6th of October (Modern Standard Arabic: السادس من أكتوبر Al Sādis Min Uktōber; Egyptian Arabic: ستة اكتوبر Setta Oktōbar) is a city in the Giza Governorate of Egypt. It is a satellite city, located adjacent to Giza, and is part of the Greater Cairo region.^[2]

The city served as the capital of the now-defunct 6th of October Governorate, which was dissolved in 2011. Established as a new city in the desert,^[3] it hosts many local students, as well as foreign students from the Persian Gulf Arab states, Jordan, Nigeria, Cameroon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine.

History[edit]

The settlement was established in 1979 by the 504th presidential decree of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. It is 32 km (20 mi) from the center of Cairo and 17 km (11 mi) from the great pyramids of Giza. Despite having many unfinished or vacant buildings, the city has a total area of 482 km² (119,000 acres) and is eventually expected to have six million residents.^[4]

It was announced as the capital of the 6th of October Governorate in April 2008. Following the governorate's dissolution in April 2011, in the wake of the Egyptian revolution, it was reincorporated into the Giza Governorate, to which it had originally belonged.

The city is named after the date of commencement for Operation Badr, the 6th of October 1973, which began the October War. The same date was chosen as Egypt's Armed Forces Day.