Egypt

Egypt ( i /ˈiːdʒɪpt/; ‫ﻣﺼﺮ‬, Miṣr,

Arabic: [mesˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ];
Arab Republic of Egypt
Coptic: , Kīmi), officially the
‫( ﺟﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﻣﺼﺮ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬Arabic)
Ǧumhūriyyat Miṣr al- ʿArabiyyah
Arab Republic of Egypt, is a
country mainly in North Africa, with
the Sinai Peninsula forming a land
bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus
a transcontinental country, and a major
power in Africa, the Mediterranean
region, the Middle East and the Islamic
world. Covering an area of about Flag Coat of arms
1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000
sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Anthem:
Mediterranean Sea to the north, the
Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast,
the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the
south and Libya to the west. "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady"
My country, my country, my country

Egypt is one of the most populous

countries in Africa and the Middle
East. The great majority of its
estimated 79 million people[3] live near
the banks of the Nile River, in an area
of about 40,000 square kilometers
(15,000 sq mi), where the only arable
land is found. The large areas of the
Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited.
About half of Egypt's residents live in
urban areas, with most spread across
the densely populated centres of
greater Cairo, Alexandria and other
major cities in the Nile Delta.
Capital Cairo
Egypt is famous for its ancient (and largest city) 30°2′N 31°13′E
civilization, with famous monuments Official language(s) Arabic[1] [a]
such as the Giza pyramid complex and
its Great Sphinx. Its ancient ruins, such Ethnic groups 99% Egyptians
0.9% Nubians
as those of Memphis, Thebes, and
0.1% Greeks
Karnak and the Valley of the Kings
outside Luxor, are a significant focus of Demonym Egyptian
archaeological study. The tourism and Government Military junta
the Red Sea Riviera employ about - Chairman of the Mohamed Hussein
12% of Egypt's workforce. Supreme Council of Tantawi [2][b]
 Tantawi
the Armed Forces
The economy of Egypt is one of the - Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik
most developed and diversified in the - Supreme Farouk Sultan
Middle East, with sectors such as Constitutional
tourism, agriculture, industry and Court Chairman
service at almost equal production Establishment
levels. In early 2011 Egypt underwent a - Formal 1867
revolution, which resulted in the independence from
removal of the dictator of 30 years, the Ottoman
Hosni Mubarak. Empire
- End of protectorate 28 February 1922
with the United
Kingdom
Contents - Republic declared
- Current constitution
18 June 1953
11 September 1971

1 Name Area
2 History - Total 1,002,450 km2 (30th)
2.1 Pre-historic Egypt 387,048 sq mi
2.2 Ancient Egypt - Water (%) 0.632
2.3 Ptolemaic and Population
Roman Egypt - Sept, 2010 estimate 79,089,650 [3]
2.4 Arab and Ottoman - 2006 census 76,699,427 [3]
Egypt - Density 82.3/km 2 (120th)
2.5 Muhammad Ali 214.4/sq mi
dynasty
2.6 Modern Egypt GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate
2.6.1 Kingdom - Total $496.604 billion [4]
2.6.2 Republic - Per capita $6,347 [4]
3 Geography GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
3.1 Climate - Total $215.845 billion [4]
4 Politics - Per capita $2,758 [4]
4.1 2011 revolution
Gini (1999–00) 34.5 (medium)
4.2 Foreign relations
4.3 Military HDI (2010)
4.4 Administrative 0.620 [5] (medium) (101st)
divisions Currency Egyptian pound ( EGP)
4.5 Human rights
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
5 Economy - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
6 Demographics
6.1 Languages Drives on the right
6.2 Religion ISO 3166 code EG
6.2.1 Islam
6.2.2 Christianity Internet TLD .eg, ‫ﻣﺼﺮ‬.
6.2.3 Religious Calling code +20
minorities
^ a. Arabic is the official language; [1] spoken languages
7 Culture & varieties are: Egyptian Arabic, Sa'idi Arabic, Eastern
7.1 Identity Egyptian Bedawi Arabic, Sudanese Arabic, Domari, Nobiin,
7.2 Art and architecture
 7.2 Art and architecture Beja & Siwi. Main taught foreign languages are English,
7.3 Media French, German & Italian.
7.4 Literature b.^ Currently de facto Head of state and Head of
government
7.5 Music
7.6 Festivals
7.7 Sports
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links

Name
The English name Egypt was borrowed from Middle French Egypte, from Latin Aegyptus,
from ancient Greek Aígyptos (Αἴγυπτος), from earlier Linear B a-ku-pi-ti-yo. The
adjective aigýpti-, aigýptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into
Arabic as qubṭī, back formed into qubṭ, whence English Copt. The Greek forms were
borrowed from Late Egyptian (Amarna) Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier
Egyptian name Hwt-ka-Ptah (ḥwt-k -ptḥ), meaning "home of the ka (soul) of Ptah", the
name of a temple to the god Ptah at Memphis.[6] Strabo attributed the word to a folk
etymology in which Aígyptos (Αἴγυπτος) evolved as a compound from Aigaiou huptiōs
(Aἰγαίου ὑπτίως), meaning "below the Aegean".

Miṣr, the Arabic and modern official name of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: Maṣr), is of Semitic
origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew ‫​מִצְַריִם‬
(Mitzráyim), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of
upper and lower Egypt).[7] The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization"
and means "country", or "frontier-land".

The ancient Egyptian name of the country is Kemet (km.t) [ ], which means "black
land", referring to the fertile black soils of the Nile flood plains, distinct from the deshret
(dšṛt), or "red land" of the desert.[8] The name is realized as kīmi and kīmə in the Coptic
stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as Χημία (Khēmía).[9]
Another name was t -mry "land of the riverbank". [10] The names of Upper and Lower
Egypt were Ta-Sheme'aw (t -šm w) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew (t mḥw) "northland",
respectively.

History
Main article: History of Egypt
See also: Population history of Egypt

Pre-historic Egypt
 Main article: Prehistoric Egypt

There is evidence of rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in desert oases. In the 10th
millennium BC, a culture of hunter-gatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding
culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the
pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile
River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized
society.[11]

By about 6000 BC a Neolithic culture rooted in the Nile Valley. [12] During the Neolithic
era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt.
The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as
precursors to dynastic Egypt. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates
the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian
communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand
years, remaining culturally distinct, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The
earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the
predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC. [13]

Ancient Egypt
Main article: Ancient Egypt

A unified kingdom was founded c. 3150 BC by

King Menes, leading to a series of dynasties that
ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptian
culture flourished during this long period and
remained distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts,
language and customs. The first two ruling
dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the
Old Kingdom period, c. 2700−2200 BC., famous
Giza Pyramids for its many pyramids, most notably the Third
Dynasty pyramid of Djoser and the Fourth
Dynasty Giza Pyramids.

