Overview

Situated in northeast Africa, Egypt (known since 1971 as the Arab Republic of Egypt) occupies an area of 390,000 square miles (1,010,100 sq. km.). With 90 percent of the land covered by desert, only a small portion of it, about 14,000 square miles, is arable, and it is here that the majority of Egyptians live. Egypt is bordered by Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, the Sudan to the south, Libya to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. The majority of people in Egypt are Muslim, although some Egyptians belong to the Coptic Church and practice Christianity and an even smaller percentage are Jews.

History

Ancient Egypt was the cradle of Western Civilization. Here, as early as 4000 B.C., people had come together and formed organized societies. By 3100 B.C., the pharaoh Menes had united the peoples of the Nile delta with those...