Egypt the “Gift of the Nile.”

Egypt, with vast swaths of desert in its east and west and the rich Nile River Valley at its heart, is site to one of the world’s earliest and greatest civilizations. Its location at the northeast corner of Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea has made it a cultural and trading center. But its location has also made it a prize to claim by empires and put it at the center of social and religious movements.

Country profile

Arab Republic of Egypt

Establishment
Capital and largest city	Cairo 30°2′N 31°13′E
Official languages	Arabic
National language	Egyptian Arabic^[a]
Religion	See Religion in Egypt
Demonym(s)	Egyptian
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic

• President	Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
• Prime Minister	Moustafa Madbouly
• House Speaker	Hanafi Ali Gibali
Legislature	Parliament

• Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt^[1]^[2]^[b]	c. 3150 BC
• Muhammad Ali dynasty inaugurated	9 July 1805^[3]
• Independence from United Kingdom	28 February 1922
• Revolution Day	23 July 1952
• Republic declared	18 June 1953
• Current constitution	18 January 2014
Area
• Total	1,010,408^[4]^[5] km² (390,121 sq mi) (29th)

Currency	Egyptian pound (E£) (EGP)
Time zone	UTC+2^[c] (EGY)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+20
ISO 3166 code	EG
Internet TLD	.eg

Mt Sinai Sunrise and St Catherine Monastery. One of the oldest monasteries in the world, St. Catherine's stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, amid the desert mountains of the Sinai Peninsula, where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. — **Mt Sinai Sunrise and St Catherine Monastery.**
One of the oldest monasteries in the world, St. Catherine’s stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, amid the desert mountains of the Sinai Peninsula, where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments.

Background

Egypt, country located in the northeastern corner of Africa. Egypt’s heartland, the Nile River valley and delta, was the home of one of the principal civilizations of the ancient Middle East and, like Mesopotamia farther east, was the site of one of the world’s earliest urban and literate societies. Pharaonic Egypt thrived for some 3,000 years through a series of native dynasties that were interspersed with brief periods of foreign rule.

**Alexandria**
**Alexandria has a history that not many others can match.**
Founded by Alexander the Great, home of Cleopatra, and razzmatazz renegade city of the Mediterranean for much of its life, this seafront city has an appealing days-gone-by atmosphere that can’t be beaten

After Alexander the Great conquered the region in 323 BCE, urban Egypt became an integral part of the Hellenistic world. Under the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty, an advanced literate society thrived in the city of Alexandria, but what is now Egypt was conquered by the Romans in 30 BCE. It remained part of the Roman Republic and Empire and then part of Rome’s successor state, the Byzantine Empire, until its conquest by Arab Muslim armies in 639–642 CE.

Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage along the Nile Delta back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government.Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of scientific and popular interest. Egypt’s long and rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, which reflects its unique transcontinental location being all Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African.

Siwa town is centered around the ruins of a vast mud-brick citadel, known as the Fortress of Shali, which dominates the view, while various temple remnants, including the Temple of the Oracle where Alexander the Great is said to have come to receive advice, are scattered throughout the wider oasis area.

Egypt was an early and important centre of Christianity, but was largely Islamised in the seventh century and remains a predominantly Muslim country, albeit with a significant Christian minority.

According to Wikipedia, Modern Egypt dates back to 1922, when it gained independence from the British Empire as a monarchy. Following the 1952 revolution, Egypt declared itself a republic, and in 1958 it merged with Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which dissolved in 1961. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Egypt endured social and religious strife and political instability, fighting several armed conflicts with Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, and occupying the Gaza Strip intermittently until 1967. In 1978, Egypt signed the Camp David Accords, officially withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and recognising Israel.

White Desert Egypt The fabled White Desert of Egypt is a very interesting area in Egypt can be found 28 miles north of the town of Farafra. The desert has an otherworldly beauty with bizarre, ghost-white rock formations sprouting from the desert sands. The strange structures are actually huge chalk formations created as a result of occasional sandstorms in the area. — **White Desert Egypt**
The fabled White Desert of Egypt is a very interesting area in Egypt can be found 28 miles north of the town of Farafra. The desert has an otherworldly beauty with bizarre, ghost-white rock formations sprouting from the desert sands. The strange structures are actually huge chalk formations created as a result of occasional sandstorms in the area.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the “gift of the Nile.” Indeed, the country’s rich agricultural productivity—it is one of the region’s major food producers—has long supported a large rural population devoted to working the land. Present-day Egypt, however, is largely urban. The capital city, Cairo, is one of the world’s largest urban agglomerations, and manufacturing and trade have increasingly outstripped agriculture as the largest sectors of the national economy. Tourism has traditionally provided an enormous portion of foreign exchange, but that industry has been subject to fluctuations during times of political and civil unrest in the region