The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of

political upheaval for about 150 years. [14] Stronger
Nile floods and stabilization of government,
however, brought back renewed prosperity for the
country in the Middle Kingdom c. 2040 BC,
reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh
Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity
heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling
dynasty in Egypt, that of the Semitic Hyksos. The
The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids
Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt
of Giza, built during the Old
around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at
Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper
 Kingdom, are modern national icons
Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper
that are at the heart of Egypt's
Egyptian force led by Ahmose I, who founded the
thriving tourism industry.
Eighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital from
Memphis to Thebes.

The New Kingdom c. 1550−1070 BC began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the
rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an
empire as far south as Tombos in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east.
This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut,
Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first
historically attested expression of monotheism came during this period as Atenism.
Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The
country was later invaded and conquered by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native
Egyptians eventually drove them out and regained control of their country.[15]

The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It
fell to the Persians in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was
defeated in battle.

Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt

Main articles: Ptolemaic Egypt and Roman Egypt

The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria
in the east, to Cyrene to the west, and south to the frontier with Nubia. Alexandria
became the capital city and a center of Greek culture and trade. To gain recognition by
the native Egyptian populace, they named themselves as the successors to the Pharaohs.
The later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions, had themselves portrayed on public
monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. [16][17]

The last ruler from the Ptolemaic line was Cleopatra VII, who committed suicide with her
lover Marc Antony, after Caesar Augustus had captured them. The Ptolemies faced
rebellions of native Egyptians often caused by an unwanted regime and were involved in
foreign and civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its annexation by Rome.
Nevertheless Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt well after the Muslim
conquest.

Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint
Mark the Evangelist in the 1st century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the
Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were
persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the
Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly
established.[18]

Arab and Ottoman Egypt

Main article: History of Muslim Egypt
 The Byzantines were able to
regain control of the country
after a brief Persian invasion
early in the 7th century, until
in AD 639, Egypt was
absorbed into the Islamic
Empire by the Muslim Arabs.
When they defeated the
Byzantine Armies in Egypt,
the Arabs brought Sunni Islam
to the country. Early in this
Selim I (1470-1520),
period, Egyptians began to
Egypt conquered
blend their new faith with
indigenous beliefs and
practices, leading to various The Hanging Church of
Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. These earlier Cairo, first built in the third
rites had survived the period of Coptic Christianity.[19] or fourth century AD, is one
of the most famous Coptic
Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate Churches in Egypt.
remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries,
with Cairo as the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With the end of the Kurdish
Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD
1250. By the late 13th century, Egypt linked the Red Sea, India, Malaya, and East
Indies.[20] They continued to govern the country until the conquest of Egypt by the
Ottoman Turks in 1517, after which it became a province of the Ottoman Empire. The
mid-14th-century Black Death killed about 40% of the country's population.[21]

After the 15th century, the Ottoman invasion pushed the Egyptian system into decline.
The defensive militarization damaged its civil society and economic institutions.[20] The
weakening of the economic system combined with the effects of plague left Egypt
vulnerable to foreign invasion. Portuguese traders took over their trade. [20] Egypt suffered
six famines between 1687 and 1731.[22] The 1784 famine cost it roughly one-sixth of its
population.[23]

Muhammad Ali dynasty

Main article: History of Egypt under the Muhammad
Ali dynasty
Further information: French Campaign in Egypt and
Syria, Ottoman–Saudi War, Muhammad Ali's
seizure of power, First Turko-Egyptian War, Second
Turko-Egyptian War, and Khedivate of Egypt

The brief French invasion of Egypt led by

Napoleon Bonaparte began in 1798. The expulsion Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798,
of the French in 1801 by Ottoman, Mamluk, and by François-Louis-Joseph Watteau.
British forces was followed by four years of
anarchy in which Ottomans, Mamluks, and
Albanians who were nominally in the service of the
Ottomans, wrestled for power. Out of this chaos,
the commander of the Albanian regiment,
Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha)
emerged as a dominant figure and in 1805 was
acknowledged by the Sultan in Istanbul as his
viceroy in Egypt; the title implied subordination to
the Sultan but this was in fact a polite fiction:
British admiral Codrington
Ottoman power in Egypt was finished and
Muhammad Ali, an ambitious and able leader, negotiating with Muhammad Ali
Pasha in the latter's palace in
established a dynasty that was to rule Egypt until
Alexandria.
the revolution of 1952. In later years, the dynasty
became a British puppet. [24]

His primary focus was military: he annexed Northern

Sudan (1820–1824), Syria (1833), and parts of Arabia and
Anatolia; but in 1841 the European powers, fearful lest he
topple the Ottoman Empire itself, forced him to return
most of his conquests to the Ottomans, but he kept the
Sudan and his title to Egypt was made hereditary. A more
lasting result of his military ambition is that it required
him to modernize the country. Eager to adopt the military
(and therefore industrial) techniques of the great powers,
he sent students to the West and invited training missions
to Egypt. He built industries, a system of canals for
irrigation and transport, and reformed the civil service.[24] Mosque of Muhammad Ali

The introduction in 1820 of long-staple cotton, the

Egyptian variety of which became famous, transformed its agriculture into a cash-crop
monoculture before the end of the century. The social effects of this were enormous: land
ownership became concentrated and many foreigners arrived, shifting production towards
international markets.[24]

Muhammad Ali was succeeded briefly by his son Ibrahim (in September 1848), then by a
grandson Abbas I (in November 1848), then by Said (in 1854), and Isma'il (in 1863).
Abbas I was cautious. Said and Ismail were ambitious developers, but they spent beyond
their means. The Suez Canal, built in partnership with the French, was completed in
1869. The cost of this and other projects had two effects: it led to enormous debt to
European banks, and caused popular discontent because of the onerous taxation it
required. In 1875 Ismail was forced to sell Egypt's share in the canal to the British
Government. Within three years this led to the imposition of British and French
controllers who sat in the Egyptian cabinet, and, "with the financial power of the
bondholders behind them, were the real power in the Government."[25]
Modern Egypt
Main article: History of modern Egypt

Local dissatisfaction with Ismail and with European intrusion led to the formation of the
first nationalist groupings in 1879, with Ahmad Urabi a prominent figure. In 1882 he
became head of a nationalist-dominated ministry committed to democratic reforms
including parliamentary control of the budget. Fearing a reduction of their control, the
UK and France intervened militarily, bombarding Alexandria and crushing the Egyptian
army at the battle of Tel el-Kebir.[26] They reinstalled Ismail's son Tewfik as figurehead
of a de facto British protectorate. [27]

