Arab Republic of Egypt, or unofficially Egypt, is one of the most interesting countries in the world. Its historical background is incredible considering its terrain hardly varies at all. There seems to have always been an interest in Egypt because of its huge temples, called pyramids. Also it was known to be one of the most advanced cultures since 3200 BC and even today we can still not imagine what great force it took to make such pyramids. They ancient Egyptians were known to be very intelligent and their rule was much like a monarchy where the royal family passed down rule to other members of the family.
Hieroglyphics have always been an interesting topic because much they show us much of what these people did during their lives. Everything about Egypt seems to carry a mystery or be intriguing. The geography of Egypt is not the most interesting part about it and probably is the only thing that stays almost constant. On the West side of Egypt it borders Libya, the East borders Israel and the Red Sea, the North by the Mediterranean Sea and the South by Sudan. Egypt is roughly 1500 miles of coastline and about two thirds of that is along the Red Sea.
The total area of Egypt is 386,662 square feet. Less than ten percent of that is not even been cultivated which makes for a vast dry country. About ninety percent of Egypt is made up of desert areas including the Libyan Desert to the West and the Arabian Desert to the East. Within the Libyan Desert, which is part of the Sahara, is a large dry area which has many large depressions in it. One of which is the Qattara Depression, which is 7,000 square miles and goes down to a depth of 436 feet below sea level. Also within the Qattara Depression are several large oases.
The Arabian Desert on the other hand is mainly located on a plateau, which rises East from the Nile Valley to about 2,000 feet above sea level. The highest elevation in Egypt is not this plateau but instead Mt. Catherine which lies on the sandy Sinai Peninsula. Another important part to the geography of Egypt is the ever famous Nile River. The Nile River comes into Egypt through Sudan and flows north for 900 miles through Egypt to where it empties out in the Mediterranean Sea. The whole trip made by the river goes through a very narrow valley with cliffs on the sides.
This Nile Valley is rarely even 2 miles wide and the only good land is mainly on the West side of it. But strangely from Idfu to Cairo this valley extends to about fourteen miles wide and the land is much more useable for it has a greater amount of natural resources. There are a variety of peninsulas in this area, which are eroding because of the salts brought down by the Nile River. Because there are many indentations along the shoreline near the eroding peninsulas there are many suitable places for harbors, which is something that gives Egypt an advantage as a country.
The most interesting thing about Egypt is the history from which it comes from. No other nation in the world is so famous for what happened to it in the early stages of government and rule then Egypt. About 3200 BC the first united kingdom of Egypt was established. This was also about the same time in which the very first hieroglyphics were found to be from. During the time period called the 0 Dynasty there were about thirteen rulers and then during the 1st and 2nd Dynasty there were about seventeen more rulers.
During these three Dynastys there were also structures similar to the pyramids constructed but of far less magnitude. The 3rd through the 6th Dynastys are referred to as the time of the Old Kingdom. During this time period the rulers where the same as modern day monarchs holding absolute power over everyone else. These rulers or pharaohs were not only considered all powerful but in many cases considered gods. Religion played a very important role in this time period. During this time period the great pyramids of Egypt were created as large monumental tombs for the pharaohs.
Soon after the 6th dynasty was over the pharaohs divided the land into districts, which were controlled by nomarchs. Soon these nomarchs battled for control and each of them wanted more from what the others had. Then Mentuhotep became ruler and ceased all of the nomarchs and took control of the whole kingdom. He made his capital at Thebes and for his tomb there was only a small mortuary and no temple or pyramid. The time period in which he ruled is often referred to as the reunification. With the unification of land the new ruler, Ahmose I, took control and the New Kingdom began.
He reestablished their borders and goals and he balanced the power between him and the nomarchs with the military support, which no other ruler had been able to do. During this time period the respect for women jumped considerably and they were almost all turned into royalty and had high positions in the government. During the following Dynastys many famous pharaohs lead Egypt through war and famine. One of which was Ramses I who only reigned for two years but then passed the power on to his son. Who helped lead successful campaigns against Libya, Palestine, Syria and Hittites.
After 67 years of reigning his son took the power from him. Many of Ramses III victories were depicted on walls and mortuary complexes including his own at Medinet Habu. After the Ramses cam a man by the name of Ptolemy and when he became ruler he renamed Egypt to Ptolemaic Egypt. During his ruling Egypt was a very powerful country. At some parts of this time period Ptolemaic Egypt ruled over Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Libya and Phoenicia. Over time the long line of ancestors to Ptolemy I lost land to the Romans. Cleopatra VII was the last to try and save Egypt from the Romans.
