Egypt
Egypt facts & history
in brief
Egypt is surrounded by the Mediterranean and
Red Sea, Israel, Sudan and Libya.
Mainly hot and arid, year/s can pass without rain.
Most of the population of nearly 60 million, live in
or around Cairo or the fertile Nile valley.
Egypt's history goes back five thousand years or so
and being one of the first civilisations on earth.
Some of the interesting things are the history, Pyramids,
Sphynx, other ruins, Suez Canal, Aswan High Dam, the
River Nile and the great Qattara Depression.
We entered the Sinai from Eilat in Israel.
After a lot of hassle at the Egyptian Border Post, we
had to return to Eilat, get another Visa and have another
try the next day.
After some more hassles with the transport operators
and a delay of 5-6 hours, we were on our way in a rickety
old taxi to the St Catherine's Monastery in the desert,
at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
Christians, Muslims and Jews around here all believe
in buckshi (Bribe or tip).
By a van, that rushed just before a scheduled bus to
'pinch' his customers, (We only found out as we progressed),
we crossed the other half of the Sinai to Suez.
After exploring Suez and the sorrounds, we bussed to
Alexandria.
From Alexandria we trained to Cairo and after a few
days on to Aswan.
In Aswan we took time out to fly to Abu Simbel.
Finishing with Aswan we were driven by a van to Luxor,
visiting all the attractions in between, like Kom Omo
Temple and many others.
Luxor of course another thing altogether.
It is chock-a-block with attractions.
Karnak and Luxor Temples, Hatshepsut and the Valleys
of the Kings and Queens just to mention a few.
Than we returned to Cairo to for a final look and farewell
Egypt and an unforgettable experience.
Cairo
is the capital of Egypt and the largest city
in Africa. Situated in the Nile Valley and Delta, the
few parts of the country that has fertile soil and plentiful
water.
The Nile River divides into two channels just north
of the city.
Huge deserts lie east and west of the city.
The famous world wonders of ancient Egypt, the pyramids
and the Sphinx, stand at Giza, just outside of Cairo.
Most of modern Cairo was built in the 1900's, in the
present day American and European style and have many
gardens, parks, public squares, and wide boulevards,
making them more orderly and less crowded than the older
parts of the city.
Cairo is a major manufacturing centre, tourism is a
key part of Cairo's economy.
The main attractions are the mosques, museums, pyramids,
and Great Sphinx, which attract millions of visitors
every year.
Cairo was founded about 3100 B.C. as the capital of
ancient Egypt.
In 969, the Fatimids (Arabs) conquered Egypt.
In the late 1100's, Saladin, the founder of Egypt's
Ayyubid dynasty, expanded the city and built the Citadel.
From 1250 to 1517, the Mamelukes, former servants of
the Ayyubids ruled Egypt as slave-warriors and built
many of Cairo's finest mosques and extended the city
to its present boundaries.
Most of ancient Egypt's treasures were discovered in
the 1800's and the early 1900's.
Exhibitions and lectures about Egypt's past aroused
great interest among people in other countries during
the 1800's.
Thousands visited Cairo to see the wonders they had
heard about.
Population is over 6 million.
You can click on
these photos for an enlargement.
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