Up until the time of the 1952 revolution, the districts known as Tura Al Asment, Kozzika and Tura Al Balad – now all metro stations - were formerly one place known as Tura. It was described by a ninth century historian as, "a village lying to the east of the Nile and close to Al Fustat with Massara to the south and Maadi to the north."

It was here, in 3300 BC, that the Pharaoh Mina trained his army before setting off from this spot to fight the battle that resulted in the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt that year, symbolized in the double crown worn by Mina and successive pharaohs.

During the early Roman era, Tura was known as Mendrorum, which means the City of the Elite. It was later called Trouba during the age of the Roman military leader Menilas, while the nearby mountain was called the mountain of the Troubians, the camp of Menilas' soldiers.

Tura continued to play a historical role after the adoption of Christianity as one of Egypt's military strongholds, as well as a sanctuary for Coptic worshippers, monks and hermits.

During the Roman persecution of Christians in the late 3rd century and early 4th century, a period referred to by Copts as "the age of martyrs," a member of the court of the pagan Roman Prince Celtianus who was later named Abu Girg, converted to Christianity. The prince consequently ordered the torture and finally the killing of Abu Girg. He was buried as a Copt and a monastery was built over his tomb at Tura.

In AD 394, St. Arsenius, a native of Rome, who was the tutor of the Roman Princes Arcadius and Honorius, sons of Theodosius the Great, left his position to become a disciple of St. John the Short in Wadi Natrun. After the Roman raids on the wadi in 408, Arsenius fled to Tura, where he spent the following 12 years. Another monastery was established at this spot to honor St. Arsenius. In 1010, it was partially destroyed by Al Hakem Bi Amrilla during his persecution of Christians. Today, the ruins at this site overlooking the Nile Valley are still impressive. The surviving niche of a small chapel shows Coptic writing and the remains of wall paintings, and the fireplace and oil press can be discerned, as well as the cemetery to the south.

The 15th century Egyptian historian Maqrizi recorded the existence of a third monastery south of Tura called "Shimdan," which was known earlier as that of St. Marcarius. Another victim of Roman persecutions, Marcarius died a martyr. At the monastery named after him, recorded Maqrizi, Copts annually commemorated his martyrdom on the fifth Friday of every Al Siam Al Kabir, (the Great Fast), the period of fasting leading up to Easter. Maqrizi adds that Tura was believed to be one of the most sanctified places in Cairo where prayers are most often answered, possibly due to the large

number of saints martyred here.

In 1803, the Mamluk Ismail Bey Al Aranoudy built a fortress overlooking the Nile at Tura, but only a few years later the Albanian Muhammad Ali gained victory over the last of the Mamluks in Egypt, who refuted firearms for the sake of nobility. Mohammed Ali Pasha then assumed control of the country.

The new ruler established a military training school at Tura, and his successor the Khedive Ismail ordered the building of gun factories here.

By that time, as well as the military base in the south of Tura, there were workshops for cutting rocks for military buildings in the north, while in the west workshops manufacturing gun-powder had been set up, and in the east a windmill had been built.

In contemporary times, Tura is known as one of the most polluted areas of Cairo, hosting many unsightly buildings. With its long history, however, the area could easily have become a major cultural, historical and tourist attraction.

(Researched by Hamed Mohamed)