Helwan

Helwan حلوان (Arabic)
City
Helwan Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 29°51′N 31°20′E / 29.850°N 31.333°E / 29.850; 31.333
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Cairo
Population (2006)
• Total	643,327
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)

Helwan (Arabic: حلوان‎ Ḥelwān, IPA: [ħelˈwæːn]), also spelled Hilwan or Hulwan or Holwan, is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now defunct Helwan Governorate from April 2008 to April 2011, after which it was re-incorporated into the Cairo Governorate. The kism of Helwan had a population of 643,327 at the 2006 population census.^[1]

History

Helwan has been identified with Ancient Alphocranon

The Khedivial Astronomical Observatory was built here 1903-1904, and was used to observe Halley's comet. Egypt's oldest and largest private psychiatric clinic, the Behman Hospital, was also constructed here 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 1959 Helwan was chosen to serve as a site of a major industrial city, as part of President Gamal Abdel Nasser's attempts to industrialize Egypt. Throughout the 1960s it developed into a massive steel works zone, with numerous automobile factories being built. The site continues to use electricity from the Aswan Dam and iron ore from Egypt's western deserts. Helwan was gradually transformed into a mass suburb of Cairo for the working class.^[2]

In April 2008, the Helwan Governorate was split from the Cairo Governorate. It encompassed most of the suburbs, new compounds and villages located in the southern part of Cairo. The city of Helwan became the capital of the new governorate. Following the dissolution of the Helwan Governorate in April 2011, the city of Helwan was reincorporated into the Cairo Governorate.

Ecclesiastical History

Alphocranon was imporatant enough in the Late Roman province of Arcadia Aegypti to be a suffragan of its Metropolitan Archbishop of Oxyrhynchus.

Its bishop Harpocration participated in the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The bishopric is mentioned in two Notitiae Episcopatuum. ^[3][4]

Titular see

No longer a residential diocese, Alphocranon is today listed by the Catholic Church as a ^[5] Latin Catholic titular bishopric, nominally restoring the diocese since 1933, but no incumbent is recorded.

Administrative Divisions

The now defunct Helwan Governorate encompassed the following cities or districts: Maadi, Helwan, 15 May, EL-Sherouk city, New Cairo, Madinaty.

The city of Helwan itself includes districts such as Wadi Hof, Hadayek Helwan, and Maasara.

Economy

President Gamal Abdel Nasser inaugurating the Al Nasr automobile factory in Helwan, 1963

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 Cairo's light rail Metro Line 1. Also trams in Helwan serve the people.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh). Owing to its proximity to Cairo, its average monthly temperatures are quite similar, but it has a quite different distribution of humidity and its diurnal average temperature variation is slightly larger.

Notability

• Sadd el-Kafara, one of the earliest prehistoric man made dams in the world.
• Harold Knox-Shaw, one of the earliest Astronomy specialists in Helwan Observatory.
• John Reynolds (astronomer), one of the earliest Astronomy specialists in Helwan Observatory & president of the English Royal Astronomical Society between 1935 and 1937.
• Operation Priha Helwan was targeted in Priha-1.
• Tewfik Pasha died in his palace at Helwan.
• The 6th Armoured Division (South Africa) was present at Helwan during WW II.
• The 82-BM-37 is known as Helwan M-69 82mm mortar.
• Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam Pasha lived in Helwan.
• Moataz Eno was born in Helwan.
• Cars produced at Helwan:
  • Nasr 128
  • Sahin 1.4S
  • Sahin 1.6SL
  • Zastava Florida In
  • Fiat 1100
  • Fiat 1300/1500
  • Fiat 2300
  • Polski Fiat 125p/FSO 125p
  • FSO Polonez MR'83/MR'85
  • FSO Polonez MR'86/MR'87/MR'89
  • Fiat Ritmo
  • Fiat Regata
  • Fiat Tempra
• The English Middle East Command Camouflage Directorate was present in Helwan.
• Geoffrey Barkas designed the Operation Bertram while heading Middle East Command Camouflage Directorate.
• RAF Helwan was a British Military Airport.
• No. 112 Squadron RAF was stationed at Helwan.
• A crater on the 951 Gaspra asteroid was named after the spa city of Helwan.
• Aneb-Hetch

See also

• Maadi
• 15th of May City
• Greater Cairo
• Helwan University
• Helwan retouch

References

Districts and suburbs of Greater Cairo Cairo Governorate Abbassia Ain Shams Azbakeya Bulaq Daher El-Manial El-Marg Helwan 15 May Mokattam City of the Dead Manshiyat Naser Nasr City El-Quba Rhoda El-Sakakini Shobra Shobra neighborhood Elsahel Road El Farag Zeitoun Historical Coptic Cairo Downtown Cairo Faggala Fustat Islamic Cairo Mataria Old Cairo Affluent Garden City Heliopolis Maadi Sheraton Zamalek Newly planned Badr Madinaty New Cairo el Banafseg Yasmin el Tagamoa el Khames Rehab Sehraya New Heliopolis Shorouk Giza Governorate Giza Agouza el Warraq Feisal Giza (district) Haram Imbaba Historical Kerdasa Affluent Dokki Mohandessin Newly planned 6 October City Dreamland Palm Hills Sheikh Zayed Qalyubia Governorate Shubra El-Kheima Newly planned Obour

Sources and External links

• (German) Helwan on Wikivoyage
• GCatholic

Coordinates: 29°51′N 31°20′E / 29.850°N 31.333°E / 29.850; 31.333