What are the Governorates of Egypt?

Egypt is divided into 27 governorates (muhafazat), each led by a governor appointed by the president. Some governorates cover a single large city, such as Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said and Suez, while others stretch across the Nile Valley and Delta or cover vast desert areas, like Matrouh and New Valley. The modern system has its roots in the provinces (mudiriyas) set up by Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century to manage agriculture and taxes along the Nile. The map has changed several times since then: Luxor became a governorate in 2009, and two governorates created in 2008, Helwan and 6th of October, were merged back into Cairo and Giza in 2011.