The spa of Helwan (Arabic Hammamat Helwan, French Hélouan-les Bains), long a health resort of international reputation, lies some 16mi/25km south of Cairo on a plateau enclosed on the southwest and southeast by steep limestone hills and lying some 165ft/50m above the Valley of the Nile, 2mi/3km away. There are many viewpoints offering extensive
prospects of the Nile Valley and the Pyramids of Saqqara, Dahshur and even Giza. On this favored spot, with its hot springs, its agreeable climate and its beautiful scenery, an artificial oasis was created in the second half of the 19th C. by Khedive Ismail and his son Taufiq, involving the transport of fertile soil from a considerable distance.
Helwan owes its reputation as a spa both to its sulfur and saline springs (91 °F/ 33°C), probably already known in ancient times and brought into use again in 1871-72, and to its warm, dry desert climate. The springs, which are similar in chemical composition to those of Aix-les-Bains in France, are used in the treatment of rheumatic conditions, skin diseases and catarrhs. The climate, with little variation over the day, is beneficial to sufferers from lung and kidney complaints and in all cases where cold and damp must be avoided. In consequence of the stony soil and the strong sunshine the air is unusually pure and dust free.
The rapid industrial development of the town and surrounding area in recent years has largely destroyed the image of the fashionable international spa of the turn of the century. The pattern of the area is now set by its large metalworking plants (aircraft and automobile assembly), factories producing cement, lime and fertilizers, a large power station and a steelworks using iron from the open cast mines in the Bahriya Oasis.
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