El Mahalla El Kubra

El Mahalla

ϯϣⲁⲓⲣⲓ

City

Clockwise from top:
Mural at the entrance to the city, Night Panorama, Mahalla Club, El Mahalla El Kobra gate

El Mahalla

Location in Egypt

Coordinates:  [ ⚑ ] : 30°58′07″N 31°09′49″E﻿ / ﻿30.96861°N 31.16361°E﻿ / 30.96861; 31.16361
Country| Egypt
Governorate| Gharbia
Named for| "great mahallah"
Area

[1]

• Total| 18.9 km2 (7.3 sq mi)
Elevation

[1]

| 17 m (56 ft)
Population

(2023)[1]

• Total| 614,202
• Density| 32,000/km2 (84,000/sq mi)
GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values)

• Year| 2024
• Total| $11.5 billion[2]
• Per capita| $21,100
Time zone| UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code(s)| (+20) 40

El Mahalla El Kubra (Arabic: المحلة الكبرى, arz) – commonly shortened to El Maḥalla – is the largest city of the Gharbia Governorate and in the Nile Delta, with a population of 614,202 as of 2023.[1] It is a large industrial and agricultural city in Egypt, located in the middle of the Nile Delta on the western bank of the Damietta Branch tributary. The city is known for its textile industry, and hosts the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company which employs around 27,000 people.

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 History
* 2.1 2006–11 protests
* 2.2 2012 protests and declaration of autonomy
* 3 Geography
* 3.1 Climate
* 4 Buildings and structures
* 5 Economy
* 6 Sport
* 7 Notable people
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 External links

## Etymology

El Mahalla El Kubra consists of two words: El Mahalla in Arabic means "district" or "encampment", El Kubra means "great". Hence the title collectively means "The Great Encampment".[3] The name is probably a rough translation of its Coptic Egyptian equivalent ti-Šairi (Coptic: ϯϣⲁⲓⲣⲓ, lit. 'cohabitation, residence').[4]

## History

In the Chronicle of John of Nikiu el-Mahalla is also given a name Didouseya[5], which could be equated with Theodosiou (Coptic: ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲱⲥⲓⲟⲩ). It is given as Theodosiou Nixis (Coptic: ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲱⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲛⲓⲝⲓⲥ) by Daressy, but it's rather an equation of two nearby towns (Theodosiou and Nixis, modern Nawasa (Arabic: نَوَسا)), common for Coptic Scalae, rather than a compound name.[6] The modern area Suq al-Laban is located on Didouseya Hill.[7]

The city was also known as Mahalla Daqla (Arabic: محلة دقلا), where second word could be a corruption of Dakahla.[5]

An ancient village Sandafa (Arabic: صندفا, Coptic: ⲥⲉⲛⲧⲉϥⲉ) was located south of el-Mahalla. North of it was a village Hureyn Baharmis (Arabic: هورين بهرمس), the name of which suggests that it was an ancient river-port (Coptic: ⲡϩⲟⲣⲙⲟⲥ, romanized: phormos, lit. 'the port'),[8] whose namesake is mentioned in Demotic sources (Ancient Egyptian: Ḥwrn.t[9]). In 1844 the city absorbed both villages.[10]

President Gamal Abd El Nasser waves to crowds in El Mahalla El Kubra as he departs the city, 1959 Protesters took to the street on April 7, 2008, as part of the 6 April movement.

### 2006–11 protests

Over 15,000 protesters clashed with police in El Mahalla in 2006, following the publication of a cartoon mocking Islam in Denmark.[11]

Later in 2006 textile workers struck to protest market reforms, demanding better living conditions.[12]

Beginning in April 2008 the city held mass demonstrations protesting the election results of President Hosni Mubarak, claiming election fraud and demanding better wages. Security forces were ordered to crack down on the dissidents, and in May they killed two or three in the city and injured dozens.[13][14] Images of protesters in Mahalla overturning billboards of Mubarak were viewed by some Egyptians as a turning point in Egyptian politics, according to The Washington Post.[13] The Observer has written that protests in El Mahalla from 2006 to 2011 spearheaded larger political changes throughout Egypt.[14] A Facebook group established by 28-year-old engineer Ahmad Maher to support striking textile workers in El Mahalla gained 70,000 followers and helped organize support for the strikers nationally.[15]

In 2011, protests in Mahalla contributed to the collapse of the Mubarak dictatorship.[12]

### 2012 protests and declaration of autonomy

On 15 July 2012, 25,000 workers from El Mahalla El Kubra's Misr Spinning and Weaving Company went on strike, demanding increased profit sharing, better retirement benefits and a replacement of the management.[16] The Misr workers were joined by workers from seven other textile factories in the region, and strikes also broke out among doctors and health workers, university workers, and ceramics workers in other parts of Egypt.[16]

Clashes between protesters supporting or opposing the Muslim Brotherhood on November 28 left over 100 people injured.[17] On December 7, the city declared itself autonomous from Egypt,[18] as workers and students, declaring themselves independent from the "Muslim Brotherhood State", cut rail lines and blocked entrances to the city.[12] Protesters stormed the city council and announced their intentions to replace it with a revolutionary council.[12]

## Geography

### Climate

The Köppen–Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh).

