Regency Beach

Geography
Egypt is located in the north east of the African continent and stretches across the Gulf of Suez. It is bordered by the Gaza Strip, Israel to the east, Libya to the west and Sudan to the south.

The Mediterranean Sea lies to the north of Egypt and the Red Sea washes the eastern coast.

The capital city is Cairo. Other important cities are Alexandria, Aswan and Luxor.

About ninety percent of the country is desert: the Western Desert, a continuation of the Sahara Desert and the Eastern Desert. The deserts are separated by the Nile which flows from the Sudan and through the length of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The remainder of the country consists of the Nile Valley Delta and Sinai.

The Nile, one of the world's great rivers, is really the creator of Egypt through the annual deposits of rich sediments spread across the valley by its regular floods.

The climate is mainly hot and dry. The Mediterranean areas have milder weather and more rain. During the spring hot sandy winds called khamsin blow from the desert regions.

Environment
The flora and fauna vary with the landscape. Among the trees which grow where water is available are acacia, date palm, weeping willow, eucalyptus, sycamore and tamarisk.

Egypt's flowering plants include irises, lilies, the lotus, jasmine and roses. Many different types of grasses and reeds grow along the Nile, the most famous of them is the papyrus reed.

The domesticated animals include buffalo, camels and donkeys. In the desert areas, among the wild animals are desert foxes, gerboas, gazelles and jackals.

Egypt has over thirty species of snakes, some of them very poisonous. The most famous Egyptian snake is the asp with which Cleopatra committed suicide after her army's defeat by Octavian.

Many species of birds are to be found along the Nile: herons, kingfishers, flamingoes and pelicans. Storks, plovers, hoopoes, hawks, vultures and eagles are also present.

There are about two hundred species of fish in the Nile. The Red Sea is particularly rich in coral and tropical marine fish.

The Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser behind it, completed in 1971, have provided continual irrigation and electricity and a thriving fish industry. But its environmental effects have not been wholly beneficial. The sediment which used to be spread by the floods has been bottled up behind the dam reducing the fertility of the downstream fields. Many ancient monuments were also lost under the lake though the temples of Abu Simbel and Philae were moved to safety.

Architecture

Egypt is famous for its ancient architecture. The pyramids which are synonymous with Egypt attract many visitors every year.

Egypt is a mixture of the old and the new: the pyramids, temples and the Sphinx represent ancient Egypt while Alexandria and Cairo contain many modern commercial buildings hotels and urban housing developments. Islamic architecture is, of course, a major feature of Egyptian towns.

Population
The population of Egypt was estimated at 80,335,036 in 2007.

Languages
Arabic is the official language. English and French are also spoken.

Religion
The ancient religion of Egypt had many gods and goddesses. Its concern with life after death was typified by the funerary cult recorded in the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the monumental pyramids built to house the royal dead.

Islam (mainly Sunni) has been Egypt's religion for many centuries. Ten percent of the people are Christians most of them members of the Coptic Church. There are a small number of Jews within Egypt's religious minorities.

Food
Egyptian meals often include pickles, yoghourt, houmous (made from chick peas), tahini (made from sesame seeds), bean dip, felafels, soups and stews. The national dish is Molohia, a thick soup. Fish feature on daily menus. The main meats in the diet are pigeon, chicken, mutton, camel and buffalo. Minced meat is made into rissoles, kofta and shish kebab. Rice pilaf is also a favourite and salad is served with meals. A wide variety of vegetables, okra, sweet potatoes, beans, carrots and lentils, accompany main dishes.

Sweets such as baklava, loukoum (turkish delight) and ice cream are popular.

Egyptians drink a great deal of tea, often flavoured with mint and cinnamon, thick black Turkish coffee and a variety of juices: sugar cane juice, liquorice, ginger, mango and pomegranate. Local beer, wine, spirits (araq - similar to ouzo) are available but Muslims do not drink alcohol.


History
Hundreds of thousands of years ago Egypt was covered with grasslands and the home to hunters and farmers. Tribal kingdoms eventually became two states which were united in 3100 BC with the city of Memphis (later the site of Cairo) as the capital.

There were over thirty Dynasties between 3100 BC and 332 BC. During this time many Pharaohs ruled Egypt. The time known as the "New Kingdom" 1557-1085 BC, saw the reign of Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramses II.

Between 525 BC and 405 BC Egypt was ruled by Persia. Alexander the Great conquered the country in 332 BC. Ptolemy I was the governor of Egypt during Alexander's lifetime and later became king founding the Ptolemy Dynasty of which Queen Cleopatra was the last ruler. Roman rule of Egypt began in 30 BC and continued until 324 AD when it was ruled from Constantinople (the Byzantine Empire). The Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion - the Egyptian Coptic Church eventually separated from the Church of Rome.

From 640 the Arab conquest of the country led to the conversion of the Egyptians to Islam. At the time of the Crusades Saladin became the ruler of Egypt defeating Richard the Lionheart and the Crusaders who tried to conquer the country.

Between 1250 and 1517 the Mamlukes ruled after which Egypt became part of the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the eighteenth century Napoleon tried to take over Egypt but was eventually defeated by the British and the Turks.

British occupation began in 1882 and continued until 1922 when Egypt became a monarchy although the British troops remained stationed in naval bases.

Egypt became a Republic in 1953 under Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1956 Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal Company partly because of the need for finance for the Aswan High Dam. The Suez Crisis followed as Israel, France and Britain invaded Egypt in response to Nasser's decision.