In 1914 the Protectorate was made official, and the title of

the head of state, which had changed from pasha to khedive
in 1867, was changed to sultan, to repudiate the vestigial
suzerainty of the Ottoman sultan, who was backing the
Central powers in World War I. Abbas II was deposed as
khedive and replaced by his uncle, Hussein Kamel, as
sultan. [28]

In 1906, the Dinshaway Incident prompted many neutral

Egyptians to join the nationalist movement. After the First
World War, Saad Zaghlul and the Wafd Party led the
Egyptian nationalist movement to a majority at the local
Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and
his associates to Malta on March 8, 1919, the country
arose in its first modern revolution. The revolt led the UK
government to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's
independence on February 22, 1922.[29] Female nationalists
demonstrating in Cairo,
1919
Kingdom

Main article: Kingdom of Egypt

The new government drafted and implemented a constitution in 1923 based on a

parliamentary system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in
1924. In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded. Continued instability due to
remaining British influence and increasing political involvement by the king led to the
dissolution of the parliament in a military coup d'état known as the 1952 Revolution. The
Free Officers Movement forced King Farouk to abdicate in support of his son Fuad.
British military presence in Egypt lasted until 1954.[30]

Republic

On June 18, 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad
Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by
Gamal Abdel Nasser – the real architect of the 1952 movement – and was later put under
house arrest. Nasser assumed power as President in June, 1956. British forces completed
their withdrawal from the occupied Suez Canal Zone on June 13, 1956. He nationalized
the Suez Canal on July 26, 1956, prompting the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied
Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat in 1970. Sadat switched Egypt's
Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors
in 1972. He launched the Infitah economic reform policy, while violently clamping down
on religious and secular opposition.

In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the
Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to
regain part of the Sinai territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Sadat hoped to seize
some territory through military force, and then regain the rest of the peninsula by
diplomacy. The conflict sparked an international crisis between the US and the USSR,
both of whom intervened. The second UN-mandated ceasefire halted military action.
While the war ended with a military Israeli victory, it presented Sadat with a political
victory that later allowed him to regain the Sinai in return for peace with Israel. [31]

Sadat made a historic visit to Israel in 1977, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in
exchange for Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous
controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it
was supported by most Egyptians. [32] A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat
in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by Hosni Mubarak.

In 2003, the Egyptian Movement for Change, popularly known as Kefaya, was launched to
oppose the Mubarak regime and to establish democratic reforms and greater civil
liberties.

In January 2011, a popular protest began against the Mubarak government, consisting of
a wide range of class demographics. The objective of the protest was for the removal of
Mubarak from power. On February 11, 2011, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced
that Mubarak has stepped down as President of Egypt as a result of the popular protests
starting January 25.[33][34] (See also 2011 revolution.)

On February 13, 2011, the high level military command of Egypt has announced that
both the constitution and the parliament of Egypt has been dissolved. The parliamentary
election will be held in September.[35]

Geography
Main article: Geography of Egypt

At 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,660 sq mi),[36]

Egypt is the world's 30th-largest country. In land
area, it is about the same size as all Central
America,[37] twice the size of Spain,[38] four times
the size of the United Kingdom,[39] and the
combined size of the US states of Texas and
California.[40] It lies between latitudes 22° and
32°N, and longitudes 24° and 36°E.

Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate,

population centres are concentrated along the
narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that about Topography of Egypt
99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the
total land area.[41] Egypt is bordered by Libya to
the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. 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, traversed by a
navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the
Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea.

Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is desert. Winds create
prolific sand dunes that peak at more than 100 feet (30 m) high. Egypt includes parts of
the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts that protected the Kingdom of
the Pharaohs from western threats were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt.

Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest 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, Suez,
where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el
Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park,
Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa.

See Egyptian Protectorates for more information.

The Nile at Cairo

White Desert, Farafra.

The coastline of
Alexandria, Egypt's
second largest city.

A street in Naama Bay,

Sharm el-Sheikh.
 The Nile at Cairo

The Nile River near

Aswan.

Climate
Main article: Climate of Egypt

Most of Egypt's rain falls in the winter months.[42]

South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to
5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of
many years. On a very thin strip of the northern
coast the rainfall can be as high as 410 mm (16.1
in), [43] mostly between October and March. Snow
falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north
coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi
Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria. Frost is also
known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Satellite image of Egypt, generated
from raster graphics data supplied by
Temperatures average between 80 °F (27 °C) and The Map Library
90 °F (32 °C) in summer, and up to 109 °F (43 °C)
on the Red Sea coast. Winter temperatures
average between 55 °F (13 °C) and 70 °F (21 °C). A steady wind from the northwest helps
lower temperatures near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows
from the south in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in
the desert to more than 100 °F (38 °C).

Prior to the construction of the Aswan Dam, the Nile flooded annually (colloquially The
Gift of the Nile) replenishing Egypt's soil. This gave the country consistent harvest
throughout the years.

The potential rise in sea levels due to global warming could threaten Egypt's densely
populated coastal strip and have grave consequences for the country's economy,
agriculture and industry. Combined with growing demographic pressures, a significant
rise in sea levels could turn millions of Egyptians into environmental refugees by the end
of the century, according to some climate experts.[44]

Politics
Main article: Politics of Egypt

Egypt has been officially named a "Republic" since June 18, 1953. However, it has been
under Emergency Law continually since 1967 (with the exception of an 18-month break
in 1980).[45] Between 1981 and 2011, Egypt was ruled autocratically by Mohamed Hosni
Mubarak, who came to power after the assassination of President Mohammed Anwar El-
Sadat.[46] Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik was sworn in as Prime Minister on January 29,
2011, following the resignation of Ahmed Nazif.

Although power is nominally organized under a multi-party semi-presidential system,

whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime
Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been
elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular
multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won
a fifth consecutive term, was held in September 2005. In 2009, Dr. Ali El Deen Hilal
Dessouki, Media Secretary of the NDP, described Egypt as a "pharaonic" political system,
and democracy as a "long term goal". Dessouki also stated that "the real center of power
in Egypt is the military".[47]

In late February 2005, Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had
ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-
candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the 1952
movement, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of
various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the
need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." [48] However, the new law
placed restrictions on the candidates, designed to prevent well-known politicians such as
Ayman Nour from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election
victory. [49]

After the 2005 presidential elections observers alleged government interference in the
election process through fraud and vote-rigging, and police brutality and violence by pro-
Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators.[50] After the election, Mubarak
imprisoned Ayman Nour, and the U.S. government stated the "conviction of Mr. Nour,
the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's
commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law."[51]
Most Egyptians were skeptical about the process of democratization and the intent of the
election rules. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a
population of more than 72 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. [52]

Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on March 19, 2007 prohibit

parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-
terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, authorize broad
police powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament;
and end judicial election monitoring.[53] Opposition members of parliament abstained
from voting on the proposed changes. Only 27% of registered voters turned out under
heavy police presence and tight political control. It was officially announced on March 27,
2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved the constitutional
amendments. The results were endorsed by the rump parliament, thus allowing the
introduction of laws that curb the activity of opposition elements, particularly Islamists.

