Al-Salamiyah

Salamiyah (Arabic:سلمية‎ Salamīya) is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located 33 km southeast of Hama, 45 km northeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed the "mother of Cairo" because it was the birthplace of the second Fatimid Caliph Muhammad al-Qaim Bi-Amrillah, whose dynasty would eventually establish the city of Cairo, and the early headquarters of his father Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah who founded the Fatimid Caliphate. The city is an important center of the Shiite Nizari Ismaili sect and also the birthplace of poet Muhammad al-Maghut. The population of the city is 66,724 (2004 census).