The Egyptian capital of Cairo (Arabic El-Qahira or Misr el-Qahira), the largest city on the African continent and in the Islamic world, long known as the "Gateway to the East" and a mediator between Christianity and Islam, lies in latitude 30°4' north and longitude 34°17' east with the main part of the city on the right bank of the Nile, some 12 .5mi/20km south of the point where the river divides into the Rosetta and Damietta arms.On the east side of the city rise the barren reddish rock walls of the Moqattam Hills, beyond which extends the Eastern (Arabian) Desert.

To the south the city reaches out by way of Old Cairo to the suburb of Maadi; to the west the newer districts spread beyond the Nile into the Western (Libyan) Desert. Cairo is the seat of government, of the Egyptian Parliament and the various Government departments and the residence of the heads of the Islamic, Coptic and Catholic Coptic religious communities. It has several universities and colleges of high academic standing.