Egypt is one of the countries most often named in the Quran. The story of Joseph, the struggle between Moses and Pharaoh and the departure of the Children of Israel all unfold there. Yusuf 12:21 speaks of the Egyptian who bought Joseph, 12:99 of Joseph welcoming his family into Egypt, Yunus 10:87 of the revelation to Moses and Aaron to settle their people in houses in Egypt, and az-Zukhruf 43:51 of Pharaoh's boast, "Is not the kingdom of Egypt mine?"
It is not known with certainty under which pharaohs, or in which cities, the Quranic events took place. The marker shows the ruins of Memphis, one of the capitals of ancient Egypt, and stands for the country as a whole.
Whether the word "misr" in al-Baqarah 2:61 means Egypt specifically or simply "a town" has been debated by commentators.