Al-Jīzah

Al-Jīzah, muḥāfaẓah (governorate) of Upper Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile River, extending toward the southwest into the Western (Libyan) Desert as far as Al-Wādī Al-Jadīd governorate. It is bordered on the north by Al-Minūfiyyah governorate and on the south by Banī Suwayf and Al-Fayyūm governorates. It includes Al-Baḥriyyah and part of Al-Farāfirah oases.

The settled portion of the governorate in the Nile valley is about 409 square miles (1,059 square km). Aside from the capital, Al-Jīzah, 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-Jīzah is the largest industrial centre. Mineral resources include iron ore and coal found at Al-Baḥriyyah oasis. A railway transports the ore to the steel plant at Ḥulwān, in Cairo governorate.

Historical sites in the governorate include the Giza (Al-Jīzah) pyramids and Sphinx of the 4th dynasty (c. 2613–2494 bce) and the ruins of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, and its cemetery, Ṣaqqārah, just to the west. The governorate has an airport at Imbābah, north of Al-Jīzah, near Cairo. It is served by the Cairo-Aswān railway, which has a station in Al-Jīzah, and also by highway. The population includes a small number of oasis and desert dwellers. Area 32,878 square miles (85,153 square km). Pop. (2006) 6,272,571.