EGYPT |
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The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt, (Arabic: romanized
Misr or Masr, in Egyptian dialect) is the most populous nation of
northeastern Africa.
Covering an area of about 1,020,000 km˛, it includes the Sinai Peninsula
(considered part of Southwest Asia), whilst the majority of the country
is located in North Africa .
The vast majority of Egypt's population inhabit the length of the Nile
river (about 40,000 km˛). Large areas of land are part of the Sahara Desert
and sparsely inhabited. The country is famous for its ancient civilization
and some of the world's most stunning ancient monuments, including pyramids,
Karnak temple and the Valley of the Kings. Today, Egypt is widely considered
the main political and cultural center of the Arab world. |
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Politics
Egypt is a republic. Hosni Mubarak, has been President since October 14,
1981, following Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat. He is the leader of the
National Democratic Party which has led Egypt continually since the split
with Syria in 1978. Egypt was the first Arab country to establish peace with
Israel after the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (main point of the
Camp David Accords). The permanent headquarters for the Arab League are
located in Cairo. Egypt regularly holds multi-party elections, but there is
expressed concern from international human rights observers concerning
freedom of speech, government interference in local elections, etc.
Governorates
Egypt is divided into 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah):
Aswan
Asyut
al-Bahr al-Ahmar
Bani Suwayf
al-Buhayrah
Bur Sa'id
ad-Daqahliyah
Dumyat
al-Fayyum
al-Gharbiyah
al-Iskandariyah
al-Isma'iliyah
Janub Sina'
al-Jizah
Kafr ash Shaykh
Matruh
al-Minufiyah
al-Minya
al-Qahirah
al-Qalyubiyah
Qina
Shamal Sina'
ash-Sharqiyah
Suhaj
as-Suways
al-Wadi al-Jadid
Demographics
Egypt is the most populous Arab country, at about 73,000,000 people. Nearly
all the population is concentrated along the River Nile, notably Alexandria
and Cairo, and along the Nile Delta and near the Suez Canal.
Culture
The capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for
centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce.
Egypt also hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University, the
oldest Islamic institution for higher studies (founded around 970 CE) with
its corresponding mosque Al-Azhar. The head of Al-Azhar is traditionally
regarded as the supreme leader of Sunni Muslims all over the world. Egypt
also has a strong Christian heritage as evidenced by the existence of the
Coptic Orthodox Church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria, which claims a
following of 50 million Christians worldwide (one of the famous Coptic
Orthodox Churches is Saint Takla Haimanot Church in Alexandria http://www.St-Takla.org
).
Though considered a low-income country, Egypt has a thriving media and arts
industry, with more than 30 satellite channels and more than 100 motion
pictures produced a year. To bolster its media industry, especially with the
keen competition from the Persian Gulf states and Lebanon, it has built a
large media city that it has promoted as the "Hollywood of the East". Egypt
has the only Opera House amongst Arab countries.
Some famous Egyptians include: Naguib Mahfouz (Nobel Prize-winning novelist),
Umm Kulthum (singer), Omar Sharif (actor), Ahmed Zewail (Nobel Prize-winning
chemist), Boutros Boutros-Ghali (former Secretary General of the United
Nations), Mohamed ElBaradei (Head of the International Atomic Energy
Agency), and Anwar Sadat (former president and winner of the Nobel Peace
Prize.) |
