Nasr City

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Nasr City (Arabic: مدينة نصر‎) is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominiums. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring suburb of Heliopolis. The establishment of the district was part of the Egyptian Government’s plan to modernise and expand Cairo following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian President at the time, was involved personally in the design process, and was the one who chose the name Nasr for the new district (“nasr” being the Arabic word for “victory”). Now, Nasr City is extremely crowded, much more than was expected from the creation of the district, because of Egyptian families relocating to the district and also because of Somali and Sudanese immigration to areas of Nasr City such as Hay al Asher.
Some condominiums and apartments in Nasr City have bowabs. Bowabs are people who live on the first floor of the building with their families. They run errands for the residents of the building, such as shopping, and they also take out the garbage, and wash the rugs, and they get paid to do this. It is possible to call them at any time if one wants something for the house. They also take care of security for the building, similar, to the role of a doorman in European or American-style apartment buildings. In less affluent neighborhoods, the bowab simply cleans the building once every two or three weeks.
It is the largest district in Cairo, occupying nearly 250 km² of the capital’s total area of 1,445 km². For this reason, it is divided into 10 sub-districts, of which numbers 6-10 are called by their respective numbers and the first 5 are called by their names. It is known for its well designed modern road system, and grid street system, which stands in contrast to the narrow winding streets of much of Old Cairo. Many forms of transportation exist in Nasr City, including minibuses, microbuses,and tock-tocks (in the 10th district of Nasr City). When catching a microbus, there are specific hand signs that may be used. These signs include putting the index and middle fingers in an upwards “V”, which is the Arabic numeral 7, for the 7th district, placing those fingers upside down in a downwards “V”, which is the Arabic number 8, for the 8th district, or putting out a hand and slowly opening and closing the fingers slightly above the start of the palm for the 10th district. The district is home to many socioeconomic strata. During Ramadan, the comparative wealth of districts can be determined by whether there are electric lights or simply colored flags. The 10th district of Nasr City is home to refugees and immigrants of various countries, such as Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, China, Malaysia, and even the United States. There are many mosques, such as the Masjid al Nour al Mohamedi. Also, there are falafel stands, shawarma restaurants, a koshari restaurant near the main road, and pharmacies. Due to the proximity to the airport, there are lots of planes always flying overhead. Visitors to Hay al Asher can study Qur’an there and also to learn Arabic there, as it is much cheaper than in downtown Cairo.
Nasr City is home to the new premises of Al-Azhar University, the Cairo International Conference Center, Cairo International Stadium, a branch of the Ahly Club and several government buildings. Among its major landmarks is the pyramid-like Unknown Soldier Memorial honoring the Egyptian and other Arab servicemen killed in the October War of 1973. The Memorial is opposite the grandstand at which President Sadat was assassinated, and is where Sadat himself is buried. The Revolution has led to the presence of colorful graffiti on the road from Masjid al Salaam in the 8th subdistrict to the Ahly branch in Nasr City. This branch has 2 swimming pools, a large soccer field, a track where members can exercise, a gym, and many stores and restaurants. Members can enter for free, but non-members must pay 20 Egyptian pounds for a ticket. Nasr City also has many mosques, and during the times of prayer, one may hear multiple live adhans preceded and followed by Quranic recitation. Sometimes, the prayers themselves are broadcast through the loudspeakers.

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