She became close to Julius Caesar at first and then when he was assassinated she joined with Mark Antony. After a short amount of time the Romans overtook Cleopatras forces and Egypt fell to Rome. Also shortly after that Cleopatra committed suicide. After the Romans had taken Egypt, it was soon learned that Egypt was not only good for grain harvest but also for glass, metal and some other industries. Sassanids of Persia invaded Egypt hoping to overthrow the Romans control but the were kicked out slightly afterwards.
Soon after that Egypt fell the Arabs and was introduced to the Muslim religion. Not many changes were made by the Arabs but the did move the capitol from Alexandria to Al Fustat which is only a few miles away from Cairo, today. Many rebellions and foreign leaders tried to take over Egypt but the Arabs stayed in control. The first man to come in and rule after the Romans was Turk by the name of Tulan. He expanded Egypts borders so that at the end of his rule Egypt controlled Palestine and Syria. After his rule ended Egypt went into a state of anarchy for some time.
By the early 1500s Egypt was threatened by the Ottoman Empire and was taken over by it in 1517. Egypt was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1915. With the start of World War I Turkey went on the side of Germany while the British said they would protect Egypt if they didnt support Germany so Egypt agreed. This is the basic old history of Egypt. An interesting trait of Egypt is the people who live there and how they have adapted to such a climate. Most of the Egyptian people came from the ancient indigenous people or from the Arabs who conquered Egypt in the 7th century AD.
Some ethics and values of other people that have conquered Africa can be seen here such as the Turkish, Roman and Greek influence after they also had conquered Egypt at different times. Although many of the people from the Mediterranean look similar the people of the Nile Valley look distinctly different. These Nubians, which are indigenous to Africa, once used to live in small villages along the Nile in southern Egypt for thousands of years until the formation of Lake Nasser overtook many of the villages and they were forced to move.
Many people who once lived in villages or by themselves are beginning to move towards the more urban areas of Egypt so that they may have a higher standard of living. But still only 45 percent of Egypt are living in urban areas. The remainder of the African people still live in the desert area. The most common of those being the Bedouins who are people that roam the desert living off their livestock. The population of Egypt is said to be at about 66 and a half million people with it still rising at a little over two percent each year.
About 99 percent of those people live somewhere within the Nile Valley, which is only four percent of Egypts total area. The overall population density of Egypt is about 164 people per square mile but in the Nile Valley and delta it jumps to a surprising 4307 people per square mile which happens to be one of the most densely populated areas in the entire world. Religion is very important to the Egyptian people because it has affected them since the beginning of the existence of the country. The official religion is Muslim which is supported by about 90 percent of the population.
About one million people belong to the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian, and some Protestant groups. Also according to Coptic Orthodox, their church has about seven million followers but official Egyptian say they have no more than three million which still makes them the largest religious minority in Egypt. In Egypt Arabic is the main language but also spoken is some Berber and English and French are common as second languages. The culture of Egypt is directed by Ministry of Culture and is becoming more popular to be involved in cultural activities in Egypt.
Such as folk dancing has become more popular over the last forty years. There are two main national folk dancing groups. Although not noted for filmmaking Egypt is the leading filmmaker in the Arab world today. They have several state owned businesses and many privately owned. Another thing that Egypt now has, in Cairo, is a vast museum of relics and artifacts recovered from every time period from ancient Egypt. Now more than ever Egypt is beginning to become more involved in cultural activities and they seem to be enjoying it and its increasing in popularity.
Egypt in the last twenty years has gone through violent times trying to sort out which leaders are good and which ones have been unjust in their activities or choices. There has been a decline in tourism there because of the militant action that has taken place within the last five years. Many people that have wanted to run for president have been arrested under false charges because of the overwhelming power of their president. There is still a interest in Egypt because of all of the unexplored tombs and the unexplainable pyramids.
Egypt has been controlled by so many different people and countries that it is hard to stay on track. They have not been able to have a stable government in the last one hundred years and they are still fighting to become a purely democratic society where one man can not change the people running for an election or have the ones he wants arrested. The years ahead will be tough for Egypt but one day they will most likely have a stable country that will be safe to visit. One day the tourism will grow and it should be a wealthy country because of its unique attributes.