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## Buildings and structures

El Mahalla El Kubra contains Misr Spinning and Weaving Company, the largest cotton manufacturing company in Egypt, and the clock of Big Ben is made by this company.

## Economy

El Mahalla El Kubra is home to the largest public sector Egyptian textile company, the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company, employing over 27,000 workers.

## Sport

The city has two football teams: Ghazl Al-Mehalla and Baladeyet Al-Mahalla.

## Notable people

* Mahmoud Mokhtar, a legendary Egyptian sculptor
* Salah Zulfikar, legendary actor
* Cyril of Alexandria, Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444
* Ahmed Elmohamady, Egyptian Footballer
* Shawky Gharieb, former footballer and coach
* Mohamed Elneny, footballer
* Reham Abdel Ghafour, actress

## See also

* List of cities and towns in Egypt
* April 6 Youth Movement

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Egypt: Governorates, Major Cities & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". https://www.citypopulation.de/en/egypt/cities/.
2. ↑ "TelluBase—Egypt Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)". Tellusant. https://tellusant.com/repo/tb/tellubase-factsheet-egy.pdf.
3. ↑ "Al-Maḥallah al-Kubrā". Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Al-Mahallah-al-Kubra. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
4. ↑ "Crum Coptic Dictionary - CoptOT Public". http://coptot.manuscriptroom.com/crum-coptic-dictionary/?docID=800000&pageID=584.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Maspero, Jean; Wiet, Gaston (1919). "Matériaux pour servir à la géographie de l'Égypte". MIFAO 36: 164.
6. ↑ Daressy, G. (1894). "Les Grandes Villes d'Égypte a l'Époque Copte". Revue Archéologique 25: 196–215. ISSN 0035-0737.
7. ↑ "سوق اللبن" (in ar). https://www.marefa.org/سوق_اللبن.
8. ↑ Peust, Carsten. "Die Toponyme vorarabischen Ursprungs im modernen Ägypten". p. 17. http://www.peust.de/ortsnamen_original.pdf.
9. ↑ Peust, Carsten. "Die Toponyme vorarabischen Ursprungs im modernen Ägypten". p. 17. http://www.peust.de/ortsnamen_original.pdf.
10. ↑ "الأرشيف المصرى للحياة والمأثورات الشعبية". http://www.nfa-eg.org/Search/Place_Details.aspx?ID=179.
11. ↑ Bilesfky, Dan (11 February 2006). "Danish Cartoon Editor on Indefinite Leave". The New York Times.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Stern, Johannes (8 December 2012). "Protests spread throughout Egypt against Islamist dictatorship". World Socialist Web Site. http://wsws.org/articles/2012/dec2012/egyp-d08.shtml.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Knickmeyer, Ellen (18 May 2008). "Fledgling Rebellion on Facebook Is Struck Down by Force in Egypt". Washington Post.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Shenker, Jack (23 January 2011). "Egypt's frustrated young wait for their lives to begin, and dream of revolution". The Observer (England).
15. ↑ Verma, Sonia (27 January 2011). "How Egypt got here: A brutal beating and a penchant for Facebook has protesters eager to brave the streets". The Globe and Mail.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Stern, Johannes (18 July 2012). "Egyptian workers mount mass strikes against US-backed junta". World Socialist Web Site. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jul2012/egyp-j18.shtml.
17. ↑ "Clashes Spread Beyond Cairo". Washington Post. 28 November 2012. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/clashes-spread-beyond-cairo/2012/11/28/2ec91b2c-afc6-48c4-86ee-30d90b8ba71f_video.html.
18. ↑ Bakr, Sara (7 December 2012). "Mahalla announces autonomy". Daily News Egypt. http://dailynewsegypt.com/2012/12/07/mahalla-announces-autonomy/.
19. ↑ "Climate: Mahalla al Kubra - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". climate-data.org. http://en.climate-data.org/location/726/.

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