Helwan ( , ), also spelled
Hilwan or
Hulwan or
Holwan, is a city in
Egypt and part of
Greater Cairo, on the bank of the
Nile, opposite the ruins of
Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of
Cairo, it served as the capital of the now defunct
Helwan Governorate from April 2008 to April 2011, after which it was re-incorporated into the
Cairo Governorate. The
kism of Helwan had a population of 643,327 at the 2006 population
census.