR; ar, القاهرة الكبرى, Al-Qāhira al-Kubrā) is th an economic region with no administrative body comprising the three governorates of Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia. Within it lies the largest metopolitan are ...

metropolis. Giza lies less than north of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

(''Men-nefer''), which was the capital city of the first unified Egyptian state from the days of the first pharaoh,

Narmer Narmer ( egy, Wiktionary:nꜥr-mr, nꜥr-mr, meaning "painful catfish," "stinging catfish," "harsh catfish," or "fierce catfish;" ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (Egypt), Early Dynastic Period. He was the successor ...

. Giza is most famous as the location of the

Giza Plateau The Giza Plateau ( ar, هضبة الجيزة) is a plateau in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, site of the Fourth Dynasty Giza Necropolis, which includes the Great Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, the Great Sphinx, several ceme ...

, the site of some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world, including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, including the

Great Sphinx The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, E ...

, the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient Worl ...

, and a number of other large

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

s and temples. Giza has always been a focal point in Egypt's history due to its location close to Memphis, the ancient pharaonic capital of the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...

Geography

The city of Giza is the capital of the

, and is located near the northeast border of this governorate. The city's population was reported as 2,681,863 in the 2006 national census, while the governorate had 6,272,571 at the same census, without specifying what the city is. The former figure corresponds to the sum of 9 kisms. Technically, Giza may not be an incorporated municipal unit, and therefore not a city at all. In a typical Egyptian fashion, there are two districts within the Governorate with the same name: a kism/qasm and an associated markiz. Some 9 urban kisms of Giza Governorate form collectively a contiguous area of 98.4 km² on the Nile directly opposite Cairo, and recorded a preliminary count of 4,146,340 in 2017 census count, not including the Al-Ḥawāmidiyah kism separated by Giza markiz. It is unclear if the 9 urban kisms represent a single entity; the structure may be similar to that of

23 wards of Tokyo are a special form of Municipalities of Japan, municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Act, Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other ...

in that all local units are simply subordinate to the Prefecture of Tokyo without any intermediate municipal structure. Notes:2018 CAPMAS projection based on 2017 revised census figures, may differ significantly from 2017 census preliminary tabulations. The 9 kisms were reported simply as ''Giza city'' by CAPMAS in 2006 but given explosive growth definitions, likely informal, may have change or may be set to change. Giza's most famous landform and archaeological site, the

, holds some major monuments of Egyptian history, and is home to the

. Once thriving with the

that flowed right into the Giza Plateau, the

pyramids of Giza The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...

were built overlooking the ancient Egyptian capital city of

, across the river from modern day Cairo. The Great Pyramid of Giza at one time was advocated (1884) as the location for the

Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

, a reference point used for determining a base longitude.

Climate

Giza experiences a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...

( Köppen: BWh). Its climate is similar to Cairo, owing to its proximity. Wind storms can be frequent across

in spring, bringing

Saharan dust Saharan dust is an aeolian mineral dust from the Sahara desert, the largest hot desert in the world. The desert spans just over 9 million square kilometers, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, from the Mediterranean sea to the Niger River v ...

into the city during the months of March and April. High temperatures in winter range from , while nighttime lows drop to below . In summer, the highs are , and the lows can drop to about . Rain is infrequent in Giza; snow is extremely rare. Up to August 2013, the highest recorded temperature was on 13 June 1965, while the lowest recorded temperature was on 8 January 1966.

Districts and neighborhoods

Dokki Dokki ( ar, الدقي , is one of nine districts that make up Giza city, which is part of Greater Cairo, in Egypt. Dokki is situated on the western bank of the Nile, directly across from Downtown Cairo. It is a vital residential and comme ...

District: 93,660 93,025 *

Agouza Agouza ( ar, العجوزة, al-ʿajuza) is a small suburb of Giza district, in Giza Governorate, on the western bank of the Nile river. It is situated between 6th October Bridge and 15th May Bridge and is north of Dokki and south of Mohandesin s ...

District: 174,460 162,851 * Giza District: 180,568 246,325, Kism Al Jizah 238,567 248,897 * Bulaq ad Dakrur: 453,884 564,791 *

Imbabah Imbaba ( ar, إمبابة ', ) is a working-class neighbourhood in northern Giza, Egypt, located west of the Nile and northwest of and near Gezira Island and downtown Cairo, within the Giza Governorate. The district is located in the historic up ...

