Muhafazah
A is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated as "governorate", and occasionally as "province".
It comes from the Arabic root ح-ا-ف-ظ,,, which means to "keep" and "guard".
The head of a is a governor .
The governorates of Tunisia are wilāyah in Arabic.