Cairo Governorate in the context of "Greater Cairo"

Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world, and the Middle East. The Greater Cairo metropolitan area is one of the largest in the world by population with over 22 million people.

The area that would become Cairo was part of ancient Egypt, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis are near-by. Located near the Nile Delta, the predecessor settlement was Fustat following the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 next to an existing ancient Roman fortress, Babylon. Subsequently, Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (12th–16th centuries).

The New Capital (Arabic: العاصمة الجديدة, romanized: al-ʿĀṣima al-Gadīda) is a new urban community east of New Cairo in Cairo Governorate, Egypt. It is a satellite city of the nation's original capital city, Cairo. As of May 2023, 14 ministries and government entities have been relocated there. On 2 April 2024, president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took the constitutional oath for a third consecutive term in office, officially inaugurating the New Administrative Capital as the seat of government.

Plans for the new capital were announced by the then Egyptian housing minister Mostafa Madbouly at the Egypt Economic Development Conference on 13 March 2015. The capital city is considered one of the projects for economic development, and is part of a larger initiative called Egypt Vision 2030.

New Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة الجديدة el-Qāhera el-Gedīda) is a satellite city within the Cairo Governorate of Egypt, and the metropolitan area of Greater Cairo. Administratively, it is officially part of the Eastern Area of Cairo city, but like all new settlements in Egypt, it is directly governed by the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA). The city was established in 2000 as part of Egypt's strategic effort to alleviate the chronic congestion of Greater Cairo by decentralising population and economic activity. The city is made up of a mix of residential neighbourhoods, commercial centres, and institutional zones. It is home to several gated communities, private universities, malls, international schools, and corporate headquarters, positioning it as a hub for Cairo’s upper and elite classes. Its development reflects Egypt’s broader neoliberal urban planning strategies, aimed at attracting private investments and promoting modern and western lifestyles.

According to the 2017 census, New Cairo's three qisms (police districts) had a combined population of 297,387 residents (also see population section below). The city could eventually host a population of 5 million. When compared to 6th of October, also built with the hopes of alleviating the strain on Cairo, more homes are being rented out in New Cairo.

Shubra El Kheima, (Arabic: شبرا الخيمة, lit. 'hamlet of the tent', IPA: [ˈʃobɾɑ lˈxeːmæ]) is the fourth-largest city in Egypt after Cairo, Giza and Alexandria. It is located in the Qalyubia Governorate along the northern edge of the Cairo Governorate. It forms part of the Greater Cairo metropolitan area.

Tura (Egyptian Arabic: طرة Tora  IPA: [ˈtˤoɾˤɑ], Coptic: ⲧⲣⲱⲁ, Ancient Greek: Τρωια or Τρωη) was the primary quarry for limestone in ancient Egypt. The site, which was known by the ancient Egyptians as Troyu or Royu, is located about halfway between modern-day Cairo and Helwan. Its ancient Egyptian name was misinterpreted by the ancient Greek geographer Strabo, who thought it meant it was inhabited by Trojans, thus the Hellenistic city was named Troia. The site is located by the modern town of Tora in the Cairo Governorate.

The limestone from the quarry is thought to be part of the Mokattam Formation, which was deposited during the late Lutetian stage of the Eocene epoch, about 42 million years. Some fossil fish species have been described from the quarry.