egypt

Egypt (Arabic: مصر (help·info)   romanized Miṣr, in Egyptian Arabic Máṣr), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa. Egypt is geographically situated in Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula, east of the Suez Canal, connecting as a land bridge to Asia.

Covering an area of about 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,560 square miles), Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and Israel and the Gaza Strip to the northeast; on the north and the east are the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, respectively.

Egypt (Misr) is the sixteenth most populous country in the world. The vast majority of its 78.8 million population (2006) live near the banks of the Nile River (about 40,000 km² or 15,450 sq miles), where the only arable agricultural land is found. Large areas of land are part of the Sahara Desert and are sparsely inhabited. About half of the Egyptian people today are urban, living in the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East, and Alexandria.

Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most ancient and important monuments, including the Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza; the southern city of Luxor contains a particularly large number of ancient artifacts such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Today, Egypt is widely regarded as the main political and cultural centre of the Arab and Middle Eastern regions.

Etymology

km.t in hieroglyphs

Miṣr, the Arabic and official name for modern Egypt, is of Semitic origin directly cognate with the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם (Mitzráyim), meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt), and possibly means "a country" or "a state".^[1] Miṣr in Arabic also means "a country" or "a state". The ancient name for the country, kemet, or "black land," is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the 'red land' (deshret) of the desert. This name became keme in a later stage of Coptic and appeared in early Greek as Chymeía. The English name "Egypt" came via the Latin word Aegyptus derived from the ancient Greek word Αίγυπτος (Aigyptos). According to Strabo, Αίγυπτος (Aigyptos), in ancient Greek meant "below the Aegean" (Aἰγαίου ὑπτίως, "Aegaeou uptiōs"), and was formed by the combination of the two words. It has also been suggested that the word is a corruption of the ancient Egyptian phrase hwt-k3-ptḥ (probably for *Hāwit-kāʔ-Pitáḥ") meaning "home of the Ka (Soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple of the god Ptah at Memphis.^[2]

Further information: Copt

History

Main articles: History of Egypt and Ancient Egypt

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom was founded circa 3200 BC by King Narmer, and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia.

Egypt is known for the many famous pyramids it holds. The earliest of which, the step pyramids are considered the earliest large-scale stone constructions. The pyramid of Djoser built by the famous Egyptian architect Imhotep for the burial of his pharaoh Djoser of the third dynasty was the first Egyptian pyramid. However, the best known pyramids, the pyramids of Giza were built during the fourth dynasty as tombs for pharoah Khufu, his son Khafra and his grandson Menkaura.

Chronologically, the ancient Egyptian history is divided into several periods with the Old Kingdom beginning with the third dynasty, when the art of embalming began, and after a time of unrest and disarray, the Middle Kingdom followed where the country was united again. Next, a second period of unrest followed, during which Egypt fell into the Hyksos but only to be followed by a great time of wealth and power for Egypt, the New Kingdom. This period is marked by a number of famous pharoahs including the female Hatshepsut and Akhenaten, founder of the first monotheistic religion, Atenism. The marvellous tombs of Valley of the Kings belong to this period including the famous tomb of Tutankhamun.

The last native dynasty, known as the Thirtieth Dynasty, fell to the Persians in 343 BC who dug the predecessor of the Suez canal and connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Later, Egypt fell to the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Persians again.

After the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the seventh century, the Muslim Arabs introduced Islam and the Arabic language to the Egyptians, who gradually adopted both. Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Ayyubid dynasty, a local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern even after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. After the end of the French Invasion of Egypt in 1801, a series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamelukes, and Albanian mercenaries resulting in the Albanian Muhammad Ali taking control of Egypt where he was appointed as the Ottoman viceroy in 1805. The reign of Muhammad Ali and his successors continued till the declaration of Egyptian republic on June 18, 1953.

Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub; however, the country also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the United Kingdom seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914 when as a result of the declaration of war with the Ottoman Empire, Britain declared a protectorate over Egypt and deposed the khedive, replacing him with his uncle who was appointed Sultan of Egypt.