The Egyptian military receives billions of dollars of aid from the United States. It remains
Egypt's most powerful institution. It has dozens of factories manufacturing weapons as
well as consumer goods, and it exempts itself from laws that apply to other sectors. [46]

The CIA World Factbook states that the legal system is based on Islamic and civil law
(particularly Napoleonic codes); and that judicial review takes place by a Supreme Court,
which accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction only with reservations. [54]

2011 revolution
Main article: Egyptian Revolution of 2011

On 25 January 2011, widespread protests began

against Mubarak's regime. These took the form of
an intensive campaign of civil resistance supported
by very large numbers of people and mainly
consisting of continuous mass demonstrations. By
29 January it was becoming clear that Mubarak's
regime had lost control when a curfew order was
ignored, and the army took a semi-neutral stance
on enforcing the curfew decree. Some protesters, a Celebrations in Tahrir Square after
very small minority in Cairo, expressed Omar Soliman's statement that
nationalistic views against what they deemed was concerns Hosni Mubarak's
foreign interference, highlighted by the then held resignation
view that the U.S. administration had failed to take
sides, as well as linking the regime with Israel. [55]

On 11 February 2011, Mubarak resigned and fled Cairo. Vice President Omar Suleiman
announced that Mubarak had stepped down and that the Egyptian military would assume
control of the nation's affairs in the short term. Jubilant celebrations broke out in Tahrir
Square at the news.[56] Mubarak may have left Cairo for Sharm el-Sheikh the previous
night, before or shortly after the airing of a taped speech in which Mubarak vowed he
would not step down or leave.[57]

Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Egypt

Egypt's foreign policy is supported by its

population size, historical events, military strength,
diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical
position. It has extensive political influence in
Africa and the Middle East. Cairo has been a
crossroads of regional commerce and culture for
centuries, and its intellectual and Islamic
institutions are at the center of the region's social
and cultural development. Mubarak in the G8 Summit in Italy
2009
The permanent Headquarters of the Arab League
are located in Cairo and the Secretary General of
the Arab League has traditionally been Egyptian. Former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa
is the current group's Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to
Tunis in 1978 to protest the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, returning in 1989.

Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, with the signing
of the treaty. Despite the peace treaty, Israel is still largely considered an enemy country
within Egypt.[58] Egypt has historically played an important role as a mediator in
resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Egypt is a major ally of the United States.

Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary-

General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996.

In the 21st century, Egypt has had a major problem with immigration, as millions of
Africans flee poverty and war. Border control methods can be "harsh, sometimes
lethal."[59]

Military
Main article: Egyptian Armed Forces

The Egyptian Armed forces have a combined troop

strength of around 450,000 active personnel. [60] According
to the Israeli chair of the former Knesset Foreign Affairs
and Defense Committee, Yuval Steinitz, the Egyptian Air
Force has roughly the same number of modern warplanes
as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western tanks,
artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the
IDF.[61]

The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive

military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Egypt is
speculated by Israel to be the first country in the region
with a spy satellite, EgyptSat 1, and is planning to launch 3
more satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over
Egyptian Air Force F-16
the next two years. [62]
refueling during Operation
The United States of America provide an annual military Bright Star
assistance, which in 2009 amounted to US$ 1.3 billion
(inflation adjusted US$ 1.33 billion in 2011).[63]

Administrative divisions
Main articles: Governorates of Egypt and Regions of Egypt
 Damietta
Kafr
el-Sheikh Dakahlia Port
Said
Alexandria Gharbia Sharqia
Monufia Ismailia North Sinai
Beheira Qalyubia
Matruh Cairo
Suez
Giza
South Sinai
Faiyum
Beni Suef
6th of October
Minya

Asyut

Sohag
Qena
♦Luxor

New Valley
Aswan

Red
Sea

Egypt is divided into 29 governorates. The governorates are further divided into regions.
The regions contain towns and villages. Each governorate has a capital, sometimes
carrying the same name as the governorate.

In April 2008, Cairo and Giza were subdivided into 4 governorates, namely the
governorates of Cairo, Giza, 6 October and Helwan. In 2009, the city of Luxor was
declared an independent governorate.

The Upper governorates are located south of Cairo, while the Lower governorates are
located in the Delta of the Nile north of Cairo.

Governorate Capital Location Governorate Capital Location

Alexandria Alexandria Northern Matruh Mersa Matruh Western
Aswan Aswan Upper Minya Minya Upper
Asyut Asyut Upper Monufia Shibin el-Kom Lower
Beheira Damanhur Lower New Valley Kharga Western
Beni Suef Beni Suef Upper North Sinai Arish Sinai
Cairo Cairo Middle Port Said Port Said Canal
Dakahlia Mansura Lower Qalyubia Banha Lower
Damietta Damietta Lower Qena Qena Upper
Faiyum Faiyum Upper Red Sea Hurghada Eastern
Gharbia Tanta Lower Sharqia Zagazig Upper
Giza Giza Upper Sohag Sohag Upper
Helwan Helwan Middle South Sinai el-Tor Sinai
Ismailia Ismailia Canal Suez Suez Canal
Kafr el-Sheikh Kafr el-Sheikh Lower 6th of October 6th of October Middle
Luxor Luxor Upper

Human rights
Main article: Human rights in Egypt
See also: Sudanese refugees in Egypt

Several local and international human rights

organizations, including Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch, have for many years
criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In
2005, President Hosni Mubarak faced
unprecedented public criticism when he clamped
down on democracy activists challenging his rule.
Some of the most serious human rights violations,
according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt, are
routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials
Members of the Kefaya democracy
before military and state security courts. [64]
movement protesting a fifth term for
Egypt has also been cited for discriminatory President Hosni Mubarak. See also
personal status laws governing marriage, custody video
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?
and inheritance, which critics say put women at a
v=WbEM6soTHOA) .
disadvantage. Laws concerning Coptic Christians
which place restrictions on church building and
open worship have been recently eased, but major construction still requires Government
approval, while sporadic attacks on Christians and churches continue.[65] Intolerance of
Bahá'ís and unorthodox Muslim sects, such as Sufis and Shi'a, also remains a problem. [64]

The Egyptian legal system only recognizes three religions: Islam, Christianity and
Judaism. When the Government moved to computerize identification cards, members of
religious minorities, such as Bahá'ís, could not obtain identification documents.[66] An
Egyptian court ruled in early 2008 that members of other faiths can obtain identity cards
without listing their faiths, and without becoming officially recognized.[67] (For more on
the status of religious minorities, see the Religion section.)

