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Most people who think of Egypt think of antiquities, but Egypt offers muchmore. Certainly it is a prime location to see our great heritage from theancient world, including Pyramids and wonderfultemples, but it is also partof the Holy Land, and tours to Christian and other religious monuments arepopular. Yet Egypt also offers nature anddesert treks, greatscuba diving and evengolf ,fishingandbirding expeditions. One may choose to relax on the wondrous Egypt Red Sea or Sinai coasts, take in the high culture of Cairo, or even leisurely float down the Egyptian Nile on a luxurious riverboat.Egypt is a country mainly inNorth Africa, with theSinai Peninsulaforming a land bridge inWestern Asia. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 squarekilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt borders theMediterranean Seato thenorth, theGaza StripandIsraelto the northeast, theRed Seato the east, Sudanto the south andLibyato the west. Egypt is one of the most populous countries inAfricaand theMiddle East. The great majority of its estimated 82 million live near the banks of theNile

River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), wherethe onlyarableagricultural land is found. The large areas of theSahara Desertare sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urbanareas, with the majority spread across the densely-populated centres of greaterCairo,Alexandriaand other major cities in theNile Delta. Egypt is famous for itsancient civilizationand some of the world's mostfamous monuments, including theGiza pyramid complexand itsGreat Sphinx. The southern city of Luxorcontains numerous ancient artifacts, such as theKarnakTemple and theValley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East.One of the ancientEgyptiannames of the country,

Kemet

ṃ

t), (from

kem

"black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods,distinct from the

deshret

, or "red land" (dš

ṛ

t), of the desert. The name isrealized as

kīmi

and

kīm

in theCopticstage of the Egyptian language, andappeared in early Greek as Χημία (

Khēmía

). Another name was

t3-mry

"landof the riverbank".The names of Upper and Lower Egyptwere

Ta-Sheme'aw

(t3-šm

w) "sedgeland" and

Ta-Mehew

(t3 m

ḥ

w) "northland", respectively.

ANCIENT EGYPT

Ancient Egypt was anancient civilizationin easternNorth Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of theNile Riverin what is now themodern nation of Egypt. The civilization began around 3150 BC with thepolitical unification of Upper and Lower Egyptunder the firstpharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. Itshistoryoccurred in a series of stable periods, known as kingdoms, separated by periods of relativeinstability known as Intermediate Periods. After the end of the last kingdom,known as theNew Kingdom, the civilization of ancient Egypt entered aperiod of slow, steady decline, during which Egypt was conquered by asuccession of foreign powers. The rule of the pharaohs officially ended in31 BC when the earlyRoman Empireconquered Egypt and made ita province. The civilization of ancient Egypt thrived from its ability to adapt to theconditions of theNile River Valley. Controlledirrigationof the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which fueled social development and culture. Withresources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of thevalley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of anindependent writing system, the organization of collective construction and

agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military thatdefeated foreign enemiesand asserted Egyptian dominance. Motivating andorganizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religiousleaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh who ensured thecooperation and unity of the Egyptian people through an elaborate system of religious beliefs. The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians included a system of mathematics,quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumentalpyramids, temples,obelisks,faience and glass technology, a practical and effectivesystem of medicine, newforms of literature, irrigation systems and agricultural productiontechniques, and the earliest known peace treaty. Egypt left a lasting legacy:artandarchitecturewere copied and antiquities paraded around the world, and monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of tourists and writers for centuries. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations inthe early modern period led to thescientific investigationof Egyptiancivilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy for Egypt and the world.

GEOGRAPHY

At 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,660 sq mi), Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country. In terms of land area, it is approximately the same size asall of Central America, twice the size of France,

[10]

four times the size of theUnited Kingdom, and the combined size of the US states of Texasand California.Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres areconcentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning thatapproximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total landarea.