: 287,357 389,049, Kism Imbabah 523,265 597,160 * Haram District: 200,076 295,704 * Omrania * Monib * Kafr Tuhurmus The centre of the city is Giza Square. * Faisal district Nile islands: *

Qorsaya Island Qorsaya Island (or el-Qursaya, Kursaya, Arabic: جزيرة القرصاية, Ǧazīrat al-Qurṣāya) is a Nile island located in the metropolitan region of Cairo near the western Nile shore south of Roda Island and near of Dahab Island. The islan ...

Dahab Island Dahab Island (or: Gazirat edh-Dhahab, Arabic: جزيرة الذهب, Ǧazīrat aḏ-Ḏahab, "Island of Gold") is a Nile island located in the metropolitan region of Cairo near the eastern Nile shore south of Roda Island and near of Qorsaya Island ...

History

Ancient era

The area in what is now Giza served as the necropolis of several

pharaohs Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

who ruled ancient Egypt, during the second millennium BC. Three of these tombs, in the form of giant pyramids, are what is now the famed

Giza pyramid complex The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Me ...

, featuring the

Classical to medieval era

Description de l'Egypte - Etat Moderne - Pl 16

As ancient Egypt passed under several conquests under the Persians, Greeks, Romans and Byzantines, so did the area in what is now Giza. A Byzantine village named ''Phylake'' () or ''Terso'' (, meaning "the fortress", now ''Tersa'') was located south of Giza and should not be confused with it.

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

called the area Tipersis (Bohairic , cop, ϯⲡⲉⲣⲥⲓⲟⲓ, cop, ϯⲡⲉⲣⲥⲓⲟⲥ, cop, ϯⲡⲉⲣⲥⲓⲱϯ and cop, ⲡⲣⲥⲱⲓ and Sahidic ). Eutychius gives a legend the about city's name and its foundation by Artaxerxes Ochus, while Abu Salih says it was found by a Persian king Hūš at the same time as Qasr ash-Sham, but in view of the fact that older evidence is missing, it is perhaps most likely to have been founded during the

Sasanian conquest of Egypt The Sasanian conquest of Egypt took place between 618 and 621 CE, when the Sasanian Persian army defeated the Byzantine forces in Egypt and occupied the province. The fall of Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt, marked the first and most im ...

in the early

7th century The 7th century is the period from 601 ( DCI) through 700 ( DCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by Muhammad starting in 622. After Mu ...

. As

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

of the fledgling

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

went on with their conquest of Egypt from the Byzantine Empire beginning in 639 AD, three years after their victory at the battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD, they conquered all of the land by the time they captured the city of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

in 641 AD. A year later in 642 AD (

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the h ...

21 in Islamic calendar), they founded the city of Giza. The exact etymology of its name is unknown.

Al-Maqrizi Al-Maqrīzī or Maḳrīzī (Arabic: ), whose full name was Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī (Arabic: ) (1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian Arab historian during the Mamluk era, kn ...

suggested an irregular Arameo-Arabic root meaning "edge, side" to be the source. Everett-Heath suggested "on the side of the height (pyramid)". Peust also suggests a Persian etymology of the word from , which Persians could have given to the pyramids or a fortress they found in the area.

Infrastructure

Giza has seen many changes over time. Changes in infrastructure during the different occupations of

by various rulers, including the British in the 18th and early 20th century, focused on the construction of

roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

, streets, and

buildings A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and func ...

in the area. Giza is a thriving centre of

Egyptian culture The culture of Egypt has thousands of years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations in the world. For millennia, Egypt developed strikingly unique, complex and stable cultures that influenced other cultures of Eur ...

and is quite heavily populated, with many facilities and buildings in the current area. Giza saw much attention in particular to its vast amount of ancient Egyptian monuments found on the

, and has astonished thousands of visitors and tourists over the years. Giza's infrastructure saw much attention from both the British government prior to the 1952 coup d'état, as well as the current Egyptian government due to the city's importance in tourism. Giza's St. George Cathedral is the

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

of the

Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Giza The Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Giza is an Eastern Catholic diocese in Giza. It is one of the suffragan sees comprising the sole ecclesiastical province (covering all Egypt) of the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, the head of the Coptic ...

. The city hosts the first zoo on the entire African continent and one of the oldest in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

region, the

Giza Zoo The Giza Zoo ( arz, حَدِيْقَة حَيْوَان ٱلْجِيْزَة, Ḥadīqat Ḥaywān Al-Gīzah) is a zoological garden in Giza, Egypt. It is one of the few green areas in the city, and includes Giza's largest park. The zoo covers ...