In 2005, the Freedom House rated political rights in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most
free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not
Free." [68] It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive
presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly
unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005."[69] For freedom of the
press, Egypt was deemed "Partly Free" in 2008, ranking 124 out of the 196 countries
surveyed. [70]

In 2007, human rights group Amnesty International released a report criticizing Egypt for
torture and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international
center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the
War on Terror. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance
with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their
detainees to Egypt.[71] Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report,
claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense.[72]

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing
bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt.[73] In 2003, the Government established
the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who directly reports to the President.[74]
The council has come under heavy criticism by local activists, who contend it undermines
human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the Government to
excuse its violations [75] and to give legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently
renewed Emergency Law.[76] Egypt had announced in 2006 that it was in the process of
abolishing the Emergency Law,[77] but in March 2007, Mubarak approved several
constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine
sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law
will remain for the long haul. [78]

According to the World Health Organization in 2008, an estimated 91.1% of Egypt's girls
and women have suffered female genital mutilation.[79]

Economy
Main article: Economy of Egypt

Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism;
there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia,
the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970 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, limited arable land, and
dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy.[80]

The government has invested in communications and

physical infrastructure. Egypt has received 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.

Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil,

natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits
are in the northeast Sinai, and are mined at the rate of
about 600,000 metric tons (590,000 LT; 660,000 ST) per
year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert
regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has Suez Canal Bridge
huge reserves of gas, estimated at 1,940 cubic kilometres
(470 cu mi), and LNG is exported to many countries.

Economic conditions have started 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. [81] Some major economic reforms taken by the new Government since 2003
include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in
2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100%
increase in tax revenue by the year 2006.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Egypt has increased

considerably in the past few years, exceeding $6 billion in
2006, due to the recent economic liberalization measures
taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin.

Although one of the main obstacles still facing the

Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the
average population, many Egyptians criticize their
Government for higher prices of basic goods while their
standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively
stagnant. Corruption is often cited by Egyptians as the
main impediment to further economic growth. [82][83][84]
The Government promises major reconstruction of the
country's infrastructure, using money paid for the newly Tourists ride in a traditional
acquired third mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat.[85] Nile boat.

Egypt's most prominent multinational companies are the Orascom Group and Raya
Contact Center. The IT sector has expanded rapidly in the past few years, with many
start-ups selling outsourcing services to North America and Europe, operating with
companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as many small
and medium enterprises. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya,
E Group Connections and C3. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian
entrepreneurs with Government encouragement.

An estimated 2.7 million Egyptians abroad contribute actively to the development of their
country through remittances (US$ 7.8 billion in 2009), as well as circulation of human and
social capital and investment.[86]

Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of Egypt and Egyptians

Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle

East and the third most populous on the African
continent, at about 80 million inhabitants in
2009.[87] Population grew rapidly from 1970-2010
due to medical advances and increases in
agricultural productivity,[88] enabled by the Green
Revolution.[89] Egypt's population was estimated
at only 3 million when Napoleon invaded the
country in 1798.[90] In 1939, Egypt had a
population of 16.5 million. [91]
Egypt population density (people per
The population is concentrated along the Nile
km2)
(notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and
near the Suez Canal. Approximately 90% of the
population adheres to Islam and most of the rest to Christianity, primarily the Coptic
Orthodox denomination.[92] 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.

Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 91% of the total population.[92]
Ethnic minorities include the Abazas, Turks, Greeks, Bedouin Arab tribes living in the
eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa
Oasis, and the Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. There are also tribal Beja
communities concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner, and a number of Dom clans
mostly in the Nile Delta and Faiyum who are progressively becoming assimilated as
urbanization increases. According to the International Organization for Migration, an
estimated 2.7 million Egyptians live abroad. Approximately 70% of Egyptian migrants
live in Arab countries (923,600 in Saudi Arabia, 332,600 in Libya, 226,850 in Jordan,
190,550 in Kuwait with the rest elsewhere in the region) and the remaining 30 % are
living mostly in Europe and North America (318,000 in the US, 110,000 in Canada and
90,000 in Italy).[86]
Egypt also hosts an unknown number of refugees and asylum seekers, estimated to be
between 500,000 and 3 million. [93] There are some 70,000 Palestinian refugees,[93] and
about 150,000 recently arrived Iraqi refugees,[94] but the number of the largest group, the
Sudanese, is contested. [95] The once-vibrant Greek and Jewish communities in Egypt
have almost disappeared, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many
Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish
archaeological and historical sites are found in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities.

Languages
Main articles: Languages of Egypt, Egyptian language, and Coptic language

The official language of the Republic is Modern Standard Arabic.[1] The spoken
languages are: Egyptian Arabic (68%), Sa'idi Arabic (29%), Eastern Egyptian Bedawi
Arabic (1.6%), Sudanese Arabic (0.6%), Domari (0.3%), Nobiin (0.3%), Beja (0.1%), Siwi
and others. Additionally, Greek, Armenian and Italian are the main languages of
immigrants. In Alexandria in the 19th century there was a huge community of Italo-
Egyptians and Italian was the "lingua franca" of the city.

The main taught foreign languages in schools are English, French, German and
sometimes Italian.

The Egyptian languages (also known as Copto-Egyptian) consist of ancient Egyptian and
Coptic, and form a separate branch among the family of Afro-Asiatic languages.

The "Koiné" dialect of the Greek language was important in Hellenistic Alexandria, and
was used in the philosophy and science of that culture, and was also studied by later
Arabic scholars.

Religion
Egypt hosts two major religious institutions, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
established in the middle of the 1st century by Saint Mark the Evangelist, and Al-Azhar
University founded in 970 A.D by the Fatimids as the first Islamic University in the world.

Islam

Egypt is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country

with Islam as its state religion. The percentage of
the adherents of various religions is a controversial
topic in Egypt, with different sources citing
different figures. Around 90% are identified as
Muslim. [96][97][98][99][100] A significant number of
Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi
orders,[101] and there is a minority of Shi'a. Islam
plays a central role in the lives of most Egyptian
Cairo's unique cityscape with its
 Cairo's unique cityscape with its
Muslims. The Adhan (Islamic call to prayer) is
ancient mosques. Cairo is known as
heard five times a day, and has the informal effect
the "city of a thousand minarets"
of regulating the pace of everything from business
to media and entertainment. Cairo is famous for its
numerous mosque minarets and is justifiably dubbed "the city of 1,000 minarets". [102]
Cairo also comprises a significant number of church towers.

