Tahrir Square, Cairo
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Tahrir Square (, ; ), also known as Martyr Square, is a public
town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
in
downtown Cairo Downtown Cairo ( "middle of town") is the colloquial name given to the 19th-century western expansion of Egypt's capital Cairo, between the historic medieval Cairo, and the Nile, which became the commercial center of the city during the 20th c ...
,
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 ...
. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The
2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...
and the resignation of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...
occurred at the Tahrir Square.


History

The square was originally called "Ismailia Square", after the 19th-century ruler of Egypt,
Khedive Ismail Isma'il Pasha ( ; 25 November 1830 or 31 December 1830 – 2 March 1895), also known as Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt and ruler of Turco-Egyptian Sudan, Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the ...
, who commissioned the new downtown district's '
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
on 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 ...
'. After the
Egyptian Revolution of 1919 The Egyptian revolution of 1919 (, ''Thawra 1919'') was a nation-wide revolution in the Sultanate of Egypt against British occupation which lasted from November 1918 to July 1919. Occurring right after the end of World War I, the revolution ...
, the square became widely known as Tahrir (Liberation) Square. In 1933
King Fuad I Fuad I ( ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sultan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Huss ...
(r. 1922–1936), the son of Khedive Ismail, renamed the square officially to Khedive Ismail Square (). Before the end of his reign in 1936, a roundabout with a garden was created at the center of the square. Under his successor,
King Farouk Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his ...
(r. 1936–1952), a pedestal was installed in the center of square which was intended to support a statue of Khedive Isma'il, but the commissioned statue was never installed. The square was officially renamed to "Tahrir Square" in 1953, after the
Egyptian Revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...
which changed
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 ...
from a
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
into a
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. On 13 October 1981, one week after the assassination of President Muhammad Anwar es-
Sadat Sadat () is a suffix, which is given to families believed to be descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. In Iran, after the revolution, it is mandatory to mention "Seyed" or "Sadat" in the names of or whose descent from Muhammad has been men ...
, the square was renamed as "Anwar El Sadat Square" () and a statue was planned to be erected. This new official name, however, never entered popular usage and was not familiar to most Egyptians. The statue-less pedestal erected by King Farouk was eventually removed in 1987 during the construction of the Sadat
metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
station under the square. The square was a focal point for the
Egyptian Revolution of 2011 The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...
and subsequent protests, up to the
2013 Egyptian protests Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...
which led to the overthrow of President Morsi. In November 2013, after these events, the interim government erected a memorial to activists and protesters who were killed by security forces during the 2011 and 2013 protests. On 19 November, less than a day after its official inauguration, the new monument was destroyed by protesters and activists, who criticized the government's intentions and accused it of attempting to whitewash recent history by creating its own memorial to those who died in the protests. In 2015, the government of President el-Sisi erected a large flagpole flying the Egyptian flag in the center of the square, which authorities judged would be a more neutral monument that would attract less controversy. In 2020 the government erected a new monument at the center of Tahrir Square featuring an ancient
obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
from the reign of
Ramses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...
, originally unearthed at
Tanis Tanis ( ; ; ) or San al-Hagar (; ; ; or or ; ) is the Greek name for ancient Egyptian ''ḏꜥn.t'', an important archaeological site in the northeastern Nile Delta of ancient Egypt, Egypt, and the location of a city of the same name. Tanis ...
(San al-Hagar) in 2019, and four ram-headed
sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...
statues moved from
Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...
. The installation of the sphinxes in particular has been criticized by
archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...
and academics, who state that the soft
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
of the sculptures will be vulnerable to the pollution and heat of downtown traffic. Some critics have also alleged that the creation of the new monument is part of an ongoing effort to tighten state control over this public space and obscure the memory of the 2011 revolution whose central events took place here.


