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City in Gharbia, Egypt From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tanta (Egyptian Arabic: طنطا Ṭanṭa pronounced [ˈtˤɑntˤɑ], Coptic: ⲧⲁⲛⲧⲁⲑⲟ) is a city in Egypt. Tanta had a population of 658,798 in 2018, making it the fifth most populous city in Egypt.[2] Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: 94 km (58 mi) north of Cairo and 130 km (81 mi) southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia Governorate,[3] it is a center for the cotton-ginning industry.[4]
Tanta
طنطا | |
---|---|
Counter-clockwise from top: Tanta Overview, Ahmad Al-Badawi Mosque, Sheikha Sabah Mosque dome, Sabil Ali-Bek | |
Nickname: Tanta | |
Coordinates: 30°47′N 31°0′E | |
Country | ![]() |
Governorate | Gharbia |
Area | |
• Total | 50.5 km2 (19.5 sq mi) |
Elevation | 12 m (39 ft) |
Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 576,648 |
• Density | 11,000/km2 (30,000/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
Area code | (+20) 40 |
One of the major railway lines goes through Tanta.[5][6] Annual festivals are held in Tanta for one week beginning on 11 October celebrating the birthday of Ahmad al-Badawi, a revered Sufi figure of the 13th century, who founded the Badawiyya Tariqa in Egypt and is buried in Ahmad Al-Badawi Mosque, the main mosque of Tanta. Tanta is known for its sweet shops and roasted chickpeas.[7]
The older name of the city is Tandata (Arabic: طندتا) which comes from its Coptic name ⲧⲁⲛⲧⲁⲑⲟ[8] (late Coptic [dɑnˈdɑto]).
With its large cotton plantations, in 1856, Tanta became a stop on the railway network, primarily for the benefit of exporting its cotton to European markets.[9] The area around Tanta was mostly fields but Tanta had grown into a large crowded city.[10]
This city is a center of celebration in late October at the end of the cotton harvest. Three million people,[3] from around the Delta and other parts of the Arab world, come for the Moulid of Sayid Ahmed el-Badawi,[11] which is a colorful,[12] religious, eight-day celebration. The moulid is centered around the mosque and tomb of Sayid Ahmad al-Badawi,[13] who founded one of Egypt's largest Sufi orders known as Ahmadiyyah or Badawiyya.[14] He was born in Morocco, but emigrated to Arabia, and later was sent to Tanta in AD 1234 as a representative of the order from Iraq. He was granted permission to start a new order in Tanta and it soon flourished into one of Egypt's largest Sufi brotherhoods.[11]
Tanta is famous for its sweet candy made of gelatin, coconut, sesame, peanuts, and chickpeas. Large quantities are sold during the mulid (Arabic: المولد) festivals when many Egyptians visit the city.[15] The sweets have been considered a delicacy since the 1800s.[16]
Tanta has many cotton processing factories and textile industries,[11] and is also a university town with Tanta University since 1972.[17]
The people of Tanta are called by Egyptian slang Tantawi.[18][19]
As all of Egypt, has a hot desert climate (BWh), according to Köppen-Geiger climate classification system.
Climate data for Tanta, Egypt (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 29.2 (84.6) |
32.0 (89.6) |
36.8 (98.2) |
41.6 (106.9) |
45.3 (113.5) |
44.7 (112.5) |
41.5 (106.7) |
42.5 (108.5) |
41.2 (106.2) |
38.7 (101.7) |
35.6 (96.1) |
28.2 (82.8) |
45.3 (113.5) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 18.7 (65.7) |
19.4 (66.9) |
22.1 (71.8) |
27.1 (80.8) |
31.0 (87.8) |
33.6 (92.5) |
33.1 (91.6) |
32.7 (90.9) |
31.6 (88.9) |
29.2 (84.6) |
24.2 (75.6) |
20.3 (68.5) |
26.9 (80.4) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 12.0 (53.6) |
12.8 (55.0) |
14.5 (58.1) |
18.4 (65.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
25.4 (77.7) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.8 (78.4) |
24.2 (75.6) |
21.6 (70.9) |
17.5 (63.5) |
13.5 (56.3) |
19.5 (67.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) |
6.6 (43.9) |
7.8 (46.0) |
11.2 (52.2) |
14.3 (57.7) |
17.3 (63.1) |
19.7 (67.5) |
19.7 (67.5) |
17.8 (64.0) |
15.3 (59.5) |
11.5 (52.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
13.0 (55.4) |
Record low °C (°F) | 0.2 (32.4) |
0.4 (32.7) |
0.8 (33.4) |
4.6 (40.3) |
8.3 (46.9) |
12.0 (53.6) |
14.8 (58.6) |
16.4 (61.5) |
13.7 (56.7) |
9.1 (48.4) |
5.0 (41.0) |
1.6 (34.9) |
0.2 (32.4) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 13 (0.5) |
8 (0.3) |
7 (0.3) |
3 (0.1) |
2 (0.1) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2 (0.1) |
4 (0.2) |
12 (0.5) |
51 (2.1) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 6.6 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 72 | 69 | 68 | 60 | 57 | 58 | 66 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 70 | 71 | 66.5 |
Average dew point °C (°F) | 6.6 (43.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
9.8 (49.6) |
11.7 (53.1) |
15.3 (59.5) |
18.8 (65.8) |
19.4 (66.9) |
17.4 (63.3) |
14.3 (57.7) |
10.7 (51.3) |
7.9 (46.2) |
12.2 (54.0) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 205.6 | 198.8 | 256.7 | 280.3 | 325.1 | 357.9 | 332.6 | 342.8 | 280.5 | 278.0 | 229.7 | 205.3 | 3,293.3 |
Source: NOAA[23] |
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