The City of El Mansoura, Egypt

Some call it Queen of the Delta others refer to it as the European city in Egypt. This friendly city is one of the largest in Egypt, located along the delta and is known for its beauty and cleanliness.

El Mansoura is a vital industrial and commercial city in the Governate of Daqahilya. It is home to a university associated with Cairo University and a college of technology. It has a unique location 55 km (34 miles) north of Zagazig lying in the eastern side of the Nile Delta on the right bank of the Damietta arm of the nile (which was in the past known as Phatnitic arm). From this arm the Bahr El-Sughayyar branch flows the Nile water into Lake Manzala.

Mansouras European feel is asociated with its modern western looking buildings and its industrial side. This city has several large cotton factories, metalworking industries and is the center of the agricultural produce in the whole delta. Mansoura is known for having the most beautiful women in Egypt who are very fair skinned and light haired, which is considered a sign of beauty in Egypt. They usually attribute those looks to the crusaders who came there and could not maintain their lust!

History:

El-Mansoura (or in English, the Victorious) was founded in 1221 to act as a replacement for Damietta that was lost to the Crusaders. In 1249 a Crusader army headed by the French Louis IX managed, following much resistance, to cross the Bahr El-sughayar (then was Ushmum Canal) to El- Mansoura. Later, a young Sultan called El Moazzam defeated them by destroying their fleet, cutting off their supplies and even taking Louis himself as prisinor in April 1250. He was later released on May 6th, 1250 in return for the surrender of Damietta and a hefty randsom.

Sightseeing: Travelers are shown many of El-Mansouras historical and industrial monuments. You can visit a small house near the El Muwafiq Mosque which locals believe to be Louise IXs prison and also that it is near the point where the crusaders used to camp next to the Bahr El-Sughayyar branches into the Nile. People can also go visit the Shinnawi palace. This palace was built by an Italian architect in 1928 and amogst palaces with the same style it is considered the most spectacular one. There are also many villas and extravagent villas in the Touryel area. Thats not all, El Mansoura has a market called Al Khawagat market (which means the foreigners market) which is very interesting. In the past it was run by Greeks, Jews and Lebaense people (hence the name). However, nowadays the traders are Egyptian and the products include galabiyas, underwear, textiles, shoes, socks, aluminum pots and brass.

Last Updated: June 27th, 2011