According to the constitution of Egypt, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree
with Islamic law; however, the constitution bans political parties with a religious
agenda. [103]

Christianity

Main articles: Christianity in Egypt, Copts, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and Persecution
of Copts

There is a significant minority of Christians in

Egypt, who make up between 5% and
18%[104][105] of the population.[96][97][98][99][100]
Over 90% of Egyptian Christians belong to the
native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an
Oriental Orthodox Church. [98][99][106] Other
native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the
Coptic Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church
of Egypt and various other Protestant
denominations. Non-native Christian communities Millions of Egyptians follow the
are largely found in the urban regions of Cairo and Christian faith as members of the
Alexandria. Coptic Orthodox Church of
Alexandria.
According to ambassador Akbar Ahmed and
bishop John Bryson Chane, Christian Copts are under severe pressure and siege, and
usually live in fear for their lives and "Christian girls are being kidnapped by shadowy
Muslim groups and lured into Muslim marriages, with the state looking the other way."
[107] They face discrimination and marginalization on many levels. [108] In terms of
religious freedom, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life ranks Egypt as the fifth worst
country in the world, after Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uzbekistan and China.[109][110][111] In
addition, Egypt ranks among the 12 worst countries in the world in terms of religious
violence against religious minorities and in terms of social hostilities against
Christians.[110][111] Furthermore, the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom has placed Egypt on its watch list for religious freedom that requires
close monitoring due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged
in or tolerated by the government. [112]

Coptic Christians are minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public
office, and are being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their
religion.[64][108] The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and
intellectuals, maintain that the number of Christians occupying Government posts is not
proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt. They are also the victims of discriminatory
religious laws, anti-Christian judges, and anti-Christian state police. Anti-Christian laws
include laws governing repairing old churches or constructing new ones, which are usually
impossible tasks, requiring presidential permission to build a new church, and a
governor’s permission to renovate even the bathroom in an already-built church.[108]
Anti-Christian judges tend to "legislate from the bench". An example includes an
Egyptian court's refusal to grant Muslim Egyptians who convert to Christianity identity
cards that display their new religion.[107][108] On the other hand, converting to Islam
does not even require going to court.[113] Copts are denied equal opportunities in
recruitment and promotion. Very few are appointed to key positions in the government,
and political parties almost never choose Coptic candidates for parliamentary positions.
In addition, enrollment of Copts in police academies and military schools is heavily
restricted. Along the same lines, very few Copts are granted positions as school teachers or
university professors. [114]

Moreover, Copts are usually on the receiving end of anti-Christian hate crimes, the
number of which has been rising since the 1970s. [115][116] Since Mubarak took office in
1981, more than 1,500 violent attacks against Copts left thousands of Christians killed and
injured. [117][118] The violent anti-Christian attacks in Upper Egypt during the 1990s
forced thousands of Copts to flee to larger cities in Egypt or to immigrate; a form of
unrecognized ethnic cleansing. The last 10 years witnessed a dramatic increase in the
scale of anti-Christian hate crimes, including a number of massacres such as the 2001
Kosheh massacre, the 2010 Nag Hammadi massacre and the 2011 Alexandria bombing.
Copts also complain that the Egyptian government and the Egyptian judicial system are
doing little to punish such attacks on the Coptic community, failing to prosecute the
criminals, and thus leading to further persecution of the Copts.[116][119][120] For instance,
all the criminals responsible for the 2001 killing of 21 Copts in Kosheh, most of whom
were children and women, were set free by court order. [121][122]
Meanwhile, according to the independent Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm,
«(President Hosni) Mubarak calls on Coptic Pope to cut back religious rhetoric».[123]

Religious minorities

The Egyptian religious landscape has been marred by a history of religious extremism,
witnessing a 2006 judgement of Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court, which made a
clear legal distinction between "recognized religions" (i.e., Islam, Christianity, and
Judaism) and all other religious beliefs.[66] This ruling effectively delegitimizes and forbids
practice of all but the three globally largest sized Abrahamic religions.[124] This judgment
had made it necessary for non-recognised religious communities to either commit perjury
or be denied Egyptian identification cards (see Egyptian identification card controversy),
until a 2008 Cairo court case ruled that unrecognized religious minorities may obtain
birth certificates and identification documents, so long as they omit their religion on court
documents.[67]
There is also a small, but nonetheless historically significant, non-immigrant Bahá'í
population of around 2000,[66] who have intrinsically been banned from practising
Baha'i. There's an even smaller community of Jews of about 200,[66][125] then a tiny
number of Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic.

Culture
Main article: Culture of Egypt

Egyptian
culture has six Life in Egypt
thousand
years of
recorded
history.
Ancient Egypt
was among
Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a the earliest
commemoration of the ancient civilizations
Library of Alexandria in Egypt's and for Culture
second largest city. millennia, Cuisine
Egypt
Cinema
maintained a
Music
strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced
later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and other Media
African countries. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt Tourism
itself came under the influence of Hellenism, Holidays
Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today, many Healthcare
aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction Demography
with newer elements, including the influence of
People
modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient
Egypt. Languages
Religion
Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and Human rights
has been renowned for centuries as a center of Politics
learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the
Parliament
highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa and the
Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or Military
are at the helm of major international organizations Economy
like Boutros Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations Transportation
and Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA. Communications
Education
Egypt is a recognized cultural trend-setter of the
Wildlife
Arabic-speaking world, and contemporary Arab
culture is heavily influenced by Egyptian literature,
music, film and television. Egypt gained a regional leadership role during the 1950s and
1960s, which gave a further enduring boost to the standing of Egyptian culture in the
Arab world.[126]

Identity
Main article: Egyptians#Identity

The Nile Valley was home to one of the oldest cultures in

the world, spanning three thousand years of continuous
history. When Egypt fell under a series of foreign
occupations after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on
the country's cultural landscape. Egyptian identity evolved
in the span of this long period of occupation to
accommodate, in principle, two new religions, Islam and
Christianity; and a new language, Arabic, and its spoken
descendant, Egyptian Arabic.[127]

After two thousand years of occupation, three ideologies

competed for the attention of newly independent
Egyptians: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism, secular
Mahmoud Mokhtar's Egypt's Arab nationalism/pan-Arabism, and Islamism. Egyptian
Renaissance 1919–1928, Cairo nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many
University decades, having roots in the 19th century and becoming
the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial
activists and intellectuals until the early 20th century.[128] Arab nationalism reached a
peak under Nasser but subsided under Sadat; meanwhile, the ideology espoused by
Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood is present in small segments of the lower-
middle strata of Egyptian society. [129]

The work of early 19th-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi led to the Egyptian
Renaissance, marking the transition from Medieval to Early Modern Egypt. His work
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.[130]

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. [131]

Art and architecture

The Egyptians were one of the first major
civilizations to codify design elements in art and
 architecture. The wall paintings done in the service
of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual
rules and meanings. Egyptian civilization is
renowned for its colossal pyramids, colonnades and
monumental tombs. Well-known examples are the
Pyramid of Djoser designed by ancient architect
Eighteenth dynasty painting from the and engineer Imhotep, the Sphinx, and the temple
tomb of Theban governor Ramose in of Abu Simbel. Modern and contemporary
Deir el-Madinah 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 famous sculptures, to the distinctive Coptic iconography of Isaac
Fanous.

The Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital.
Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late 19th century, today with
more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each
year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film
festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a
top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers'
Associations. [132] 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.
Some Egyptian-born actors, like Omar Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame.

Media
Main article: Media of Egypt

Egyptian media are highly influential throughout the Arab World, attributed to large
audiences and increasing freedom from government control.[133][134] Freedom of the
media is guaranteed in the constitution; however, many laws still restrict this
right. [133][135] After the Egyptian presidential election of 2005, Ahmed Selim, office
director for Information Minister Anas al-Fiqi, declared an era of a "free, transparent and
independent Egyptian media." [134]

Today, the Egyptian media is experiencing greater freedom. Several Egyptian Talk
shows, like 90 Minutes and Al- Ashera Masa'an, which air on private channels, and even
state television programs such as El-beit beitak criticize the Government, which was
previously banned.

Literature
Literature is an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and
poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the
forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East.[136] The
first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published in
1913 in the Egyptian vernacular.[137] Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first
Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Egyptian women writers
include Nawal El Saadawi, well known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who
also writes about women and tradition.

Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre among Egyptians,
represented by the works of Ahmed Fouad Negm (Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel
Rahman el-Abnudi. In their belief, boats were used by the dead to accompany the sun
around the world, as Heaven was referred to as “Upper Waters”. In Egyptian mythology,
every night the serpentine god Apophis would attack the Sun Boat as it brought the sun
(and as such order )back to the Kingdom in the morning. It is referred to as the “Boat of
Millions” as all the gods and souls of the blessed dead may at one point or another be
needed to defend or operate it.

Music
Main article: Music of Egypt

Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous,

Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In
antiquity, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes,
including two indigenous instruments: the ney and the
oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important
part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary
Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work
of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud
Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music
giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum,
Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. From
the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become Upper Egyptian folk
increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian musicians from Kom
folk music continues to be played during weddings and Ombo.
other festivities. Some of the most prominent
contemporary Egyptian pop singers include Amr Diab and
Mohamed Mounir.

Festivals
Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulid. They
are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all
Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in Egypt,
celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many
Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle.
The ancient spring festival of Sham en Nisim (Coptic: Ϭ ‘ shom en nisim)
has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian
months of Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday.
Egypt is one of the boldest countries in the middle east in the music industry. The next
generation of the Egyptian music is considered to be the rise, as the music was disrupted
by some foreign influences, bad admixing, and abused oriental styles. The new arising
talents starting from the late 1990s are taking over the rein now as they play different
genres of many cultures. Rock And Metal music are prevailing widely in Egypt now,as
much as the oriental jazz and folk music are becoming well-known now to the Egyptian
and non-Egyptian fans

Sports
Football is the Popular National Sport of Egypt.
Egyptian Football clubs Al-Ahly, El Zamalek,
Ismaily, El-Ittihad El-Iskandary and El Masry are
the most popular teams and enjoy the reputation
of long-time regional champions. The great
rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as
people fill the streets when their favorite team wins.
The Cairo Derby is one of the fiercest derbies in
Africa and the world, the BBC even picked it as
one of the toughest 7 derbies in the world.[138] Cairo International Stadium
Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been
around for over 100 years. The Egyptian national
football team is ranked among the best in the world according to the FIFA World
Rankings. The country is home to many African championships such as the Africa Cup
of Nations. While, Egypt's national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since
1990, the Egyptian team won the Africa Cup Of Nations an unprecedented seven times,
including two times in a row in 1957 and 1959 and an unprecedented three times in a row
in 2006, 2008, and 2010 setting a world record.

Squash and tennis are other popular sports in Egypt. The Egyptian squash team has been
known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s. Amr
Shabana is Egypt's best player and the winner of the world open three times and the best
player of 2006.

The Egyptian Handball team also holds another record; throughout the 34 times the
African Handball Nations Championship was held, Egypt won first place five times
(including 2008), five times second place, four times third place, and came in fourth place
twice. The team won 6th and 7th places in 1995, 1997 at the World Men's Handball
Championship, and twice won 6th place at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

In 2007, Omar Samra joined Ben Stephens (England), Victoria James (Wales) and Greg
Maud (South Africa) in putting together an expedition to climb Mount Everest from its
South side. The Everest expedition began on 25 March 2007 and lasted for just over 9
weeks. On the 17th of May at precisely 9:49 am Nepal time, Omar became the first and
youngest Egyptian to climb 8,850m Mount Everest. He also became the first Egyptian to
climb Everest from its South face, the same route taken by Sir Edmund Hilary and
Sherpa Tenzing in 1953.

Egypt has taken part in the Summer Olympics since 1912.

See also
Main articles: Outline of Egypt and Index of Egypt-related articles

List of ancient Egypt topics

List of international rankings
List of modern Egypt-related topics
List of cities in Egypt

2011 Egyptian Armenians in Holy Family Egyptian Arabic

protests Egypt in Egypt (Masri dialect)
Canal of the Greeks in Education in Public holidays
Pharaohs Egypt Egypt in Egypt
Communications Italians in Industry in Red Sea Riviera
in Egypt Egypt Egypt Transport in
Ancient Egyptian History of Languages of Egypt
religion the Jews in Egypt Rail
Flag of Egypt Egypt Terrorism in transport
Egypt in Egypt

Lists:

Main list: List of basic Egypt topics

List of writers from Egypt

List of Egyptian companies
List of Egypt-related topics
List of Egyptians
List of Egyptian products & manufacturers
List of Egyptian universities
List of writers about Egypt till the 19th century
List of Rulers and heads of state of Egypt
Vice President of Egypt