. In addition, there are several parks, the most famous among them is Orman Park, which means "Forest Park" in the

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

Transportation

Transportation in Giza comprises an extensive road network, rail system, subway system, and maritime services. Road transport is facilitated by personal vehicles, taxi cabs, privately owned public buses and microbuses. Giza shares with Cairo a subway system, officially called the "Metro (مترو)", a fast and efficient way of getting around. An extensive road network connects Giza with

6th of October City 6th of October ( ar, السادس من أكتوبر, Al Sādis Min Uktōber; arz, ستة اكتوبر, Setta Oktōbar) is a city in Giza Governorate, a satellite town and part of the urban area of Cairo, Egypt, 32 km (20 miles) outside the ...

, Cairo and other cities. There are flyovers and bridges such as the 15th. Giza traffic is known to be overwhelming and overcrowded. * Cairo Taxi *

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...

''(Available in Cairo and Giza since 2015)'' *

Careem Careem is a Dubai-based super app with operations in over 100 cities, covering 12 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions. The company, which was valued at over billion in 2018, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber ...

''(Available in Cairo and Giza since 2015)'' *

Swvl Swvl is an Dubai-based provider of tech-enabled mass transit solutions, offering intercity, intracity, B2B and B2G transportation products and services. Swvl operates in 135 cities in 20 countries across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. T ...

''(Available in Cairo and Giza since 2017) (A new concept of shared rides within Egypt). '' *Water Taxis (Motorized

Felucca A felucca ( ar, فلوكة, falawaka, possibly originally from Greek , ) is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in the eastern Mediterranean—including around Malta and Tunisia—in Egypt and Sudan (particularly along the Nile and in protect ...

s) available for transport to nearby places along the Nile River

Economy

A grass farm near the Nile River in Egypt

Industries here include movies,

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

, Giza cotton, machinery and cigarettes. In addition, Giza has many luxury apartment buildings along the

, making it a popular place to live.

International access

Access to the city of Giza, which has its own

governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is often used in translation from ...

adjacent to the Governorate of Cairo, is dependent on the

Cairo International Airport Cairo International Airport (; ''Maṭār El Qāhira El Dawly'') is the principal international airport of Cairo and the largest and busiest airport in Egypt. It serves as the primary hub for Egyptair and Nile Air as well as several other ai ...

. Another local airport is found in Giza, called the Imbaba Airport, but recently the Egyptian government has decided to shut down the area and turn it into a cultural or an athletic area.

Sphinx International Airport Sphinx International Airport is a public airport, serving the city of Giza, on the western side of Cairo, Egypt. History In October 2017, it was announced that the airport will be open to commercial flights in summer 2018 and is set to start e ...

opened in 2018.

Education

Giza's learning institutions include

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

, which was moved to Giza in 1924. The city is a hub of education and educational services not only for Egypt but also for the entire

Mediterranean Region In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...

. Giza has numerous schools, kindergartens, and institutes of higher learning. The

Cairo Japanese School is a Japanese international school located in Giza, Egypt in Greater Cairo. The school serves elementary and junior high school levels.

, a Japanese international school, is in Giza. The

Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule ''Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule'' (DEO; ar, المدرسة الألمانیة الإنجیلیة الثانویة بالقاهرة) is an exclusive German school in Dokki, Giza, Egypt, in the Cairo metropolitan area. It is operated by the G ...

, a German international school, is located in

in Giza. Previously the Pakistan International School of Cairo had its campus in Giza.Contact Us
" Pakistan International School Cairo. Retrieved on 21 April 2015. "12 Midan Tehran, Dokki, Cairo."

Sports

The city hosts the second most successful sports club in Egypt and Africa,

El Zamalek Zamalek Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الزمالك للألعاب الرياضية), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an Egyptian sports club based in Giza. It is one of the most successful football clubs in Africa and the Middle East, and ...

, which is located in the Meet Okba neighbourhood near the

Mohandesin Mohandiseen ( ' , "The Engineers"), is a major 1940s sub-division project originally named Madinat al-Awqaf, and made up most of the Wasat (middle) district in the city of Giza, before being divided in 1997 into the districts of Agouza (cov ...

neighbourhood. Beside El Zamalek there are other clubs like El

Tersana Tersana Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الترسانة للألعاب الرياضية) is an Egyptian sports club based in Meet Okba, Giza, Egypt. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Egyptian Second Division, ...

and Seid Shooting Club which is one of the elite clubs in Egypt.

Twin towns and sister cities

Giza is twinned with: *

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the s ...

Brunei Darussalam Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, United States *

Rinkeby Rinkeby () is a district in the Rinkeby-Kista borough, Stockholm, Sweden. Rinkeby had 19,349 inhabitants in 2016. The neighbourhood was part of the Million Programme. The Stockholm metro station Rinkeby was also opened in 1975. Rinkeby is note ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Sweden