Egypt

Egypt is a country in northeast Africa, parts of the country hang on to the Middle East. Its capital city is Cairo. Egypt is famous for its ancient monuments, such as the Pyramids and the Sphinx.

History 
Ancient Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country in the world as it used to be ruled by pharaohs. As a province of the Roman Empire, it became Christian and some Coptic Church people are thereafter more than a thousand years of Muslim rule. The Fatimid Caliphate ruled Egypt in the tenth through twelfth centuries. Mamlukes ruled it until 1798 when Napoleon defeated them. Muhammad Ali Pasha soon took over and started a dynasty of Khedives under the Ottoman Empire. The Empire fell apart after World War I. Egypt became an independent country in 1922 and the khedive became a king. Egypt is a member of the United Nations and the Arab League. It became a republic after the Army's revolution of 1952.

Geography 
Egypt is a large country, but a large portion of it is desert. Most people (95% of Egypt's total people) live in areas around the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Nile River. This includes the cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, and Port Said. Not many people live in the desert. Today, Egypt has about 90 million people.

Egypt is divided into 29 areas, called Governorates of Egypt.

Politics 
Egypt is a country that has had many different rulers and many political systems. After World War II, Egypt was still ruled by a king, Farouk of Egypt (11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965). He was the last ruler of the Muhammad Ali dynasty.

Farouk was overthrown on 23 July 1952 by a military coup. The coup was led by Muhammad Naguib, and Gamal Abdel Nasser. From then on, Egypt had military rulers or rulers who had the backing of the army and many citizens.

Nasser became president, from 1956 to 1970. Later rulers were Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak.

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became president in 2014.

Revolution of 2011 

In January 2011, thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo. They wanted Hosni Mubarak to leave office. He had been the President for almost 30 years. On February 11, 2011, Vice President Omar Suleiman made an announcement. He said that Mubarak agreed to leave office. In 2012, Egypt had a democratic election for the post of President. The winner was the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohamed Morsi.

The events which followed are still controversial, but one aspect stands out. Morsi issued a declaration that in effect gave him unlimited powers. He had the power to legislate (make laws) without legal overview by the courts. This caused widespread protests. On 3 July 2013, he was unseated by a military coup council (a coup d'état). After an election in June 2014, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became President of Egypt. Islamist movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, rejected the change of regime as a military coup, and not democratic.

Demographics

Religion 
Today, the people of Egypt are mostly Sunni Muslims. There are many Christians in Egypt today. Many of these belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

Languages 
The official language in Egypt is Arabic. The majority speak Egyptian Arabic but many speak other dialects. Some Egyptians still speak Coptic and English. They also speak French and German in Egypt. These are taught in Egypt as additional languages.

Famous people
Many famous people are from Egypt. Some of these include Omar Sharif, who was an international actor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was the first person from Africa to lead the United Nations, and four Nobel Prize winners: Anwar Sadat, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, Naguib Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, Ahmed Zewail, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999, and Mohamed ElBaradei, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Mohamed Salah is a famous footballer who plays for Liverpool in England. A famous Egyptian singer is called Amr Diab.

Governorates
Egypt is divided into 27 governorates. The governorates are divided into regions. The regions have towns and villages. Each governorate has a capital. Sometimes capital has the same name as the governorate.

Culture 
Egypt is a country with an immense cultural mix. Life in the countryside differs from life in large cities. There are differences between the families which are Muslim, and the smaller number which are Coptic Christians. There are noticeable differences in the standards of education.

Tourism 

Tourism is one of the most important national incomes in Egypt. In 2008, about 12 million tourists visited Egypt providing nearly $12 billion of national income to Egypt. Tourism affects the economy of the country as a whole.

Giza Necropolis is one of Egypt's iconic sites. It is a popular destination for tourists to visit. It includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Transport 
There are methods of transport in Egypt. The Suez Canal carries ships of many countries.

Cairo Metro is one of the most important projects in Egypt. It consists of 3 lines. Metro is the most preferable transport in Egypt due to persistent major traffic jams in the streets of Cairo. Metro line 4 is being developed to reach the New Cairo District.

Egypt established EgyptAir in 1932. The airline is based in Cairo International Airport and is owned by the government.

References

Other websites
 
 

Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
1922 establishments in Africa
North African countries