Mashtol El-Souk is a city whose history dates back more than 1,000 years. Its original name was Mashtol El-Tawahen. Mashtol El-Souk has been mentioned in many old books and dictionaries.  It was mentioned by Yaqut El-Hamawi in his Dictionary of Countries as, "… a well-constructed city that is 18 miles from Ain Shams. It contains mills that grind grain which is sent to Cairo." 

At the time of the Ottomans, Mashtol El-Souk included a district called El-Gabakhana, a Turkish name meaning The Armory.  It also contained a large and famous market (the Arabic word for market is ‘souk’) which was held on Mondays.  This is why it was named Mashtol El-Souk.