Salamiyah

Salamieh (or Salamiyah) سلمية
View of Salamieh
Nickname:  The mother of Cairo
Salamieh (or Salamiyah) Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°0′42.48″N 37°3′9″E / 35.0118000°N 37.05250°E / 35.0118000; 37.05250
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama
District	Salamiyah
Subdistrict	Salamiyah
Settled	3500 BCE
Elevation	475 m (1,558 ft)
Population  (2004 census)
• Total	66,724
• Ethnicities	Arab
• Religions	Ismailis and Alawites
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code	33

Salamiyah or Salamieh (Arabic: سلمية Salamieh) is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located 33 kilometres (21 miles) southeast of Hama, 45 kilometres (28 miles) northeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed the "mother of Cairo" because it was the birthplace of the second Fatimid caliph al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, whose dynasty would eventually establish the city of Cairo, and the early headquarters of his father Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah who founded the Fatimid Caliphate. The city is an important center of the Shi'ite Nizari Isma'ili and Taiyabi Isma'ili Islamic schools and also the birthplace of influential poet Muhammad al-Maghut. The population of the city is 66,724 (2004 census).^[1]