Fustat: The City That Was

Long, long ago, in the land of Egypt, there was a brand-new city called Fustat. It was built right next to where Cairo is today. This city was super important because it was the very first capital of Egypt when new rulers arrived. Think of it like the first big playground built in a new town, where everyone wanted to gather!

A brave general named 'Amr ibn al-'As started building Fustat in AD 641. He even built the very first mosque in Egypt there, called the Mosque of Amr. This city grew and grew, becoming a busy place with about 200,000 people living there at its busiest time. That’s like filling up a whole stadium with people, over and over!

For a long time, Fustat was the most important city. But then, bad guys called Crusaders tried to take over. To stop them, the city's own leader, Shawar, made a really sad choice. He ordered Fustat to be burned down in 1168 so the Crusaders couldn't get its treasures. It was like hiding all your best toys so no one else can play with them!

After Fustat burned, it was mostly forgotten. Later, a new city called Cairo was built nearby. For many years, the old Fustat area was even used as a giant trash dump! But today, archaeologists are digging there, like treasure hunters, finding amazing old things that tell us stories about the people who lived there. Many of these treasures are now in a museum!