al-Fustat

The first city founded in Egypt by the Muslims (643) on the east bank of the Nile by the small Greek town of Babylon. It was later divided into two districts, on the river bank and on the desert plain. It developed as a commercial center, in contrast to its military-aristocratic neighbor al-Kahira (Cairo), founded in 969. Al-Fustat was incorporated with Cairo in the 12th century.