Egypt is considered to be a regional power in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world, and a middle power worldwide. With one of the largest and most diversified economies in the Middle East, which is projected to become one of the largest in the world in the 21st century, Egypt has the second-largest economy in Africa, the world’s 33rd-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the 19-largest by PPP. Egypt is a founding member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the World Youth Forum

**Karnak Temple**
**Famed for the Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple, and the Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut, the Nile-side town of Luxor in Upper Egypt has a glut of tourist attractions.**
**This is ancient Thebes, power base of the New Kingdom pharaohs, and home to more sights than most can see on one visit.**

Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt’s landscape is desert, with a few oases scattered about. Winds create prolific sand dunes that peak at more than 30 metres (100 ft) high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats and were referred to as the “red land” in ancient Egypt.

Towns and cities include Alexandria, the second largest city; Aswan; Asyut; Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital and largest city; El Mahalla El Kubra; Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu; Hurghada; Luxor; Kom Ombo; Port Safaga; Port Said; Sharm El Sheikh; Suez, where the south end of the Suez Canal is located; Zagazig; and Minya. Oases include Bahariya, Dakhla, Farafra, Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa.

Culture

Pyramids of Giza The last surviving of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza are one of the world's most recognizable landmarks. — **Pyramids of Giza**
**The last surviving of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza are one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks.**

According to Wikipedia, Egypt is a recognised cultural trend-setter of the Arabic-speaking world. Contemporary Arabic and Middle-Eastern culture is heavily influenced by Egyptian literature, music, film and television. Egypt gained a regional leadership role during the 1950s and 1960s, giving a further enduring boost to the standing of Egyptian culture in the Arabic-speaking world.

Egyptian identity evolved in the span of a long period of occupation to accommodate Islam, Christianity and Judaism; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken descendant, Egyptian Arabic which is also based on many Ancient Egyptian words.

The Abu Simbel Temples are one of the most instantly-recognisable historical sights in Egypt. They are massive rock temples built by the ancient Egyptians between 1264 BC and 1244 BC. Known as the Temple of Ramesses, beloved by Amun they are one of six rock templates built-in Nubia during the reign of Ramesses II.

The work of early 19th century scholar Rifa’a al-Tahtawi renewed interest in Egyptian antiquity and exposed Egyptian society to Enlightenment principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer Ali Mubarak a native Egyptology school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as Suyuti and Maqrizi, who themselves studied the history, language and antiquities of Egypt.

**Marsa Alam is another gorgeous resort town to discover in Egypt. Situated on the Red Sea, it’s renowned for its pristine beaches and numerous coral reefs.**

Egypt’s renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like Muhammad Abduh, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, Muhammad Loutfi Goumah, Tawfiq el-Hakim, Louis Awad, Qasim Amin, Salama Moussa, Taha Hussein and Mahmoud Mokhtar. They forged a liberal path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to personal freedom, secularism and faith in science to bring progress.

Arts

**Rosetta Stone,**
Rosetta (also called Ar Rashid) is a city located on the western bank of the Nile River, 65km Northeast of Alexandria. Founded in the 9th-Century, Rosetta has an interesting history, incredible architecture and a vibrant culture. Rosetta is mostly known for being the birthplace of the Rosetta Stone, which was used to translate ancient Egyptian into Ancient Greek.

The Egyptians were one of the first major civilisations to codify design elements in art and architecture. Egyptian blue, also known as calcium copper silicate is a pigment used by Egyptians for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pigment. The wall paintings done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Egyptian civilisation is renowned for its colossal pyramids, temples and monumental tombs.

Well-known examples are the Pyramid of Djoser designed by ancient architect and engineer Imhotep, the Sphinx, and the temple of Abu Simbel. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene, from the vernacular architecture of Hassan Fathy and Ramses Wissa Wassef, to Mahmoud Mokhtar‘s sculptures, to the distinctive Coptic iconography of Isaac Fanous. The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital.

**The Fjord Bay (Taba)**
**Taba is one of the most spectacular locations to pay a visit to in Egypt. It is a colourful little town positioned at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba.**

Feature image: Aswan is a historic city on the southern end of the Nile River. Aswan is one of the oldest cities in Egypt and has a rich history dating back many thousands of years

Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/egypt, Britannica, Wikipedia, globalgrasshopper.com, www.viator.com https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/egypt-egy.htm