El-Mahalla El-Kubra

El Mahalla El Kubra (Arabic: المحلة الكبرى, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Egyptian Arabic: [elmæˈħællæ lˈkobɾɑ], Coptic: ϯϣⲁⲓⲣⲓ, Coptic: [təʃˈaɪrə]) – commonly shortened to El Maḥalla – is the largest city of the Gharbia Governorate and in the Nile Delta, with a population of 535,278 as of 2012. It is a large industrial and agricultural city in Egypt, located in the middle of the Nile Delta on the western bank of the Damietta Branch tributary. The city is known for its textile industry, and hosts the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company which employs around 27,000 people. El Mahalla El Kubra consists of two words: El Mahalla in Arabic means "district" or "encampment", El Kubra means "great". Hence the title collectively means "The Great Encampment".[2] The name is probably a rough translation of its Coptic Egyptian equivalent ti-Šairi (Coptic: ϯϣⲁⲓⲣⲓ, lit. 'cohabitation, residence').[3] In the Chronicle of John of Nikiu el-Mahalla is also given a name Didouseya[4], which could be equated with Theodosiou (Coptic: ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲱⲥⲓⲟⲩ). It is given as Theodosiou Nixis (Coptic: ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲱⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲛⲓⲝⲓⲥ) by Daressy, but it's rather an equation of two nearby towns (Theodosiou and Nixis, modern Nawasa (Arabic: نَوَسا)), common for Coptic Scalae, rather than a compound name.[5] The modern area Suq al-Laban is located on Didouseya Hill.[6]