Situated in the Northeastern corner of Africa, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea from the North and the Red Sea from the East, with the Sinai Peninsula constituting a link to Southwest Asia, Egypt enjoys a unique, strategic location at the crossroads between Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Throughout its history, Egypt has been a country where various cultures met and interacted. Egypt's total area is over one million square kilometers, yet only a narrow strip in the Nile Valley and the Delta is cultivated land.

The Nile, which traverses over 1,000 miles within Egypt, from Wadi Halfa in the South to the Mediterranean in the north, divides the country into four broad regions; the Western Desert which occupies almost two-thirds of the total area, the Eastern Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Nile Valley and Delta, which is the most densely populated region of the country. The vast majority of the remaining land is made up of sparsely inhabited, arid desert. Extensive land reclamation efforts since 1947 have aimed at increasing the area of cultivable land.

Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is the largest city in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East. It is also the industrial and commercial center of Egypt. Other major towns include Alexandria, Egypt's chief port, Port Said, Luxor, Aswan, Zagazig and Assiut .

History

Egypt is home to one of the richest and most ancient civilizations in the world extending to several millennia BC It was the Pharaoh Menes who united the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt, inaugurating what came to be known as the Ancient Empire (3200-2270 BC).

Ramses II is another Pharaoh who deserves mentioning. He ruled from 1279 to 1212 BC and is known for his prodigious buildings, rising temples, statues and other monuments throughout Egypt. Among his major achievements was the signing of the first Peace Treaty to be recorded in history, concluded between Egypt and the Hitites.Another great Pharaoh is Akhnaton who reigned from 1379 to 1362 BC. He was originally called Amenophis IV, but changed his name in honor of Aten, the Sun God. Akhnaton is considered to have heralded the concept of monotheism in the history of religion.

Alexander the Great arrived to Egypt in the late autumn of 332 BC. He founded Alexandria in 331 BC as a gateway to his motherland, Greece. Alexandria became a major center for trading. Its Library became a cultural center that made an important contribution to civilization.The Ptolemies ruled Egypt until 30 BC and were succeeded by the Romans until 642 AD when the Arabs arrived. It was during the Roman period when Christianity came to Egypt. It was in Alexandria where the great Catechtical School, which produced the early fathers of the Church, emerged.

In 642 AD, Egypt witnessed the beginning of its Arab and Islamic epoch. Successive Arab rulers governed Egypt as part of the Islamic empire, and at various junctures established it as the center of power of the empire.The Arabs were followed by the Mamlukes, who were magnificent warriors and who ruled Egypt from 1250-1517 AD when their reign ended with the Ottoman conquest of Egypt under Sultan Selim.

The arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt on July 2nd 1798, initiated a new phase in Egypt's history. Accompanying his expedition were a number of savants and scientists who made a complete encyclopedic survey of Egypt, known as "Description de l'Egypte". The expedition contributed significantly to the study of ancient Egyptian history through the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the consequent deciphering of Hieroglyphics, the ancient Egyptian language.After the departure of the French expedition, Mohamad Ali, who was an officer in the Ottoman Army, rose to power with the support of the Egyptian people. His rule extending from 1805 to 1849 was an eventful period in Egypt's modern history. He is regarded as the father of modern Egypt who set the country on the march towards modernization.

In 1863, Khedive Ismail, a member of Mohamad Ali's dynasty, rose to power. If Mohamad Ali had started the process of modernization, it was Ismail who completed it. He had boundless ambitions to bring Egypt up to the same level of culture, civilization and development which was enjoyed by most nations of Europe. It was during his reign, in 1869, that the Suez Canal was inaugurated.Towards the end of the 19th Century, and exactly on August 12th 1882, British troops landed at Alexandria marking the beginning of British occupation which lasted for 74 years. The beginning of the 20th century witnessed the awakening of the national conscience aiming at ending the British occupation. Mustafa Kamel, Sa'ad Zaghloul, Mustafa El Nahas and many others were prominent figures who strove to achieve two national objectives; independence and constitutional reform.

On the 28th of February 1922, Britain unilaterally declared the termination of the British Protectorate and declared Egypt an independent state. In 1923, the first Constitution was promulgated and Sa'ad Zaghloul formed the first representative government of Egypt.After the 1948 Palestine War, political, economic and social frustration intensified in Egypt. This led to the formation of the Free Officers Movement, which was created by a group of young officers who felt that they had been betrayed by their own government.

On the 23rd of July 1952, the Free Officer Movement led by Gamal Abd El-Nasser seized power in a bloodless revolution which allowed King Farouk to leave the country with a full royal salute.On the 18th of June 1953, the monarchy ended and Egypt was declared a Republic and Mohamad Naguib was named as the first President. In 1954 Nasser assumed control as the second president. During Nasser's presidency, extensive agricultural and industrial development projects were carried out. Progressive economic and social reforms were implemented for the benefit of the majority of the Egyptian people.With the death of President Nasser in September 1970, Anwar El-Sadat assumed office.