Almost fully independent from the UK since 1922, the Egyptian Parliament drafted and implemented a new constitution in 1923 under the leadership of the popular revolutionary Saad Zaghlul. Between 1924-1936, there existed a short-lived but successful attempt to model Egypt's constitutional government after the European style of government; known as Egypt's Liberal Experiment. The British, however, retained a degree of control which led to continued instability in the government. In 1952, a military coup d'état forced King Farouk I, a constitutional monarch, to abdicate in support of his son King Ahmed Fouad II.

Finally, the Egyptian Republic was declared on 18 June 1953 with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. After Naguib was also forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the real architect of the 1952 movement, the latter assumed power as President and forced the British out of Egypt declaring the full independence of Egypt from UK on June 18, 1956. He also nationalized the Suez Canal on July 26, 1956 leading to the 1956 Suez Crisis. Nasser came out of the war an Arab hero, and Nasserism won widespread influence in the region though was met with mixed reactions amongst Egyptians, many of whom had previously been indifferent to Arab nationalism.

Between 1958 and 1961, Nasser undertook to form a union between Egypt and Syria known as the United Arab Republic. This attempt too was met with mixed reactions, and it was clear that many Egyptians resented finding that the name of their country, which had endured for thousands of years, was suddenly eliminated. Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, in which Egypt lost the Sinai to Israel, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat, who presented his takeover in terms of a Corrective Revolution. Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972, and launched the Infitah economic reform, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. Egypt's name was also restored.

In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched a surprise attack on Israel in the October War (also known as the Yom Kippur War). Despite not being a complete military success, most accounts agree that the war presented Egypt with a political victory. Both the United States and the USSR intervened, and a cease-fire was reached between Egypt and Israel. In 1977, Sadat made a historical visit to Israel which led to the 1978 peace treaty in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League (it was readmitted in 1989). Sadat was assassinated in Cairo by a fundamentalist military soldier in 1981, and succeeded by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak.

Military

Main article: Military of Egypt

The Egyptian military is one of the largest and strongest military power on the African continent and the Middle East. The Egyptian Armed forces have also had more battle-field experience than most armies in the region. The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel.

The Supreme Commander is the President, currently Hosni Mubarak. During peacetime, the title of Supreme Commander is ceremonial.

Conscription is compulsory for Egyptian men of 18 years of age who are not the only male child. Full-time students may defer their service until the age of 28. The length of the service depends on the level and kind of education achieved by the conscript and needs of the army at the time of conscription.

Military cooperation between the United States and Egypt is strong, and covers a number of strategic areas, including cooperation in the ongoing process of modernising Egyptian armaments and training the Egyptian armed forces. In fact, second only to Israel, Egypt receives the highest amount of military aid from the United States.

Egypt takes part regularly in military exercises with the US and other European and Arab allies, including the manoeuvres that take place in Egypt every two years.

Egypt continues to contribute regularly to United Nations peacekeeping missions, most recently in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Administrative Divisions

Main article: Governorates of Egypt

Egypt is divided into 26 governorates (Muhafazat; singular – Muhafazah) and the city of Al Uqsur (Luxor), which is classified as a city rather than a governorate. There will soon be 27 governorates, as the city of Al Uqsur is becoming a governorate.

Governorates Regionally Classified

For many practical purposes (See Nawar (2005)), governorates are often regionally classified as follows:

• Urban Governorates: Port Said, Cairo, Suez and Alexandria
• Lower Governorates: Damietta, Ismailia, Gharbia, Kalyoubia, Dakahlia, Menoufia, Sharkia, Kafr El-Sheikh and Behera
• Upper Governorates: Aswan, Giza, Luxor, Quena, Beni-Suef, Menia, Suhag, Assyout and Fayoum
• Frontier Governorates: Red Sea, New Valley, Matrouh, North Sinai and South Sinai.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Egypt

Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than 5 million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf area like UAE, and Europe. The United States as well has a large population of Egyptian immigrants.

The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy.

The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal.

Economic conditions are starting to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Egypt

Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East and the second-most populous on the African continent, with nearly 79 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Alexandria and Cairo) and in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 90% of the population adheres to Islam and most of the remainder to Christianity (primarily the Coptic Orthodox denomination). Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the fellahin or farmers of rural villages.

