Tanta

Tanta طنطا
Nickname(s): El Badawy City
Tanta Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 30°47′N 31°0′E / 30.783°N 31.000°E / 30.783; 31.000Coordinates: 30°47′N 31°0′E / 30.783°N 31.000°E / 30.783; 31.000
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Gharbia
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	421,076
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	(+20) 40

Tanta (Egyptian Arabic: طنطا‎‎ Ṭanṭa  pronounced [ˈtˤɑntˤɑ], is a large city in Egypt. It is the country's fifth largest populated area, with 421,076 inhabitants as of 2006.^[1] Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: 94 km (58 mi) north of Cairo and 130 km (81 mi) southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia Governorate,^[2] it is a center for the cotton-ginning industry.^[3] One of the major railway lines goes through Tanta.^[4][5] Three annual festivals are held in Tanta in honor of Ahmad al-Badawi, a revered Sufi figure of the 13th century, who founded the Badawiyya Tariqa in Egypt and is buried in the main mosque of Tanta. Tanta is known for its sweetshops and roasted chickpeas.^[6]

Overview

With its large cotton plantations, in 1856, Tanta became a stop on the railway network, primarily for the benefit of exporting its cotton to European markets.^[7] Even by 1986 the area around Tanta was mostly open fields with scattered villages but by 2001, Tanta had grown into a large, busy city.^[8] Tanta is known for its sweets, eaten during the mulid (Arabic: المولد‎‎) festivals. The people of Tanta are called Tantawy and enjoy leisurely walks along the streets.^[9][10]

Tanta has cotton ginning factories and textile industries,^[11] and is also a university town with Tanta University since 1972.^[12]

This city comes to life in late October at the end of the cotton harvest. Three million people,^[2] from around the Delta and other parts of the Arab world, come for the Moulid of Sayid Ahmed el-Badawi,^[11] which is a colorful,^[13] religious, eight-day celebration. The moulid is centered around the mosque and tomb of Sayid Ahmad al-Badawi.^[14] He founded one of Egypt's largest Sufi orders called Ahmadiyyah or Badawiyya.^[15] He was born in Morocco, but emigrated to Arabia and was sent to Tanta in 1234 as a representative of the order from Iraq. He was given permission to start a new order in Tanta and it soon flourished into "one of Egypt's largest Sufi brotherhoods".^[11] During the festival many sugar-coated nuts called 'hubb el 'Aziz' ('seeds of the Beloved Prophet') are eaten. They have been considered a delicacy since the 1800's.^[16]

Art and Culture

What originally began in Cairo, spread to Tanta when a group of young Egyptians began showing European movie screenings at Rivoli Cinema, the oldest cinema in Tanta. Called the 8th Edition Panorama of European Films, the young media students invited a film director to speak with the audience: people were enticed and the film screenings became a huge success. The group also began the The Association of Cinema and Literature Lovers Group to encourage young filmmakers in Tanta.^[17]

Organizations

There is a Young Men's Muslim Association (YMMA) in Tanta and in 1994 had about 1000 members.^[18]

Telecom Egypt, the main telephone landline Egyptian company, has one of its main centers in Tanta.^[19]

Sites

St. Mary Coptic Orthodox church, which is over 200 years old, is located in Tanta. Some people believe that the icon of the Virgin Mary has healing powers.^[20][21] The Museum of Tanta contains items from ancient nearby sites of Sais, Naucratis, and Buto, such as pottery and statues.^[22][23] El Mahallah is a large industrial town near Tanta, famous for its textile.^[11]

• 

  Tanta's city center, Algeish street

• 

  Tanta's railway station

• 

  Mosque of st. Ahmed El-Badawy

• 

  Ferial palace, currently Al-Azhar school for girls

Climate

As all of Egypt, has a hot desert climate (BWh), according to Köppen-Geiger climate classification system.

Notable people

• Kamal Amien (Arabic: كمال أمين‎‎‎) (1923–1979) Egyptian artist^[26]
• Khairy Beshara (Arabic: خيري بشارة‎‎ ) Film director^[27]
• Abdu Al-Hamouli (Arabic: عبده الحامولى‎‎‎) (1836–1901) Arab-Egyptian singer^[28]
• Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary (Arabic: محمود خليل الحصرى‎‎‎) (1917–1980) Renowned reciter of the Qur'an^[29]
• Mohamed Fawzi (Arabic: محمد فوزى‎‎‎), (1918–1966) Egyptian composer, singer, and actor^[30]
• Naima Akef (Arabic: نعيمة عاكف‎‎‎) (1939–1966) Egyptian belly-dancer and movie superstar^[31]
• Doria Shafiq (Arabic: درية شفيق‎‎‎) (1908–1975) a leader of the Women's Liberation Movement in the early 1950s^[32]
• Ahmed Ibrahim Hegazy (1936-2011) Known as "Hegazy", was a caricature artist^[33]
• Nasr Abu Zayd "Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd" (1943–2010) Egyptian Qur'anic thinker and a liberal theologian in Islam^[34]
• Ahmed Khaled Towfik (1962 - ) Egyptian author^[35]
• Amina Rizk (1910–2003) Egyptian actress^[36]
• El-Sayed Mohamed Nosseir, (1905-1977) Olympic Gold medal winner in weightlifting^[37]
• Muhammad Harby El-Gendy, Wushu Kong Fu world Champion and participated in the Kong Fu World Championship, USA, 1995 with the Egyptian National Team^[38]
• Maximos V Hakim, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch^[39]
• Nabil Farouk, Novelist best known for his books on the Rewayāt Masreyya Lel Gēb (Egyptian Pocket Novels) series, which influenced Egyptian youth during 80's and 90's.^[40][41]
• Bishop Paula, Head of the Coptic Orthodox Council for Marital Affairs.^[42]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tanta.

• Nile Delta
• Egyptian festivals

References

External links

• Egypt: Handbook for Travellers : Part First, Lower Egypt, with the Fayum and the Peninsula of Sinai by Karl Baedeker (1885)
• Families as We are: Conversations from Around the World by By Perdita Huston, 2001
• The Encyclopaedia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature and general information by Hugh Chisholm, 1910

Egypt's largest cities by population
Cairo Alexandria Giza Shubra El Kheima Port Said Suez El Mahalla El Kubra Luxor Asyut Mansoura Tanta Faiyum Zagazig Ismailia Kafr El Dawwar Aswan Qena Damanhur Minya Sohag Beni Suef Shibin El Kom Banha Edfu Talkha Kafr El Sheikh Mallawi Dikirnis Bilbeis Arish