Travelers have marvelled at Egypt’s
archaeological wonders for centuries, ever since the Ancient Greeks visited the pyramids. Today, millions of tourists are attracted each year to the pyramids, temples, mosques and great monuments of the Nile Valley, as well as the stunning
diving resorts of the Red Sea.
In 430 BC, when Greek historian Herodotos visited the magnificent monuments in Egypt, many of them were already 2,500 years old. Most, from the
pyramids of Giza to the astonishingly beautiful temples of
Karnak or
Philae, or the painted tombs in the
Valley of the Kings, can still be visited today. The sheer age of this great civilization is mind-blowing.
The life-giving
Nile runs north through the country to the Mediterranean, feeding an emerald ribbon of irrigated fields adjacent to villages shaded by date palms. Whether on a cruise ship or traditional
felucca boat, life on the water is a constant visual feast, while the few huge, dusty cities -
Cairo,
Alexandria,
Aswan and
Luxor - are a babble of exotic sounds and smells.
Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik, on the
Red Sea coast, are doors to a magical underwater world of technicolor fish and coral that draws
divers from around the world, while other adventurous travelers head inland. Here, you can discover
monasteries amid the arid mountains of
Sinai or the distant desert
oases, home to the hardy
nomads whose camel trains still wander the Saharan sands.
Egypt is at the center of the Arab world and has played a central role in the region’s political situation in modern times. After three wars in 1948, 1967 and 1973, peace was achieved with Israel in 1979 leading to Egypt’s expulsion from the Arab League (they were restored in 1991). Egypt has since played a vital role in the
Middle East Peace Process.
GeographyEgypt is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean, to the south by Sudan, to the west by Libya, and to the east by the Red Sea and Israel. The River Nile divides the country unevenly in two, while the Suez Canal provides a third division with the Sinai Peninsula. Beyond the highly cultivated Nile Valley and Delta, a lush green tadpole of land that holds more than 90% of the population, the landscape is mainly flat desert, devoid of vegetation apart from the few oases that have persisted in the once fertile depressions of the Western Desert. Narrow strips are inhabited on the Mediterranean coast and on the African Red Sea coast. The coast south of Suez has fine beaches and the coral reefs just offshore attract many divers. The High Dam at Aswan now controls the annual floods that once put much of the Nile Valley under water; it also provides electricity.
Next Page »
