Tanta

                       


Tanta (Egyptian Arabic: طنطا Ṭanṭa  pronounced [ˈtˤɑntˤɑ]) is a city in Egypt. It is the country's fifth largest populated area, with an estimated 429,000 inhabitants (2008).Tanta is located 94 km (58 mi) north to Cairo and 130 km (81 mi) southeast of Alexandria. The capital of the Gharbia Governorate, it is a centre for the cotton-ginning industry and the main railroad hub of the Nile Delta.
OVERVIEW
Tanta is known for its sweets, eaten during the Maulid (Arabic: المولد‎) festivals. The main streets are Al- Bahr (Algeish) Street, Al-Galaa Street, Al-Nahaas Street, Hassan Radwan Street, Saeed Street and El-Helw Street.

Tanta has cotton ginning factories and textile industries, and is also a university town (Tanta University since 1972)and an institute attached to the El-Azhar University in Cairo as well as the seat of a Metropolitan of the Coptic Church.


This city comes to life in late October at the end of the cotton harvest. About two million people from around the Delta and other parts of the Arab world come for the Moulid of Sayid Ahmed el-Badawi, which is an eight day celebration. The moulid is centered around the Mosque and Tomb of Sayid Ahmed el Badawi. El Badawi was the founder of one of Egypt's largest Sufi orders called Badawiya. He was born in Morocco, but emigrated to Arabia. He was sent to Tanta in 1234 as a representative of the order from Iraq. He was given permission to start a new order in Tanta and it soon flourished. His tomb was destroyed in the mid-nineteenth century but another was built and is the center of the festival. During the festival many sugar-coated nuts called 'hubb el Azziz' ('seeds of the Beloved Prophet') are eaten. They have been considered a delicacy since ancient times. The Museum of Tanta contains collections from the present day back to Pharaonic times.

HISTORY
Three annual festivals are held in Tanta in honor of Ahmad al-Badawi, a revered Sufi figure of the 13th century, who founded the El-Ahmadiah tariqah and is buried in the main mosque of the city (see Egyptian festivals).

FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN TANTA

Kamal Amin (Arabic: كمال أمين‎‎) (1923–1979) Egyptian Artist.

Abdu Al-Hamouli (Arabic: عبده الحامولى‎‎) (1836–1901) Arab-Egyptian singer in the second half of the 1800s.

Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary (Arabic: محمود خليل الحصرى‎‎) (1917–1980) Renowned reciter of the Qur'an.

Mohamed Fawzi (Arabic: محمد فوزى‎‎), (1918–1966) Egyptian composer, singer, and actor.

Naima Akef (Arabic: نعيمة عاكف‎‎) (1939–1966) Egyptian bellydancer and movie superstar.

Doria Shafiq (Arabic: درية شفيق‎‎) (1908–1975) On9e of the few who led the Women's Liberation Movement in Egypt in the early 1950s.

Dr. Osama abou Hammer NeuroPsychiatrist Consultant based In London, simplified the disease strikes Psychological and Behavioral problems in Media.

Mustafa Kamil Pasha (1874–1908) Egyptian nationalist leader, orator, and editor.

Ahmed Hegazy (1936 - ) Popularly known as "Hegazy" - caricature artist.

Nasr Abu Zayd "Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd" (1943–2010) Egyptian Qur'anic thinker and a liberal theologian in Islam.

Ahmed Khaled Tawfik (1962 - ) Egyptian author.

Ahmed Gamal Runner-up of the second season of Arab Idol

Amina Rizk (1910–2003) Egyptian actress.

Source:
Wikipedia