During the Six Day War in 1967 Israel took Gaza and Sinai. Sinai was returned to Egypt in 1982.

In 1970 Sadat succeeded Nasser as President but was assassinated in 1981. Hosni Mubarak became the President on Sadat's death.

Economy
Historically Egypt's prosperity came from its agriculture. The country was described as the granary of the Roman Empire.

The agricultural sector employs over thirty percent of the working population. Crops are rice, maize, wheat, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, citrus fruits and dates. Cotton is one of the country's main exports. Egypt is also famous for breeding Arabian horses. The country's coastline, the Nile and Lake Nasser are important fisheries.

Egypt has large reserves of oil and natural gas. Other natural resources are gypsum, iron ore, lead, limestone, manganese, phosphates and zinc.

Petroleum products are important exports followed by cotton and textiles. Other industries are metals, cement, construction, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, light manufactures and food processing. Local crafts include carvings and ornaments, rugs, carpets and jewellery.

Tourism is a significant earner of foreign exchange. (2006)

Arts
Sculpture, wall paintings and carvings of ancient Egypt reached a high degree of sophistication. In subsequent ages Greek and Roman styles, Christian and Islamic art and the occupying French and British all left their mark on Egypt.

Music has always played an important part in Egyptian life. Flute players, drummers and musicians with a variety of stringed instruments can be seen in the carvings and wall paintings from the times of the Pharaohs. When the Suez Canal was completed in 1869 Verdi was asked to write the opera Aida as a celebration.

The ancient Egyptians used the papyrus reed to make paper on which they recorded not only the records of the administrations but also hymns and poetry. There are papyrus collections of Egyptian texts which have been preserved for up to three millennia. Today Egyptian writers continue the literary tradition. In 1988 the novelist Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his trilogy "Palace Walk", "Palace of Desire" and "Sugar Street".

Egypt has a strong film-making industry dating back to the 1930s.

Sport
Football is very popular in Egypt. Other sports are basketball, golf, hockey and tennis. Swimming is a national sport especially long distance swimming. Egyptian swimmers have swum many of the world's most famous distances such as the English Channel. Scuba diving and sailing attract many visitors. There are horse racing courses in Alexandria and Cairo.

Holidays
As well as the Islamic festivals of the End of Ramadan; the Feast of the Sacrifice and the Birthday of the Prophet Egypt celebrates New Year's Day, Union Day, Labour Day, Evacuation Day (when the British left Egypt), Revolution Day, various National Days, Suez National Day and Victory Day. Sham al-Nassim is the main spring festival. The main Christian festivals such as Easter and Christmas are celebrated by the Coptic Church.

Key Facts

Fossilized remains of a plant eating dinosaur have been found south-west of Cairo. The dinosaur was one of the largest creatures known to have lived.

The Egyptian desert has not always been desert: in some areas marine fossils can be found.

Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005. The Valley contains fossils portraying the transition of a land-based animal to an ocean-going whale.

Egyptian civilization began along the banks of the River Nile.

The name Egypt comes from the Greek name for the country: Egyptos.

The boat found near the pyramid of Cheops is the oldest complete boat in the world - it is believed to be four and a half thousand years old and had been dismantled into over a thousand pieces before being buried.

The Egyptians were the first people known to have separated copper from its ore, about four thousand years ago.

Over three thousand years ago the Egyptians were skilled in the use of geometry to plan the layout of their buildings. It is believed that astronomy may have been significant in the alignment of their pyramids and temples.

Hypatia (born around 370 AD) was the first woman to make a recorded contribution to mathematics.

The Great Pyramid is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The Pharos of Alexandria, a lighthouse 140 m high, was another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Egyptians needed engineering and mathematical skills to control the Nile flooding to ensure the best irrigation and fertilization of their land.

Today the flow of the Nile, the world's longest river, is regulated by the Aswan High Dam.

Experiments with steam power were carried out by Hiero in Egypt at least eighteen hundred years ago.

The Rosetta Stone, discovered during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, carved in 196 BC, was the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics, because it repeated a royal decree in three different scripts, one of which was Greek. From the Greek the other two could be deciphered.

The process of mummification involved removing all moisture and internal organs, then drying the body and anointing it with various preserving chemicals.

The history of Egyptian medicine dates back four thousand years.

The tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.

The final coffin within the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun is of solid gold, weighing 110 kg.

Tutankhamen may have been murdered on the orders of his Chief Minister who married his widow, Ankhesenamen, and became the ruler of Egypt.

As well as preserving the bodies of their rulers, the ancient Egyptians also mummified birds and animals linked to their gods: cats, bulls, crocodiles and ibises have been found in their thousands, carefully mummified and wrapped.

Cats were first domesticated in Egypt. The goddess, Bast, is the patroness of cats and the home.

The Passover celebrates the biblical story of the enslaved Israelites trying to escape from Egypt. The Angel of Death passed over the homes which had been marked over the door posts with lamb's blood and killed the first-born child in every Egyptian house.

The idea of linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean goes back to the age of the Pharaohs. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869.

The French sculptor, Bartholdi proposed a giant statue for the harbour entrance to Port Said. The plan failed because of lack of money but eventually he revived his idea as the Statue of Liberty, New York.

For over two thousand years, Egypt was controlled by foreigners. Nasser was the first native Egyptian leader.