Part of the greater urban area of Cairo, 6th of October City is a satellite town in Egypt and a new cosmopolitan centre in the desert only 17 kilometres away from the famous Great Pyramids of Giza. With a current population of 700,000, many of its inhabitants are students from all over the world studying at the many private universities, with authorities expecting the population to grow to 3.7 million. The city is 32 kilometres from the country’s capital, Cairo, the capital of its governorate of the same name and a thriving and expanding urbanisation project of the modern day.
The city establishes itself upon the industrial zone that provides jobs for its inhabitants including banking sectors, car companies, factories and phone businesses, in addition to containing a number of educational institutions. 6th of October City has seven private universities, including medical schools and institutes focused on arts, architecture, engineering, culture, technology and science. The Misr University for Science and Technology contains a grand opera house which acts as a popular venue for events, shows and concerts. For visitors to Egypt, there are a number of hotels to stay in, shopping malls to explore and parks to enjoy, in addition to cinemas, clubs, paintball fields, and even two amusement parks called Dream Park and Mega Park.
Drivers in Egypt can easily find 6th of October City along the Mehwar highway which connects to Cairo, also the route taken by local microbuses which serve the area. There is no metro system attached to the city, but visitors can explore the city by foot, taxi or by renting a car.
Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat established 6th of October City in 1979. Its unique name is in commemoration of the date of Armed Forces Day in Egypt, the same date as the commencement of the October War which began in 1973.