On October 6th, 1973, the Egyptian army crossed the Suez Canal, stormed the Bar Lev line and recaptured parts of Sinai occupied by Israel in 1967. To overcome the state of belligerency, President Sadat announced his historic initiative to visit Israel in pursuit of lasting peace, which he did in November 1977. Finally, the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in March 1979.The Sadat period witnessed changes in the political, social and economic domains, and at the same time, the private sector was given a greater share in the country's economy through the implementation of the "Open Door Policy".

In October 1981, Vice President Hosny Mubarak succeeded Sadat as President. Economic reforms undertaken under Mubarak succeeded in diverting finance towards productive investment in industry and agriculture. The main features of Egypt's national economic policy under President Mubarak are the efforts to broaden the economic base by promoting local, Arab and foreign investment. A process of successful privatization has started, the stock exchange has been revived, and reform programs with the IMF and the World Bank have been signed and implemented.

On taking power in 1952, President Nasser quickly instituted a Soviet-style command economy that was closed to Western investment. After Nasser’s death, his successor, Anwar Sadat, gradually dismantled the existing system in favour of a policy of infitah (openness) towards investment.

Egypt’s economy underwent rapid growth during the 1970s with the swift expansion of the oil industry, tourism and the Suez Canal. During the 1990s, stern fiscal policies, agreed with the IMF and World Bank, and further market-oriented measures brought the Egyptian economy to its current condition. As of mid 2004, annual growth had fallen to 3%, inflation was about 14%, while official unemployment was 10% (although there is considerable under-employment).

Egypt’s major industries are textiles, fertilisers, rubber products and cement. There are also steel production works and several vehicle assembly plants. The main crops are cotton, rice, wheat, sugar, maize and a range of fruit and vegetables. Expansion of the tourist sector has been briefly hampered by the terrorist activities of Islamic fundamentalists. Agriculture, which relies on irrigation from the Nile, employs one-third of the working population. Foreign aid, especially from the USA, is an important source of government funds.

Arabic has been the written and spoken language of Egypt. Before the Arab invasion in AD 639, Coptic, the language descended from ancient Egyptian, was the language of both religious and everyday life for the mass of the population; by the 12th century, however, it had been totally replaced by Arabic, continuing only as a liturgical language for the Coptic Orthodox Church. Arabic has become the language of both the Egyptian Christian and Muslim. The written form of the Arabic language, in grammar and syntax, has remained substantially unchanged since the 7th century. In other ways, however, the written language has changed the modern forms of style, word sequence, and phraseology are simpler and more flexible than in classical Arabic and are often directly derivative of English or French.

Egypt is predominantly Muslim, covering about 90% of the population, while Christians represent about 10% (official figures put it as low as 3%) of the population. Of the Ancient Egyptian religion no adherents still exist. Practically all Muslims are Sunni.

The Christians are mainly Copts, divided into two groups, the one having close organizational ties to the Roman Catholic Church. There are other small Christian groups, standard Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian Orthodox, in Alexandria and Cairo, whose adherents are mainly descendants of Italian, Greek, and Armenian immigrants. There are also some few, small Jewish communities

Hot, dry summers with mild, dry winters and cold nights. Rainfall is negligible except on the coast. In April, the hot, dusty Khamsin wind blows from the Sahara.

Required Clothing:
Lightweight cottons and linens during summer, with warmer clothes for winter and cooler evenings.

Currency:
Egyptian Pound (EGP; symbol E£) = 100 piastres. Notes are in denominations of E£100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 1, 50 piastres and 25 piastres. Coins are in denominations of 20, 10 and 5 piastres.

Currency Exchange:
Available at banks, official bureaux de change and most hotels. Banks often have better exchange rates than bureaux de change or hotels. All common international currencies are accepted.

Credit/Debit Cards and ATMs:
American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted, but generally only in bigger hotels or restaurants in Cairo and restaurants in tourist areas.

Banking Hours:
Sun-Thurs 08:30-14:00.

• Time: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Friday in April to last Thursday in September).
• Electricity: Most areas 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Certain rural parts still use 110 to 380 volts AC.
• Country code: 20

The following goods may be imported into Egypt without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes or 25 cigars or 200g of tobacco.
• Gifts up to the value of E£500.
• 1L of alcoholic beverages.
• 1L of perfume or eau de cologne.

Prohibited Imports:

• Narcotics
• Firearms
• Cotton
• Gold and Silver purchased locally unless for personal use only and in small quantities

Getting Around Egypt

Getting There by Air: The national airline is Egypt Air (MS)

Main Airports:

• Cairo International (CAI) is 24km (15 miles) northeast of the city at Heliopolis.
  To/from the airport: There are bus services every 30 minutes, and taxis are available. Special limousines are offered by local and international operators. Hotel cars may also be available. Facilities: Incoming and outgoing duty-free shops selling a wide range of goods, car hire, post office, bank/bureau de change, restaurants and bar, hotel reservation service, souvenir shops, bookshop and travel insurance services.
• Borg El Arab (HBE) is 60 km (37 miles) southwest of Alexandria.
  Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank and exchange services, VIP lounge, post office and restaurant.
• Luxor Airport (LXR) is 5.5km (3.5 miles) from Luxor. To/from the airport: There is a regular bus service to the city centre (journey time – 15 minutes). Special limousine and local taxi services are available.
  Facilities: Car hire, bank and exchange services, and a bar and restaurant.

