Giza or Gizah (Arabic, الجيزة, transliterated "al-Gīzah"; pronounced in dialect of Cairo of Egyptian Arabic "eg-Gīza;" also sometimes spelled in English as Gizeh, Ghizeh, or Geezeh) is a town in Egypt. It is on the west bank of the Nile river. It is about 20 km southwest of central Cairo. Today it is part of the greater Cairo metropolis. It is the capital of the Al Jizah Governorate, and is near the northeast border of this governorate in coordinates . It is right on the banks of the Nile River. It had 4,779,000 people living in it in 1998.