Since ancient times, particularly before the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, North African and Eastern Mediterranean influences have come to predominate in the north, while Egyptians in the south are also related to Nubians, Eritreans and Ethiopians. Despite these differences, the bulk of modern Egyptians are more closely related to one another and are descended from ancient Egyptian society, which has always been rural and quite populous compared to neighboring regions.^{[3] [4]} The Egyptian people have spoken only languages from the Afro-Asiatic family throughout their history starting with Old Egyptian to modern Egyptian Arabic.

The Arabization of Egypt was a cultural process that began with the introduction of Islam and the Arabic language following the Arab Muslim conquest in the 7th century AD. In the centuries to follow, a social hierarchy was created whereby Egyptians who converted to Islam acquired the status of mawali or "clients" to the ruling Arab elite, while those who remained Christian, the Copts, became dhimmis. The privilege enjoyed by the Arab minority continued in a modified form into the modern period in the countryside, where remnants of Bedouin Arab tribes lived alongside Egyptian farmers. One author describes the social demographics of rural Upper Egypt as follows:

Upper Egypt comprises the country's eight southernmost governorates. ... the region's history is one of isolated removal from the center of national life. The local relationships resulting from this centuries-old condition gave Upper Egypt an identity of its own within the modern Egyptian state. Alongside the even more ancient presence of Copts, tribal groupings dating from the Arab conquest combined to form a hierarchical order that placed two [minority] groups, the ashraf and the arab, in dominating positions. These were followed by lesser tribes, with the [Egyptian] fellah at the bottom of the social scale(28) [...] Religion was central to the development of Upper Egyptian society. The ashraf claimed direct descent from the Prophet, while the Arabs traced their lineage to a group of tribes from Arabia. On the other hand, the status of the fellahin rested on the belief that they descended from Egypt's pre-Islamic community and had converted to Islam, a history that placed them inescapably beneath both the ashraf and Arabs. [...] In Muslim as well as Christian communities, and particularly at the lower socio-economic levels, religious practices are strongly imbued with non-orthodox folk elements, some of pharaonic origin.^[5]

Fellah in Arabic " فلاح " is equivalent to "tiller", "farmer" or "peasant" in English, and it is the Arabic appellation by which the indigenous rural peoples of the lands conquered by Arabs came to be known. Comprising 60% of the Egyptian population [1], the fellahin lead humble lives and continue to live in mud-brick houses like their ancient ancestors. Their percentage was much higher in the early 20th century, before the large influx of fellahin into urban towns and cities. In 1927, anthropologist Winifred Blackman, author of The Fellahin of Upper Egypt, conducted ethnographic research on the life of Upper Egyptian farmers and concluded that there were observable continuities between the cultural and religious beliefs and practices of the fellahin and those of ancient Egyptians.^[6]

Ethnic minorities in Egypt include the small number of Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern and western deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis of the Siwa Oasis, and the ancient Nubian communities clustered along the Nile in the southernmost part of Egypt. Egypt also hosts some 90,000 refugees and asylum seekers, made up mostly of 70,000 Palestinian refugees and 20,000 Sudanese refugees. The once-vibrant Jewish community in Egypt has virtually disappeared, with only a small number remaining in Egypt and those who visit on religious occasions. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites also remain.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Egypt

Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives as visitors to the country quickly discover. The rolling calls to prayer that erupt five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers.

According to the constitution, any new legislation must implicitly agree with Islamic laws. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at approximately 90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam ^[7]. Christians represent about 10% of the population, with the largest being the Coptic denomination at 9%, while the remaining 1% include Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Armenian Orthodox, largely found in Alexandria and Cairo.

There also remains a small Jewish community, of an estimated three hundred Egyptians^{citation needed]}.

There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction. In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam and its prophet in four of his books.^[8]

The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues.

Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University (Arabic: جامعة الأزهر) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. Egypt also has a strong Christian heritage as evidenced by the existence of the Coptic Orthodox Church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria, which has a following of approximately 50 million Christians worldwide, most importantly in Ethiopia and Eritrea (one of the famous Coptic Orthodox Churches is Saint Takla Haimanot Church in Alexandria).^[9]

Bahá'ís in Egypt, whose population ranges between several hundred and a few thousand, have their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national identity cards (conversely, Islam, Christianity, & Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the Bahá'í Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on 15 May.^[10]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Egypt

At 386,636 mi² (1,001,450 km²[2]), Egypt is the world's 30th-largest country (after Mauritania). It is comparable in size to Tanzania, and is more than half the size of the US state of Alaska.

Egypt is bordered by Libya on the west, Sudan on the south, and on Israel and Gaza Strip on the northeast. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea.

The majority of Egypt is a big, sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over 100 feet high!

Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the great ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Shubra-El-Khema, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya.

Deserts: Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats.

Oases include: Bahariya Oasis, Dakhleh Oasis, Farafra Oasis, Kharga Oasis, Siwa Oasis. An oasis is a fertile or green area in the midst of a desert.

Protectorates : include:Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate, Siwa .... etc. see Egyptian Protectorates

Climate

Egypt has a dry Climate. It is hot in summer, with temperatures averaging between 80° and 90 °F. Winters are warm, with temperatures averaging between 55° and 70 °F. A steady wind from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the coast. The khamsin is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt, usually in spring or summer, It brings sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than 100 °F. Rain seldom seldom falls in Egypt. Along the Mediterranean Coast, the average yearly rainfall is 8 inches. Farther south, only about 1 inch of rain falls every year.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Egypt

Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. The Egyptian Academy of the Arabic Language is responsible for regulating the Arabic Language (Arabic:اللغة العربية ) throughout the world.

Egypt has had a thriving media and arts industry since the late 19th century, today with more than 30 satellite channels and over 100 motion pictures produced each year. Cairo in fact has long been known as the "Hollywood of the East." To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon, a large media city was built. Egypt is also the only Arab country with an opera house.

Some famous Egyptians include:

• Saad Zaghlul (leader of first modern Egyptian revolution; founder of Wafd political party)
• Gamal Abdel Nasser (former president and mastermind of the present republic)
• Anwar Sadat (former president; winner of the Nobel Peace Prize)
• Boutros Boutros-Ghali (former Secretary General of the United Nations)
• Naguib Mahfouz (Nobel Prize-winning novelist)
• Umm Kulthum (singer)
• Amr Diab (singer)
• Mohamed Al-Fayed (famous Egyptian businessman, father of Dodi Al-Fayed who died with Princess Diana in the car crash)
• Omar Sharif (Oscar nominated actor)
• Ahmed Zewail (Nobel Prize-winning chemist)
• Mohamed ElBaradei (Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency; 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Winner)
• Mido (Egyptian soccer star who has played for clubs such as Ajax, Marseille, Celta Vigo, Roma and Tottenham Hotspur)
• Zahi Hawass (One of the world's foremost Egyptologists and Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities)

For more famous Egyptians, see List of Egyptians

See also

• Capital of Egypt
• Communications in Egypt
• Egyptian Federation for Scouts and Girl Guides
• Egyptian mythology
• Egyptian pyramids
• History of Armenians in Egypt
• History of the Jews in Egypt
• Holidays in Egypt
• List of writers from Egypt
• List of Egyptian companies
• List of Egypt-related topics
• List of Egyptians
• List of Egyptian universities
• Red Sea Riviera
• Transport in Egypt

References

General references

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.
  
• This article contains material from the US Department of State's Background Notes which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

External links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica's Egypt Country Page
• Egyptian Government Services Portal
• Egypt State Information Services
• Egypt Information Portal - available in Arabic and English
• BBC News Country Profile - Egypt
• CIA World Factbook - Egypt
• Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt.
• US State Department - Egypt includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Egypt
• Open Directory Project - Egypt directory category
• Egypt travel guide
• Egypt travel guide from Wikitravel
• Egypt Maps - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection
• Egyptian History (urdu)
• Photos of Egypt geolocated in Google Maps
• By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, 1920 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)