Features

At the centre of Tahrir Square is a large and busy
traffic circle A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
. An obelisk of Ramses II, previously at Tanis, was installed in 2020. On the north-east side is a plaza with a statue of nationalist hero
Umar Makram Umar Makram bin Husein al-Sayouti (, 1750–1822) was an Egyptian political leader at the time of the 1798 French invasion and in the subsequent political disorders. Biography Umar Makram was born in 1750 in Asyut. He was educated at Al-Azhar U ...
, celebrated for his resistance against Napoleon I's invasion of Egypt, and beyond is the Umar Makram Mosque. The square is the northern terminus of the historic Qasr al-Ayni Street, the western terminus of Talaat Harb Street, and via Qasr al-Nil Street crossing its southern portion it has direct access to the
Qasr al-Nil Bridge The Qasr el Nil Bridge (originally named ''Khedive Ismail Bridge'', Egyptian Arabic: Asr el Nil Bridge), is a historic swing bridge structure dating from 1931 which replaced the first bridge to span the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt. It conne ...
crossing the nearby
Nile River 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 longest river i ...
. The area around Tahrir Square includes the
Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...
, the Folklore Arts House, the Mogamma government building, the
Headquarters of the Arab League The Headquarters of the Arab League is located in Tahrir Square and near the downtown business district of Cairo, Egypt. The headquarters building has views of the Nile River and Qasr al-Nil Bridge just to the west. Arab League The headquar ...
building, the Nile Hotel, Kasr El Dobara Evangelical Church and the original downtown campus of the
American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...
. The National Democratic Party-NDP headquarters building stood here until it was set on fire during the revolution and demolished in 2015. The
Cairo Metro The Cairo Metro (, lit. "Cairo Tunnel Metro" or   ) is a rapid transit system in Greater Cairo, Egypt. It was the first of the three full-fledged metro systems in Africa and the first in the Middle East to be constructed. It was opened in ...
serves Tahrir Square with the Sadat Station, which is the downtown junction of the system's two lines, linking to
Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza''; , , ' ) is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of ...
,
Maadi Maadi ( ) is a leafy and once suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The modern extensions north east and east of Maadi, New Maadi and Zahraa al-Maadi are admini ...
,
Helwan Helwan ( ', , ) is a suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt. The area of Helwan witnessed prehistoric, ancient Egyptian, Roman and Muslim era activity. More recently it was designated as a city until as late as the 1960s, befor ...
, and other districts and suburbs of
Greater Cairo The Greater Cairo () is a metropolitan area centered around Cairo, Egypt. It comprises the entirety of the Cairo Governorate, the cities of Imbaba and Giza in the Giza Governorate, and the city Shubra El Kheima in Qalyubia Governorate. Its def ...
. Its underground access viaducts provide the safest routes for pedestrians crossing the broad roads of the heavily trafficked square.


Public use and demonstrations

Tahrir Square has been the traditional site for numerous major protests and demonstrations over the years, including the
1977 Egyptian Bread Riots The Egyptian "bread riots" of 1977 (, ''intifāḍhat-ul-khobz'', “The Bread Intifada”) were a spontaneous uprising against the increase in commodities' prices on the 18th and 19th of January after the Egyptian government cut subsidies for b ...
, and the March 2003 protest against the
War in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...
.