Notes
1. ^ a b c Constitution of Egypt, Article.2: “Islam is the Religion of the State. Arabic is its official
language, and the Islamic Jurisprudence (Sharia) ia a principal source of legislation.”
2. ^ "Egypt's Mubarak resigns as leader" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-
12433045) . 11 February 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12433045.
Retrieved 11 February 2011.
 Retrieved 11 February 2011.
3. ^ a b c "Central Agency for Population Mobilisation and Statistics — Population Clock (July
2008)" (http://www.msrintranet.capmas.gov.eg/pls/fdl/tst12e?action=&lname=) .
Msrintranet.capmas.gov.eg. http://www.msrintranet.capmas.gov.eg/pls/fdl/tst12e?
action=&lname=. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
4. ^ a b c d "Egypt"
(http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?
sy=2007&ey=2010&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=469&s=NGDPD%2CNGD
PDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=75&pr.y=6) . International
Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?
sy=2007&ey=2010&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=469&s=NGDPD%2CNGD
PDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=75&pr.y=6. Retrieved 2010-04-
21.
5. ^ "Human Development Report 2010"
(http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table1.pdf) . United Nations. 2010.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table1.pdf. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
6. ^ Hoffmeier, James K (October 1, 2007). "Rameses of the exodus narratives is the 13th B.C.
Royal Ramessid Residence"
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3803/is_200710/ai_n21137941/pg_2) . Trinity
Journal: 1. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3803/is_200710/ai_n21137941/pg_2.
7. ^ "Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine. January, 2005" (http://www.ancient-
hebrew.org/emagazine/011.html) . Ancient-hebrew.org. http://www.ancient-
hebrew.org/emagazine/011.html. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
8. ^ Rosalie, David (1997). Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh's
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9. ^ "A Brief History of Alchemy"
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36. ^ "World Factbook area rank order" (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
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38. ^ E. A. Pearce, Charles Gordon Smith, The Times Books World Weather Guide, (Times
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s=60326&refer=) . Weatherbase.com. Retrieved February 12, 2008.
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EGYPT) . International Federation for Human Rights. http://www.fidh.org/THE-EMERGENCY-
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March 27, 2006.
50. ^ Murphy, Dan. Egyptian vote marred by violence
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51. ^ United States "Deeply Troubled" by Sentencing of Egypt's Nour
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58. ^ "Massive Israel protests hit universities" (Egyptian Mail, March 16, 2010) "According to
most Egyptians, almost 31 years after a peace treaty was signed between Egypt and Israel,
having normal ties between the two countries is still a potent accusation and Israel is largely
considered to be an enemy country"
59. ^ Desperate on the Border, ALASDAIR SOUSSI, Jerusalem Report, Nov. 9, 1953, [2]
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70. ^ "Freedom House. Freedom of the Press World Ranking. 2009"
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71. ^ Egypt torture centre, report says (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6544149.stm) .
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72. ^ Egypt rejects torture criticism (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6551401.stm) .
bbc.co.uk. Written 2007-4-13. Retrieved 2007-4-13.
73. ^ "Egyptian Organization for Human Rights" (http://en.eohr.org) . En.eohr.org.
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74. ^ Official page of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights
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75. ^ Egyptian National Council for Human Rights Against Human Rights NGOs
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76. ^ Qenawy, Ahmed. The Egyptian Human Rights Council: The Apple Falls Close to the Tree
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77. ^ Egypt to begin process of lifting emergency laws
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broadened from energy, construction, and telecommunications to such labor-intensive sectors
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85. ^ Fatima El Saadani (August 2006). "Etisalat Wins Third License"
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86. ^ a b Migration and Development in Egypt: Facts and Figures
(http://www.egypt.iom.int/Doc/IOM%20Migration%20and%20Development%20in%20Egyp
t%20Facts%20and%20Figures%20(English).pdf) . International Organization for Migration.
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88. ^ "The limits of a Green Revolution?" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6496585.stm) .
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90. ^ Egypt - Population (http://countrystudies.us/egypt/55.htm) , U.S. Library of Congress
91. ^ "Many histories deep: the personal landscape poets in Egypt, 1940-45 (http://books.google.com/books?
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92. ^ a b "Egyptian people section from the World Factbook"
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93. ^ a b Refugees in Egypt (http://www.forcedmigration.org/guides/fmo029/fmo029-3.htm) .
94. ^ "Iraq: from a Flood to a Trickle: Egypt"
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95. ^ See The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
(http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?subm=&ssm=&cid=96) for a lower estimate.
The "The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20071230012918/http://www.eohr.org/ref/) . Archived from
the original (http://www.eohr.org/ref/) on 2007-12-30.
http://web.archive.org/web/20071230012918/http://www.eohr.org/ref/. states on its web
site that in 2000 the World Council of Churches claimed that "between two and five million
Sudanese have come to Egypt in recent years". Most Sudanese refugees come to Egypt in the
 hope of resettling in Europe or the US.
96. ^ a b The 2009 American Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
(http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/Muslimpopulation/Muslimpopulation.pdf)
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99. ^ a b c "Egypt from “Foreign and Commonwealth Office”"
(http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/egypt) .
Foreign and Commonwealth Office -UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. August 15, 2008.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/egypt.
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References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html) of the CIA World
Factbook.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents
(http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/index.htm) of the United States Department of State
(Background Notes).

External links
Government

Egypt's Government Services Portal (http://www.egypt.gov.eg/english/) (Arabic,

English)
Egypt Information Portal (http://www.eip.gov.eg/) (Arabic, English)
Egypt Information and Decision Support Center (http://www.idsc.gov.eg/) (Arabic,
English)
Egypt State Information Services (http://www.sis.gov.eg/) (Arabic, English, French)
Chief of State and Cabinet Members
 (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-
e/egypt.html)
Egyptian Tourist Authority (http://www.egypt.travel/)

General

Country Profile
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/737642.stm)
from the BBC News
Egypt (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html)
entry at The World Factbook
Egypt (http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/egypt.htm) at UCB Libraries
GovPubs
Egypt (http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/Africa/Egypt/) at the Open Directory
Project
Wikimedia Atlas of Egypt
Egypt Maps - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection
(http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/egypt.html)
Egypt travel guide from Wikitravel

Other

Leonard William King, History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in
the Light of Recent Discovery, Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17321)
.
Egyptian History (urdu) (http://www.ibtada.com/ibtada.php?
cur_page=main&sub=submain&mainpage=ajaib_ghar&page=qadeem_mesar&pgno=1)
By Nile and Tigris (http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49xB8x1920/) , 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
(http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49xB8x1920/1f/) format)
Napoleon on the Nile: Soldiers, Artists, and the Rediscovery of Egypt
(http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/Napoleon-on-the-
Nile/Joseph--1874.htm) .

Categories: Egypt | African countries | African Union member states | Arab League
member states | Arab republics | Arabic-speaking countries | Bicontinental countries |
Countries bordering the Red Sea | Countries of the Mediterranean Sea | Developing 8
Countries member states | Former monarchies | G15 nations | Member states of La
Francophonie | Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean | Middle Eastern
countries | North Africa | Organisation of the Islamic Conference members | States and
territories established in 1922 | Western Asia

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