Ain Shams
Ain Shams is a district in the Eastern Area of Cairo, Egypt. 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.| Tap on a place to explore it |
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 Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima.
Heliopolis
Archaeological site
Photo: Didia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Heliopolis was a major city of ancient Egypt. It was the capital of the Heliopolite or 13th Nome of Lower Egypt and a major religious centre. Its site is within the boundaries of Ain Shams and El Matareya, districts in northeastern Cairo.
Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima
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 Cairo, the capital of the African country of Egypt. Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima is situated 4 km southeast of Ain Shams.
Qubba Palace
Castle
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. Qubba Palace is situated 3½ km south of Ain Shams.
Places in the Area
Nearby places include North Cairo and Zeitoun.
North Cairo
The northern districts of Greater Cairo 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.
Zeitoun
Suburb
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
Zeitoun, also al-Zeitoun, is one of the eight districts that make up the Northern Area in Cairo, Egypt. It is known for its Marian apparitions at the Coptic Church of the Virgin Mary of Zeitoun, reported in 1968–1971. Zeitoun is situated 3½ km south of Ain Shams.
East Cairo
Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
The eastern districts of Cairo 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.
Ain Shams
- Category: sheyakha
- Location: Cairo Governorate, Egypt, North Africa, Africa
- View on OpenStreetMap
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Satellite Map
Discover Ain Shams from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
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”
- 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: “عين شمس”
- 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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About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikipedia page “Ain Shams”. Photo: Ashashyou, CC BY-SA 3.0.