Zagazig, Az

Zagazig, Az zäkäzēkˈ [key], city (1986 pop. 244,354), capital of Sharqiyah governorate, N Egypt, in the Nile River delta. It is a leading cotton market, as well as a trade center for grain and a rail and canal junction. Az Zagazig was established as a transportation and market center in the mid-19th cent., when cotton cultivation was spreading in the delta. Nearby are the ruins of the ancient city of Bubastis.

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