Zagazig

Egypt · Africa

About Zagazig

Zagazig is a city in Egypt. Situated in the eastern part of the Nile delta, it is the capital of the governorate of Sharqia. It is located on the Muweis Canal and is a hub of the corn and cotton trade. The city contains the Museum of Tal Basta Antiquities, including archaeological exhibits.

The city is home to Zagazig University, founded in 1974, one of the largest universities in Egypt, with colleges in different fields of science and arts. The Archaeological Museum of the University of Zagazig exhibits significant finds from the nearby sites, Bubastis (Tell Basta) and Kufur Nigm. The most notable streets in Zagazig are Farouk Street, Government Street, Abu Hamad and El Kawmia Street.

The city was founded in the 19th century on the site of a village called Nazlat az-Zaqāzīq which was named after the Zaqzuq family. The family's name itself comes from a dialectal word zaqzuq or ziqziq which means "A small creature" (e.g. a fish or a mouse) and comes from a Coptic word ϫⲉⲕϫⲓⲕ "Ant or other insect".

The ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Bubastis are located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southeast of town...

Zagazig travel guide

Understand

It is the capital of the Sharqia Governorate, and is a hub of the corn and cotton trade.

Getting there

By plane Cairo International Airport is the nearest international gateway to it and it is only an hour by car from the Airport.

By bus You can reach the city by the Public Bus Service which is being run by "East of Delta co." or "Shark Al-Delta" as pronounced in Arabic.

By train You can reach to the city using the Egyptian National Railways which is called in Arabic "Sekak Hadeed Masr" and the city is about 1.5 hours away from Cairo. 1 Zagazig railway station is centrally located at Orabi square.

By taxi From Aboud station you can reach the city using the road which connects "Cairo-Banha-Minyat Al Kamh- Zagazig" or From the El salam station "Locally widely known as Al aashr station" using the desert way to Belbies to Zagazig.

See

1 Museum of leader Ahmed Orabi (متحف الزعيم أحمد عرابى), Ahmed Orabi St. 08:00-19:00 daily. Museum dedicated to one of the first nationalist leaders in Egypt who was born here in 1841. Also includes exhibitions on the culture of the Sharqia region. (updated Jul 2017) 2 Tell Basta (Bubastis) (to the southeast). The ruins of the ancient sacred city of Bastet, the cat goddess. There are ruins of temples and catacombs of sacred cats. (updated Aug 2020) 3 Museum of Tell Basta Antiquities (متحف تل بسطة), Zakazik First (northwest of Bubastis archaeological site), ☏ +20 55 2299381. 09:00-17:00 daily. Museum with Egyptian relics related to Bubastis, in particular to the cat goddess Bastet along with ushabti statues and mummies of the 18th dynasty. Pottery and mummy preservation stuff. (updated Sep 2020)

Eat

Mo'men, tolba ewida street. Egyptian fast food restaurant Freskas. best sandwiches in zagazig

Go next

1 Tanis (adjacent to San Al Hagar township). Where Indiana Jones found the 'Lost Ark'. It's an archaeological ruin of the Late Period (8th-4th century BCE) built up by Psusennes I and later Pharaohs that really hasn't fared well, there just being some obelisks and stelae scattered about a partly excavated field with glass shard debris. It is not of the same preservation caliber as other ancient Egyptian ruins, sadly and may take some know-how/perseverance to visit, as it's not commercialized or developed. (updated Sep 2020) 2 Sadat Quraish Mosque, in Bilbeis. (updated Sep 2020)

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.