2011 revolution

Tahrir Square was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian revolution against former president
Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...
. Over 50,000 protesters first occupied the square on 25 January, during which the area's wireless services were reported to be impaired. In the following days, Tahrir Square continued to be the primary destination for protests in Cairo. On 29 January, Egyptian
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...
flew low over the people gathered in the square. On 30 January, the seventh day of the protests, PIK
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and other correspondents reported that the number of demonstrators had grown to at least 100,000, and on 31 January,
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
correspondents reported that the demonstrations had grown to at least 250,000 people. On 1 February, Al Jazeera reported that more than one million protesters peacefully gathered in the square and adjacent streets. However, such media reports that so many people congregated in Cairo's largest public square are believed to be exaggerated for political purposes and, according to
Stratfor Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is an American strategic intelligence publishing company founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online p ...
's analysis, the real number of gathered protesters never exceeded 300,000 people. Other independent crowd-size analyses provided similar estimates, suggesting a maximum capacity of 200,000 to 250,000 individuals within the square and surrounding areas. The square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoing Egyptian democracy demonstrations. On 2 February, violence erupted between the pro-
Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st prime minister from 1981 to 1982. He was previously ...
and pro-democracy demonstrators there, followed by the 3 February 'Friday of Departure' demonstration, one of the named "day of" events centered in the square. Within a week, due to international media coverage, the image and name of Tahrir Square became known worldwide. A
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page called "Tahrir Square" ميدان التحرير was maintained by a rotating staff of twenty during the uprising, particularly to offset the lack of and/or distorted coverage of events and responses in state-run and state-aligned media outlets. The 18-day revolt centered in the square provided the
Egyptian Armed Forces The Egyptian Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Egypt, Arab Republic of Egypt. The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces directs (a) Egyptian Army forces, (b) the Egyptian Navy, (c) Egyptian Air Force and (d) Egyptian Air Defense Forces. ...
an opportunity to remove Mubarak from power on 11 February 2011, when the president officially stepped down from office. The announcement that Mubarak had passed all authority to the Council of the Armed Forces was made by longtime intelligence chief and new vice president Omar Suleiman. Tahrir Square erupted in a night-long celebration after the twilight announcement, with shouts such as "Lift your head up high, you're Egyptian", "Everyone who loves Egypt, come and rebuild Egypt", and others. The next day, Egyptian Cairen women and men came to clean up the square, "they came and cleaned up after their revolution," relaying 'projectiles' in the cobblestone paving and removing eighteen days' worth of trash and
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
.


Post-revolution

Tahrir Square, with 'democracy anniversary' celebrations and visits from foreign dignitaries, continued to be a symbol of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, despite its clear gentrification and depoliticization by the Egyptian government. British Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
,
Catherine Ashton Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland (born 20 March 1956) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of th ...
, the
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European U ...
of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
,
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
, Chairman of the American
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...
, Australian Foreign Minister
Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...
, and American actor
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...
visited Tahrir Square after the 2011 Revolution. One of the ships in the planned
Freedom Flotilla II "Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human" was a flotilla that planned to break the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel by sailing to Gaza on 5 July 2011. Ultimately, the sailing did not take place. The flotilla was organized by a coa ...
, intended to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, was named Tahrir after the square. Among its passengers was
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
reporter Amira Hass. Ultimately, the sailing did not take place.


June 2013 protests and Morsi overthrow

On 29 June 2013, thousands of Egyptians converged on Tahrir Square to demonstrate against the Egyptian President
Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012the people want the ouster of the regime," used in the protests that led to the 2011 revolution. By the 30th, their number had increased and demonstrations were reported to be in progress in 18 locations across Cairo. The demonstration had hundreds of thousands of protesters, although the Egyptian Government claims there were 33 million in the street, this number is highly suspected of since the largest square in Egypt, Tahrir Square, can only hold 200,000-225,000 people maximum, according to earlier crowd-size analyses. On 3 July 2013, General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi announced the removal of President
Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012Egyptian constitution after ongoing public protests. The move was described as a "''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
''" by supporters of Morsi and/or the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
and much of the international media, but when combined with the protests, it has instead been described by its supporters, as well as other media outlets, as a
revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
.


Pharaoh's Golden Parade

On 3 April 2021, the square witnessed a huge
parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
in which twenty-two mummies were moved from the
Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...
to the
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is a large museum located in Old Cairo, a district of Cairo, Egypt. Partially opened in 2017, the museum was officially inaugurated on 3 April 2021, with the moving of 22 mummies, including 1 ...
.


See also

*
Downtown Cairo Downtown Cairo ( "middle of town") is the colloquial name given to the 19th-century western expansion of Egypt's capital Cairo, between the historic medieval Cairo, and the Nile, which became the commercial center of the city during the 20th c ...
* '' The Square'', a documentary film about the square and its role in Egyptian politics * Contemporary art in Egypt


References


External links

*
BBC: Tahrir Square in wide angle images slideshow

iPhone Tahrir Square App

BlackBerry Tahrir Square App
* 2011–present * {{Authority control Downtown Cairo Squares in Cairo National squares Egyptian revolution of 2011