Damiata (titular see)
| Damietta دمياط |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 Damietta
دمياط |
|
| Coordinates: 31°25′N 31°49′E / 31.417°N 31.817°E | |
| Country |
 Egypt
|
| Governorate | Damietta |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • City | 337,303 |
| • Metro | 1,100,000 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC+2) |
| Area code(s) | (+20) 57 |
Damietta (Arabic: دمياط Dumyāṭ , IPA: [domˈjɑːtˤ]), also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, a distributary of the Nile, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the Mediterranean Sea, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Cairo.
In Ancient Egypt, the city was known as Tamiat (Coptic: ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ), but in the Hellenistic period it was called Tamiathis (Greek Ταμίαθις). Mentioned by the 6th-century geographer Stephanus Byzantius, the town later became known as Damiata and as Damietta, which probably derived from an ancient Egyptian word "Damt" that means the ability, since Damietta had the ability to combine the salt water of the Mediterranean Sea and the fresh water of the Nile together in one place. Other historians note that the city was called "Tam Heet" which means the city of the water or the city of the running water. Another derivation of the name might be "Tam Hēt", meaning city of North (Coptic: ⲡϯⲙⲉ ϧⲏⲧ).
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