Giza is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 8.8 million as of October 2018. It is located on the west bank of the Nile, 4.9 km southwest of central Cairo, and is a core city of the Greater Cairo metropolis. Giza lies less than 30 km north of Memphis, which was the capital city of the first unified Egyptian state from the days of the first pharaoh, Narmer.
Giza is most famous as the location of the Giza Plateau, the site of some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world, including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, including the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a number of other large pyramids and temples. Giza has always been a focal point in Egypt's history due to its location close to Memphis, the ancient pharaonic capital of the Old Kingdom. Its St. George Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Giza.