Alexandria was founded in c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great, it grew rapidly and became a major centre of Hellenic civilisation, eventually replacing Memphis as Egypt’s capital. It was home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria that ranked among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as the storied Library of Alexandria. Today it is the second-largest city (5.3M) in Egypt after Cairo, the ninth-largest city in Africa, and a major economic centre.
Algiers is the capital and largest city (3.5M) of Algeria, the largest country by total area in Africa and in the Arab world. The present city was founded in 944 by the Berber Zirid dynasty.
Antananarivo, the capital and largest city of Madagascar, sits at 1280 m above sea level in the center of the island. It was founded c. 1610.
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in Africa and in the Arab world: the Greater Cairo metropolitan area has a population of 21.3M. Cairo has long been a centre of the region’s political and cultural life, and is titled “the city of a thousand minarets”.
Cape Town (Kaapstad) is the oldest and second largest (4.7M) city in South Africa, after Johannesburg. The city is known for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is not only a popular international tourist destination in South Africa, but Africa as a whole. It was developed by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East in 1652.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco with a population of 3.7M, and one of the largest financial centers in Africa.
Dar es Salaam is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. With a population of 6.4M people, Dar is the largest city in East Africa and the seventh-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es-Salaam is an important economic centre and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania.
Fez is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.1M. It has the University of Al-Qarawiyyin which was founded in 857 and is considered by some to be the oldest continuously functioning institute of higher education in the world. The city has been called the “Mecca of the West” and the “Athens of Africa.” It is also considered the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco.
Kigali is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. The city was founded in 1907, under German rule. It has a population if 1.1M, and it is said to be the cleanest and safest capital in Africa.
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kinshasa’s population is estimated to be around 10M to 13.3M, it is Africa’s third-largest metropolitan area after Cairo and Lagos, it is also the world’s largest Francophone urban area. The city was established as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881. It was named Léopoldville in honour of King Leopold II of the Belgians, who controlled the Congo Free State.
Kumasi is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana (3.3M). Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the commercial, industrial and cultural capital of the historical Ashanti Empire. Kumasi is alternatively known as “The Garden City” because of its many species of flowers and plants in the past.
Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.3M. It is a major African financial centre and is the economic hub of Nigeria. Lagos is also among the top ten of the world’s fastest-growing cities and urban areas. Eko was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people in the 15th century, Lagos was a name given to the settlement by the Portuguese.
Luanda is the capital and largest city in Angola. Among the oldest colonial cities of Africa, it was founded in 1576 by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais. Luanda is the most populous Lusophone city outside Brazil with over 8.3M inhabitants.
Mogadishu is the capital city and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting with traders all round the Indian Ocean for millennia and has an estimated population of 2.4M. In the 9th–13th century the Sultanate of Mogadishu controlled the Indian Ocean gold trade. Mogadishu enjoyed the height of its prosperity during the 14th–15th centuries.
Mombasa is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. The town is known as the white and blue city, it is the country’s oldest (circa 900 AD) and second-largest city with a population of about 1,2M.
Nairobi is the capital and the largest city of Kenya (4.4M). Nairobi National Park, located in the Southern side of the city, is an important attraction, and the city is dubbed as the “Safari Capital of the World”. Nairobi was founded in 1899 by the colonial authorities in British East Africa as a rail depot on the Uganda–Kenya Railway.