History
The Khedivial Astronomical Observatory was built here 1903-1904, and was used to observe Halley's comet. Egypt's oldest and largest private psychiatric clinic, the Behman Hospital, was also constructed here in 1939.
During the early part of the 20th century, the city was the site of RAF Helwan, a major British airbase, which was later used by the Egyptian Air Force.
In April 2008, the Helwan Governorate was split from the Cairo Governorate. It encompassed most of the suburbs, new compounds and villages located in the southern part of Cairo. The city of Helwan became the capital of the new governorate. Following the dissolution of the Helwan Governorate in April 2011, the city of Helwan was reincorporated into the Cairo Governorate.
Read more about this topic: Helwan
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“... all big changes in human history have been arrived at slowly and through many compromises.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“Perhaps universal history is the history of the diverse intonation of some metaphors.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.”
—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)