Tahrir Square

Tahrir Square (Arabic: ميدان التحرير‎ Mīdān at-Taḥrīr, IPA: [meˈdæːn ettæħˈɾiːɾ], English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in Downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations in Cairo that saw the resignation of President Mubarak in 2011, and the ousting of President Morsi in 2013. The square was originally called "Ismailia Square" (ميدان الأسماعيليّة Mīdān al-Ismā‘īliyyah), after the 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail, who commissioned the new downtown district's 'Paris on the Nile' design. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, the square became widely known as Tahrir (Liberation) Square, but the square was not officially renamed until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which changed Egypt from a constitutional monarchy into an autocratic republic. The square was a focal point for the Egyptian Revolution of 2011