Mansoura (; ', , rural: ) is a city in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

river. The city is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021.

Etymology

''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle (1250) against

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

during the

Seventh Crusade The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...

History

Mansoura was established in 1219 by

al-Kamil Al-Malik al-Kamil Nasir ad-Din Muhammad (; – 6 March 1238), titled Abu al-Maali (), was an Egyptian ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Crusade. He was known to the Franki ...

of the Ayyubid dynasty upon a Phatmetic branch of the Nile on a place of several older villages like Al-Bishtamir () and Kafr al-Badamas (, from , "river, canal"). After the Egyptians defeated the

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

rs during the

, it was named ''Mansoura'' (aka. "The Victorious"). In the

, the Capetians were defeated and put to flight; between fifteen and thirty thousand of their men fell on the battlefield.

was captured in the main Battle of Fariskur, and confined in the house of Ibrahim Ibn Lokman, secretary of the sultan, and under the guard of the eunuch Sobih. The king's brother was imprisoned in the same house. The sultan provided for their sustenance. The house of Ibrahim Ibn Lokman is now the only museum in Mansoura. It is open to the public and houses articles that used to belong to the French monarch, including his personal thirteenth century

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting p ...

. The Mansoura Air Battle on October 14, 1973, occurred during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

. Israeli Air Force fighters attacking Egyptian air bases were intercepted by the Egyptian Air Force. On that day, 160 jet fighters, most belonging to Israel, battled for 53 minutes over Mansoura. The Egyptian army claimed that despite the numerical and qualitative superiority of the Israeli warplanes, 17 Israeli planes were downed. (2 according to the Israelis), while the rest retreated. Egypt announced the loss of six planes, only three of which fell to Israeli fire. The Egyptian government subsequently changed the country's "Air Force Day" from November 2 to October 14, to commemorate the Mansoura Air Battle.

Geography

Location

Mansoura lies on the east bank of the Damietta branch of the

, in the

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

region. Mansoura is about 120 km northeast of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Across from the city, on the opposite bank of the Nile, is the town of Talkha.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).

Culture

The Egyptian Arabic dialect spoken by Mansoura's population is a northern Egyptian Arabic dialect, with noticeable influences from the city's surrounding rural villages, each of which has contributed to the city's population over the years. There are some similarities to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

n Egyptian Arabic in some aspects of pronunciation. Mansoura National Museum used to be Dar Ibn Lockman, the house where Louis IX was imprisoned in 1250 during the

. Displayed in the museum are the suits of mail and swords of the crusaders, as well as a collection of maps. Huge paintings depict the Battle of Mansoura. The Mansoura branch of the National Library was inaugurated in 2008 as the Mansoura Misr Library. Mansoura is famous for its architectural style, especially the Shinnawi Palace (after Mohamed Bek El-Shinnawi, a member of the Wafd Party). It was built by an Italian architect in 1928. The mosque of El-Saleh Ayoub El-Kebir is one of the most important in Mansoura. It was built by a loyal servant of the Sultan and is located in Al-Sagha Street that separates "Old Mansoura" from the modern city.Mansoura
Like

and

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

, Mansoura was home to a flourishing Greek community until the Nasser era, when many were forced to leave. Many of the older and best established shops and businesses around the city still bear their original Greek names. Mansoura also had a small Italian population living in the city too. The first Old English school in the city was established on the site of the old Greek school in the Toriel area, one of the traditionally relatively affluent residential districts of the city.

Education

The University of Mansoura was founded in 1962, initially as a branch of Cairo University. The

Urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

and Nephrology center of Mansoura University founded by Prof Mohammed Ghonem is considered to be the best kidney center in the Middle East and Africa. Mansoura has a sports

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

( Mansoura Stadium) which is home to its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team.

Clubs (Sport)

* Gezert Elward Sport Club: It is located directly on the Nile and has tennis courts, swimming, gymnastics, squash and social club. Recently, the gymnastics team participated under the seven-year club in the Republic Championship and received 2 gold medals 13 silver and 1 bronze and 1 participation. * Mansoura Sports Club: It has an official football field. * Mansoura Sports Stadium: It has an official football field, swimming pool, social club and many sports facilities.
The Olympic Village (Mansoura University Stadium)
It covers an area of 15 acres and is open to university students, faculty members and those wishing to play abroad in individual and group games.
Nile Club
The club was established by decision of the University Council in its session held on 12/27/1993, provided that it has financial, administrative and technical resignation, and it is located in Rose Island in the lower walkway in Mansoura. The club is a cultural, social, sports and recreational center for faculty members, their assistants, and university staff.

Notable people

* Kareem Abu-Elmagd, Egyptian-American organ transplant surgeon * Ahmed El-Ghandour (Da7ee7), Youtuber and educator * Adel Emam, actor * Mohamed Ghoneim, urologist *

Faten Hamama Faten Ahmed Hamama (, ; 27 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an Egyptian film and television actress and film producer. She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity an ...

, actress * Ahmed Hamdi, engineer * Ahmed Hamed, Olympic pentathlete * Anis Mansour; writer * Hassan El-Imam, film director, titled Box-office King * Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar from 1982 to 1996; public figure and Islamic scholar * Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria * Ibrahim Salah; footballer * Hesham Sallam, paleontologist * Soheir Zaki, dancer

References

External links

* * http://www.dakahliya.gov.eg/Dakhlya/PDF_Files_/Dr_Ayman.pdf *
Official website
{{Coord, 31, 03, 00, N, 31, 23, 00, E, type:city(1600000)_region:EG, display=title Populated places in Dakahlia Governorate Governorate capitals in Egypt Cities in Egypt Metropolitan areas of Egypt Crusade places 1219 establishments Medieval cities of Egypt Populated places established in the 1210s 13th-century establishments in the Ayyubid Sultanate