Liberation Square, Cairo

Liberation Square, or Tahrir Square, is the main gathering place for protests and public events in Cairo. It was the scene of 18 days of protests in 2011, during which the people of Egypt forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

Liberation Square was once called Midan Ismailia. After the 1952 Revolution, which transformed Egypt from a monarchy into a republic, it received its present name. The square was the venue of demonstrations in 1881 against Khedive Tawfiq and in 1919 against British rule. In 2003, it hosted demonstrations against the war in Iraq. It has long been a popular place for demonstrations because those opposing government policies have sought to occupy the center of Cairo.

Liberation Square is located at one of Cairo’s main traffic intersections. It consists of a central open area surrounded by busy boulevards. Important institutions are located near the square. look toward its northern side to find the Egyptian Museum, recognizable by its large pinkish façade. Just beyond it, toward the Nile, stands the Nile Ritz-Carlton hotel. The former headquarters of Egypt’s National Democratic Party once stood nearby, between the museum and the river, but the damaged building was later demolished.

On the western side of the square, closer to the Nile, is the headquarters of the Arab League. If you turn toward the southeastern side, you will see the historic downtown campus of the American University in Cairo, centered around its old Greek Campus buildings. The university’s main campus has since moved to New Cairo, but this original location remains an important part of the area.