Monufia Governorate
| Monufia Governorate | ||
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| Governorate | ||
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| Monufia Governorate on the map of Egypt Monufia Governorate on the map of Egypt |
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| Country |  Egypt |
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| Seat | Shibin el-Kawm | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2,543.03 km2 (981.87 sq mi) | |
| Population (2014) | ||
| • Total | 3,849,850 | |
| • Density | 1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
Monufia Governorate (Egyptian Arabic: محافظة المنوفية el-Menofeyya / el-Monofeyya IPA: [elmenoˈfejjæ, -monoˈ-]) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, to the south of Gharbia governorate and to the north of Cairo. The governorate is named after Monuf, an ancient city which was the capital of the governorate until 1826. The current governor is doctor Ashraf Helal.
Contents
Overview
Monufia's capital is the city of Shibin El Koum. The main towns of the governorate are Quesna, Tala, Bagour, Menouf, Ashmoun and Sers el-Lyan. It is a mainly agricultural governorate.
History
Ancient Egypt
The governorate was known as Nit Shamaa and its capital was Barazqaa which currently lies in the Monuf division.
Byzantine Egypt
Monufia had two administrative divisions, "Cuneo" which was located between the Damietta branch and the Sea of Shebin, and "Toa," which was located west of the Rosetta Branch.
Fatimide Egypt
Monufia was divided into four administrative divisions, three of which are, "Toa" which includes the land between the Rosetta branch and the Bajoria Canal, "Upper Monuf" and "Lower Monuf."
Modern Egypt
In 1826 Mohammed Ali transferred the capital of Monufia from Monuf to Shibin Al Kawm as the later fell exactly in the center of the governorate. Other than Shibin el-Kawm, the governorate had four other administrative divisions which are Quesna, Tala, Menouf and Ashmoun. In 1942, Al-Shohada became a new administrative division and included parts from Shibin el-Kawm and Tala. In 1947, Bagour was created to encompass regions from Monuf, Ashmoun, Quesna and Shibin el-Kawm. In 1955, five villages were taken from Tala and redistributed to Tanta. in 1960, Berket el-Sabe'e (Lake of the Lion) was established and consisted of former towns and villages of Tala, Quesna and Shibin el-Kawm. In 1975, Sers el-Lyan became a city rather than a village after it was separated from Monuf. In 1991, the Sadat City was annexed to Monufia being its only region west of the Rosetta branch. In the final round of the 2012 Egyptian presidential election, Monufia had the highest voter turnout rate of all governorates (61.5%) as well as the most overwhelming support for candidate Ahmed Shafik (71.5%).
Agriculture
The governorate is famous for the production of crops like cotton, maize and wheat as well as vegetable crops such as potatoes and green beans from which a large part is exported. Agricultural land obtain water needs from Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile. Agriculture is generally the main activity of the population due to Monufia's fertile agricultural land.
Notable residents
Monufia governorate is known particularly for being the birthplace of two Egyptian presidents: Anwar Sadat (1918–1981, born in Mit Abu al-Kum) and Hosni Mubarak (1928-, born in Kafr-El Meselha).
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