“Boss town in Egypt where the people are known for being street smart”;“Don’t bother trying anything on him, he’s from Tanta,” reads the definition of Tanta city in the online urban dictionary. It is true that the people of Tanta (El-Tantaweya) are known in Egypt for being street smart, more or less and not easy to manipulate. But hold that thought for a second and be the judge of whether it’s a “boss town” or not. First, Tanta is the largest city in the Delta and is the most civilized city in Egypt, after the capital, Cairo, and the coastal city of Alexandria. The city first came to be back in the 19th century when the founder of modern Egypt, Muhammed Ali Pasha, appointed his grandson Abbas Touson Pasha as the first governor of El Gharbeya in 1836, giving birth to Tanta’s civilization. Known to be a “university town,” a long list of higher educational institutions are up and running, attracting a large number of students every year. The University of Tanta, an institute attached to the Azhar University, and the medical school associated with Alexandria University are but a…
