Nasser City

Nasser City (Arabic: مدينة الناصر madīnat an-nāṣir), officially the Gamal Abdel Nasser Capital District (منطقة العاصمة جمال عبد الناصر minṭaqat al-ʿāṣimah jamāl ʿabd an-nāṣir), is the capital and fourth most populous city of the Arab Union, home to a population of 1.76 million. At only 33 km2, it is the smallest major Arab city and the second most densely populated (after Cairo). Nasser City forms the urban core of the Capital metropolitan community, the nation's third largest metropolitan area with a population of 11.85 million. The federal district, constitutionally under the direct control of the government of the Arab Union, is administered by a devolved council (the Capital District Council) which governs the city as a unitary authority; it is one of only two jurisdictions separate from the republics (federated states) of the Arab Union, alongside the Kurdistan Autonomous Region.

As the seat of the national government, Nasser City is home to such institutions as the Arab Congress, Council of Ministers, Supreme Court of the Arab Union, Central Bank and Shams Palace, as well as the headquarters of all federal ministries, agencies, authorities, offices, enterprises and other national entities. Nasser City is also a major transportation hub: multiple commuter, intercity and long-distance passenger railways terminate at either Union Station or New West Station, including eight AUX (bullet train) lines, and Gamal Abdel Nasser Airport and Lower Galilee Airport serve as the capital's main hubs for international and domestic flights, respectively. The city is divided into 18 districts, which constitute its formal administrative divisions and distinct postcode areas.

Nasser City is bound by the Sea of Galilee to the north and the River Jordan to the west; it is the largest planned city in the Arab Union, established in 1971 following the death of first President of the Arab Union Gamal Abdel Nasser, after whom the city was named. The decision to create a federal capital city outside the jurisdiction of any of the 20 republics was mainly a response to the primacy of Cairo, capital of the Egyptian Arab Republic and the union capital from 1958 to 1971; since Egypt already constituted nearly a third of the total Arab Union population by 1970, President Hafez al-Assad decided the seat of the federal government should be moved to a more neutral setting. As such, following the passing of the Establishment Act, 1971, Nasser City was officially established on territory formally ceded to the union by Palestine. Construction began 10 June 1971, and was completed 22 November 1974, with the federal government finished moving to the new city by the start of 1975.