'Rosetta' ( 'Rashid') is a
port city on the
Mediterranean coast in
Egypt. It is located 65
km (40 miles) east of
Alexandria, at , in
al-Buhayrah governorate. It was founded around
AD 800.
With the decline of Alexandria following the
Ottoman conquest of Egypt in the
16th century, Rashid boomed, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the
19th century it was a popular
British tourist destination, known for its charming Ottoman
mansions,
citrus groves and cleanliness.
The town of Rashid was renamed ''Rosetta'' by the French, who were extremely reluctant to learn
Arabic.
It is famous as the site where the
Rosetta Stone was found by French soldiers in
1799.
History
It is the modern representative of the ancient
Bolbitine, which lay a little farther north. In the
Middle Ages Rosetta was a place of considerable commercial importance, and it continued to flourish until the construction of the
Mahmudiyeh Canal and the improvement of the harbour at
Alexandria diverted most of its trade to the latter city.
Population
The population of Rashid has increased since the
1981s, as follows: in
1983 = 36,711 (approximate), in
1986 = 51,789, and in
1996 = 58,432.
Gallery
References
★ "Rosetta," ''
Encyclopaedia Britannica'', Chicago, 1983.
External links
★ http://www.citypopulation.de/Egypt.html
★
★ Detailed map of Egypt (with many ancient temples):
UniMaps-Egypt.