Helwan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Helwan, also spelled Hilwan or Hulwan, is a place in Egypt on the bank of the Nile river, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Formerly a southern suburb of Cairo, it's nowadays a part of the city and governorate of the same. The kism of Helwan had a population of 643,327 at the 2006 population census.^[1]

Local industry includes iron, steel, textiles and cement. The area has hot sulphur springs, an astronomical observatory, the Helwan University and a burial chamber (discovered in 1946). It is the terminus of the Cairo's light rail Metro Line 1.

The Khedivial Astronomical Observatory was built here 1903-1904, and was used to observe Halley's comet. The Behman Hospital Egypt's oldest and largest private psychiatric clinic was built there in 1939.

During the early part of the 20th century, the city was the site of RAF Helwan, a major British airbase, which was later used by the Egyptian Air Force.

In April 2008, parts of the administrative division of the Cairo governorate was split into two, Cairo and Helwan, with Helwan encompassing most of the suburbs of Cairo, new compounds and rural southern villages. Helwan became the capital of the new Helwan governorate.