Dakahlia Governorate, also Muḥāfaẓah el Daqahliyah, is an Egyptian governorate northeast of Cairo. Its area is approximately 3,500 km². Its capital is Mansoura and the state capital city, Cairo, is southwest of Dakahlia province. The present population of Dakahlia is around 6 million, with a medium density of approximately 1,700 people per square kilometre. Dakahlia is particularly famous for its distinguished Kidney Center, run by the Urology and Nephrology Center of Mansoura University’s Faculty of Medicine. This centre was started in 1983 by the world-famous urologist Dr Mohamed A. Ghonem, who, until now, actively researches and treats renal and urological disorders in this centre.
Location of Dakahlia Governorate
El-Dakahlia Governorate is located downstream of the Damietta branch of the Nile located between longitude 31 • 06 E to 31 • 50 E and latitude 30 • 10 12 N to 31 • 31 48 N, the northeast Nile Delta region in Egypt.
History of Dakahlia Governorate
According to Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, in February 2020, Egyptian archaeologists uncovered 83 tombs dating back to 4,000 BC, known as the Naqada III period in Dakahlia Governorate. Various small pottery pots in different shapes and some sea shells, makeup tools, eyeliner pots, and jewels were also revealed in the burial.
In April 2021, Egyptian archaeologists discovered 110 burial tombs at the Koum el-Khulgan archaeological site. Sixty-eight oval-shaped tombs dated back to the Predynastic Period, and 37 rectangular-shaped tombs were from the Second Intermediate Period. The rest of them date back to the Naqada III period. The tombs also contained the remains of adults and a baby (buried in a jar), a group of ovens, stoves, remnants of mud-brick foundations, funerary equipment, cylindrical, pear-shaped vessels and a bowl with geometric designs.
Municipal divisions
The governorate is divided into the following municipal divisions and, in July 2017, had an estimated population of 6,516,489. At times there is a kism and a markaz with the same name.
Population
According to population estimates, in 2015, most residents in the governorate lived in rural areas, with an urbanization rate of 28.2%. Out of an estimated 5,949,001 people residing in the governorate, 4,271,428 people lived in rural areas as opposed to 1,677,573 in urban areas. By 2018, the population had increased to an estimated 6,577,000.
Overview
The Urology and Nephrology Center of Mansoura University Faculty of Medicine also features a renowned kidney centre. Founded in 1983. Under the management of Dr Mohamed A. Ghoneim.
Cities and towns
- Aga
- Bilqas
- Damas
- Dikirnis
- El Gamaliya
- El Kurdi
- El Matareya
- El Senbellawein
- Gamasa
- Gogar
- Mansoura
- Manzala
- Mit Elkorama
- Mit Ghamr
- Mit Salsil
- Nabaroh
- Sherbin
- Temay El Amdeed
- Talkha
Industrial zones
According to the Egyptian Governing Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), in affiliation with the Ministry of Investment (MOI), the following industrial zones are located in this governorate:
- Southwest Gamasa
- Asafra
Notable people
Arts
- Ahmad Hasan al-Zayyat, writer and intellectual
- Anis Mansour, writer
- Ali Mahmoud Taha, romantic poet
- Adel Emam, movie and stage actor
- Faten Hamama, actress and producer
- Hassan al-Imam, film director
- Iman Mersal, poet
- Khaled El Nabawy, actor
- Mohamed Abla, artist
- Mahmoud Mokhtar, sculptor
- Naguib Surur, poet and playwright
- No’man Ashour, poet and playwright
- Ramy Essam, musician
- Sherif Mounir, movie and stage actor
- Umm Kulthum, renowned singer and songwriter
- Journalists
- Ahmed Mansour (journalist)
- Mohamed Makhzangi, journalist and writer
- Mohammed Hussein Heikal, journalist, writer and politician
- Magdi Mehanna
Politics
- Ali Pasha Mubarak, one of the most influential and talented of Egypt’s 19th-century reformers
- Ayman Nour, a politician
- Ahmed Gamal El-Din Moussa, former minister
- Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, intellectual, secularist and nationalist
- Abdel Latif Boghdadi, politician
- Khaled Ali, Lawyer and Activist
- Khairat el-Shater, Islamic political activist
- Mohammed Mahdi Akef, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood
- Mohamed Abdul Salam Mahgoub, politician
- Omar Abdel-Rahman, a Muslim leader and activist
- Sami Hafez Anan, military officer
- Salah Nasr, former intelligence agency director
Religion
- Gad el-Haq, former Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
- George El Mozahem, Coptic Orthodox martyr and saint
- Mohamed Metwally Al-Shaarawy, Islamic scholar
- Mahmoud Zakzouk, academic and politician
Science
- Farouk El-Baz, space scientist
- Mohamed Ghoneim, urologist
- Saad Eddin Ibrahim, academic and sociologist
- Selim Hassan, Egyptologist
Sports
- Ōsunaarashi Kintarō (Abdelrahman Shalan) sumo wrestler
- Abdel-Zaher El-Saqqa, footballer
- Amr Marey, footballer
- Hussam El-Badrawi, sports shooter
- Mahmoud Fathalla, footballer
- Mahmoud El Khatib, footballer
- Mahmoud Abou El-Saoud, footballer
- Mohamed El Shamy (footballer, born 1996)
- Mimi El-Sherbini, footballer
- Salah Soliman, footballer