Ain Shams

Ain Shams is a district in the Eastern Area of , . The name means "Eye of the Sun" in Arabic, referring to the fact that the district contained the ruins of the ancient city of Heliopolis, once the spiritual centre of ancient Egyptian sun-worship, and settled since 3100 BCE following the Predynastic Period.
cairo.gov.eg
Wikipedia
Photo: Ashashyou, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • Type: Locality with 663,000 residents
  • Description: place in Cairo Governorate, Egypt
  • Also known as: “‘Ayn Shams”, “`Ayn Shams”, and “Aynişems”

Places of Interest

Highlights include Heliopolis and Qubba Palace.

Archaeological site
Photo: Didia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
was a major city of ancient Egypt. It was the capital of the Heliopolite or 13th Nome of and a major religious centre. Its site is within the boundaries of Ain Shams and El Matareya districts in northeastern .

Castle
Photo: Riad Shehata, Public domain.
Koubbeh Palace or Qubbah Palace is one of the various Egyptian palaces which serve as the country's official guest house for visiting dignitaries. The palace was most likely originally built in the mid-19th century and sold to Khedive Ismail in 1866 by his brother Mustafa Fazl Pasha. is situated 3½ km south of Ain Shams.

Church
Photo: Ziqo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima or just Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in Cairo is a religious building that is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is located in the city of , the capital of the African country of . is situated 4 km southeast of Ain Shams.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include North Cairo and Zeitoun.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
The northern districts of Greater form a vast and highly populated region, but which is generally of little interest to the tourist. The ancient city of Heliopolis was here, but it's mostly covered over by urban sprawl of the Matariya neighborhood.

Suburb
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
, also al-Zeitoun, is one of the eight districts that make up the Northern Area in , . It is known for its Marian apparitions at the Coptic Church of the Virgin Mary of , reported in 1968–1971. is situated 3½ km south of Ain Shams.

Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
The eastern districts of are a series of planned communities which have been built away from the congestion of historic Cairo. The most prominent communities are Heliopolis, Nasr City, and New Cairo. is also located in this area, just to the east of Heliopolis.

Ain Shams

Latitude
30.12994° or 30° 7′ 48″ north
Longitude
31.3168° or 31° 19′ 1″ east
Population
663,000
Elevation
27 metres (89 feet)
Open location code
8G2H48H8+XP
Geo­Names ID
8356587
Wiki­data ID
Q2662725
This page is based on GeoNames, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikipedia.
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Satellite Map

Discover Ain Shams from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Arabic to Uzbek—“Ain Shams” goes by many names.
  • Arabic: “حي عين شمس”
  • Arabic: “عين شمس”
  • Catalan: “Ayn Shams”
  • Chinese: “艾因沙姆斯”
  • Dutch: “Ain Shams”
  • French: “Ain Shams”
  • German: “Ain Shams”
  • German: “Ain-Chams”
  • German: “ayn shams”
  • German: “ʿAin Šams”
  • Hausa: “Ain Shams”
  • Indonesian: “Ain Syams”
  • Irish: “Ain Shams”
  • Japanese: “アイン・シャムス”
  • Persian: “عین شمس”
  • Russian: “Аин - Шамс”
  • Russian: “Айн-Шамс”
  • Slovenian: “Ain Šams”
  • South Azerbaijani: “عین شمس”
  • Spanish: “‘Ain Schams”
  • Spanish: “’Ain Schams”
  • Swedish: “Ain Shams”
  • Turkish: “Aynişems”
  • Ukrainian: “Айн-Шамс”
  • Urdu: “عین شمس”
  • Uzbek: “Ayn Shams”

Places with the Same Name

Discover other places named “Ain Shams”.

Localities in the Area

Explore places such as ‘Arab Abū Ţawīlah and El Matareya.

Notable Places Nearby

Highlights include Ain Shames and Kūbrī ‘Ayn Shams.

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