JIZAH, AL-

muhafazah (governorate) of Upper Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, extending toward the southwest into the Western (Libyan) Desert as far as Al-Wadi al-Jadi d governorate. It is bordered on the north by Al-Minufiyah governorate and on the south by Bani Suwayf and Al-Fayyum governorates. It includes Al-Bahriyah and part of Al-Farafirah oases and has an area of 32,878 square miles (85,153 square km). The settled portion of the governorate in the Nile valley is about 409 square miles (1,059 square km). Aside from the capital, Al-Jizah, most of this portion is agricultural. Crops include corn (maize), cotton, wheat, millet, berseem (clover), and market vegetables grown for use in Cairo. The area produces dates, and there is a date-packing factory at Al-Badrashayn, near the west bank of the Nile. Al-Jizah is the largest industrial centre. Mineral resources include iron ore and coal found at Al-Bahriyah oasis. A railway transports the ore to the steel plant at Hulwan, in Cairo governorate. Historical sites in the governorate include the Giza (Al-Jizah) pyramids and Sphinx of the 4th dynasty (c. 26132494 BC) and the ruins of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, and its cemetery, Saqqarah, just to the west. The governorate has an airport at Imbabah, north of Al-Jizah, near Cairo. It is served by the Cairo-Aswan railway, which has a station in Al-Jizah, and also by highway. The population includes a small number of oasis and desert dwellers. Pop. (1986 prelim.) 3,700,054. also spelled Giza, Gizah, or El-giza, city, capital of al-Jizah muhafazah (governorate) of Upper Egypt, located on the west bank of the Nile just south-southwest of Cairo. It is a suburb of the national capital, with a distinctive character enriched by several archaeological and cultural sites. The district was settled in prehistoric times; Neolithic objects have been found there. Southwest of the city are the three great pyramids of the pharaohs: Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), and Menkaure (Mykerinos), all 4th dynasty (c. 2613c. 2494 BC). Because of their tremendous size and precise construction, they have been visited by travelers for millennia (see Giza, Pyramids of). Other monuments include the Sphinx, smaller pyramids, tombs, and temples. In earliest Muslim times Al-Jizah formed a defense line with the island of Roda (Ar-Rawdah) and, later, Cairo, against incursions up the river from the sea. In AD 643 its defenses were completed by 'Amr ibn-al-'As, general of the caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab; they were restorations of earlier Byzantine fortifications. In the time of Caliph al-Ma'mun (reigned 813833), Al-Jizah was linked to Cairo by a bridge of boats and then by successive permanent bridges. Later, a chief mosque was added (961) and Al-Jizah became the chief town of a kurah (district) and later of its province. The six present bridges link both banks with Ar-Rawdah and Az-Zamalik islands. The city has modern housing, government offices, embassies, research institutes, hotels, parks, a zoo, and a well-known entertainment district. The University of Cairo, founded in 1908, was reestablished in Al-Jizah in 1924. The city also has an ophthalmic research institute, the Academy of the Arabic Language, the Higher School of Applied Arts, and offices of the Ministry of Agriculture. Most of Egypt's motion-picture industry is also concentrated there. Other industries produce cement, iron products, wood products, automobile parts, cotton and polyester textiles, footwear, and beer. The Cairo-Aswan railway has a station in the city. Pop. (1986 prelim.) 1,870,508.