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El Matareya ( ar, المطرية ) is a district in the northern region of
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 a ...
, east of the
Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, 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 ...
, in Egypt. The district is unrelated to the coastal town in the Dakahlia Governorate, that is also named El Matareya. The district's location was part of the ancient city of Heliopolis, one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt.


Name

The name, El Matareya, is thought to come from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
word ''
Mater Mater is a formal Latin term for mother and may refer to: Places *Mater, Belgium, a village near Oudenaarde Health care Australia *Mater Health Services, Brisbane, Australia * Mater Health Services North Queensland, which incorporates: ** Mate ...
'' which means 'mother', and is from the presence of the 'tree of the Virgin Mary' in this district.


History

El Matareya, with the nearby Ain Shams district, had a notable history during Egypt's Pharaonic period as a part of ancient Heliopolis. The district has archaeological sites of the period, some only recently discovered, beneath its current structures.Descubrimientos - Egipto - Junio / Diciembre 2004; "Pharonic tomb uncovered in Cairo, suburbs of Matareya"
August 26, 2004 . accessed 1.28.2011
In ancient Roman times Heliopolis belonged to the Augustamnica province. Legend tells of the Christian Holy Family sheltering under a tree in Heliopolis, presently known as 'the tree of the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
', now with the Chapel of the Virgin in El Matareya. The French naturalist
Pierre Belon du Mans Pierre Belon (1517–1564) was a French traveller, naturalist, writer and diplomat. Like many others of the Renaissance period, he studied and wrote on a range of topics including ichthyology, ornithology, botany, comparative anatomy, architectur ...
mentions visiting El Matareya in his 1547 journey to
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 Med ...
. El Matareya once had the villas of prominent people. The famous Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi lived in a villa he named ‘Karmet Ibn Hani’ or Ibn Hani's Vineyard كرمة ابن هانىء here, near the palace of the Khedive Abbas II at Saray El-Qobba, until his exile from Egypt at
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.


Historic elements

The El Masalla area of the district contains the ancient Masalla Obelisk, or Misalla ( ar, المسلة, trans. obelisk), one of the Pharaonic era obelisks that still remain in Egypt. It is the only surviving element of Heliopolis standing in its original position, and of the great Temple of RaAtum constructed by Pharaoh Senusret I (1971—1926 BCE) of the Twelfth Dynasty. The tall red
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...
obelisk weighs 120 tons—. A pink granite megalithic colossus statue, with features resembling those of the Pharaoh
Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded a ...
, was found in El Matareya in 2006, weighing five tons—. It was at the ruins of a sun temple dating back to the reign of Ramses II (reigned 1279—1213 BCE), at the site of later Souk El-Khamis. The underground tombs of High Priests of Re of the Sixth Dynasty (2345—2181 BCE) were found in the southeast corner of the Re-Atum Temple archaeological site in El Matareya. The Necropolis of Heliopolis, east of the Masalla obelisk in El Matareya, dates from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055—1550 BCE) and
New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
(c. 1550—1069 BCE). A domed tomb made for a priest during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (c. 685—525 BCE), was discovered under a construction site in 2004. Many funereal small figure statues were found inside (over 400), and hieroglyphic writing was on the tomb's walls from the seventh century BCE. In March 2017, the Egyptian-German team of archaeologists unearthed an eight-meter 3,000-year-old statue that included a head and a torso thought to depict
Pharaoh Ramses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded a ...
. According to Khaled El-Enany, the Egyptian Antiquities Minister, the statue was more likely thought to be King Psammetich I. Excavators also revealed an 80 cm-long part of a
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
statue of Pharaoh Seti II while excavating the site.


Pilgrimage site

A sycamore tree within the suburb, known locally as the Tree of the Virgin, has been a place of pilgrimage for Coptic Christians for many centuries, who come to pray by it or touch it, believing that it will heal illness. According to local beliefs, the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
and Saint Joseph stopped at El Matareya (then a small village) when they fled into Egypt. Mary rested against the tree and a spring of water sprang up near it for Mary to wash the infant
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
. For many years its bark was taken by Christians in the belief that it had miraculous properties. Next to the tree is a small chapel.


Education

* Desert Research Center, established by Laszlo Almasy. *
Faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...
of Engineering,
Helwan University Helwan University is a public university based in Helwan, Egypt, which is part of Greater Cairo on over . It comprises 23 faculties and two higher institutes in addition to 50 research centers. Overview Helwan University is a member of the ...
* National Urology Institute of Egypt * El Matareya Teaching Hospital


Industry

The western part of El Matareya, within the industrial area of Musturud along the Ismailia canal, is the location of oil companies (Shell, Misr Petrol, and General Association of Oil in Egypt), and food industries (
BiscoMisr BiscoMisr is the largest biscuits company in Egypt and one of the top 5 biscuit companies in the Middle East and Africa. It was established in 1957 during Egypt’s nationalization program as the Egyptian Company for Foods which has been the coun ...
and Misr lil Albaan).


See also

* Ancient Heliopolis * Modern Heliopolis * Heliopolis style - ''architecture'' * El Matareya - a town in Dakahlia governorate.


References

{{coord, 30, 7, 46.08, N, 31, 18, 26.94, E, source:cawiki_type:landmark, display=title History of Cairo Districts of Greater Cairo Archaeological sites in Egypt ar:مطرية (القاهرة)