Getting There by Water: Main ports: Alexandria, Nuweiba, Port Said and Suez.
The Saudi Sea Transport Company runs a regular car ferry service between Suez and Jeddah. A ferry service usually travels twice per week up the Nile between Wadi Halfa (Sudan) and Egypt High Dam. However, it is occasionally suspended.There is also a ferry service that operates between South Sinai and Aqaba (Jordan).Many cruise ships stop over in Egypt as part of their African itinerary.

Getting There by Road:
The road border between Libya and Egypt is open. There are two border crossings between Israel and Egypt: one runs from Cairo via El Arish to Rafiah on the north Sinai coast; and the other from Cairo via Suez and Taba to Eilat. Daily coaches leave early in the morning from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel for travel via El Arish/Rafiah to Cairo and vice versa. There are no direct buses from Eilat to Cairo; it is necessary to change in Taba. The crossing from Taba to Eilat is open 24 hours a day. Passengers in taxis and hired cars are not permitted to cross the borders between Israel and Egypt.

Privately-owned vehicles may be taken across other borders, provided the appropriate documentation is obtained. All private vehicles entering Egypt must have a three-month triptyche or Carnet de passage en douane from an automobile club in the country of registration. The driver must hold an International Driver’s Permit. Visas should normally be obtained in advance; however, travellers entering Egypt via Taba may be able to obtain visas at the border.

Getting There by Rail:
There are no international rail links to any of Egypt’s northwestern neighbours. The railheads at Aswan and Wadi Halfa, Sudan are connected by a ferry across Lake Nasser

The Visa is valid only for travel within three months from the date of issue and is valid only for One- month stay in Egypt, beginning on the date of arrival. If you have a reason to extend your stay, you can do that from the ministry of interior affairs in Egypt after declaring the reasons for that and their acceptance for that reasons..

Citizens of some countries need to have a clearance from Egyptian authorities before granting them tourist or entry visa which takes not less than 3 weeks.Any Egyptian citizen holds foreign passport will be granted a courtesy visa after declaring proof for Egyptian nationality like Egyptian (passport, personal or family identification card or birth certificate), also the foreign wife to Egyptian husband will be granted a courtesy visa after declaring a proof for their marriage.

The American citizen (holding American passport and not any other kind of documents) who does not have enough time to obtain a visa before traveling to Egypt can obtain it upon arrival there (The departure from the arrival port will be delayed for some time until obtaining the visa).

Citizens exempted from getting a visa to Egypt:Citizens of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Yemen, Gepoti, Syria, Oman, Qatar, Libya, Malta.

Citizens of the following countries are required to be in possession of a pre-arrival visa to Egypt and they CANNOT get a visa upon their arrival:Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Somalia, Sudan, Mauritania, Non Western European citizens, Asian citizens and All African Citizens.

Citizens of the following countries can get a visa from our consulates abroad or upon their arrival to Egypt:Western European citizens, North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Maldives, Nepal, Brunei, USA, Canada, Australia , New Zealand and South American citizens can except those from Palestinian origin and Belies citizens from Lebanese origin.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which has the world's largest and finest collection of Egyptian and Graeco-Roman antiquities, founded in 1857 by the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette (1821-81 ). To do full justice to the Museum, which can display only a fraction of its total holdings, several days would be required. Visitors who are pressed for time will do well to confine themselves to the celebrated treasures of Tutankhamun and a selection of the Old Kingdom material.Horizontal looms can be seen in models of workshops which were found in tombs.

The Coptic Church in Cairo is the by far largest Christian group in both Egypt as well as in North Africa/Middle East. According to government figures there are about 2 million Copts in Egypt, but this is not correct. 6.5 million is a realistic estimate.

The term Coptic Church, is sometimes used for the Ethiopian church, too, but this bodym now the Ethiopian Orthodox, declared itself independent from its Egyptian heritage in 1959, and does not accept the term 'Coptic' for itself.

Sultan Hasan Mosque was erected between 1356 and 1361 next to the Citadel of Cairo. The cost of the project was so high that it was never fully completed and Sultan Hasan himself was murdered and his body hidden, so that he was never buried in the mausoleum. It is a huge complex, measuring 65 by 140 m, and four storeys high, making it one of the largest mosques in Cairo. The main function of the building was as a madrassa with tomb attached but its size and the beauty of its prayer hall meant that it was recognized as a congregational mosque as well.