Egypt - Overview

Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik, on the Red Sea coast, are doors to a magical underwater world of technicolor fish and coral favored by divers, while other adventurous travelers head inland. Here, you can discover monasteries amid the arid mountains of Sinai or the distant desert oases, homes of the hardy nomads whose camel trains still wander the Saharan sands.

While best known for its pyramids and ancient civilizations, Egypt is at the center of the Arab world and has played a central role in the political situation within the region in modern times. After three wars in 1948, 1967 and 1973, peace was achieved with Israel in 1979 leading to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League. Following the assassination of Anwar Al-Sadat in 1981 by Islamic extremists, Hosni Mubarak was elected president and oversaw the return of Egypt to the Arab League in 1991. During this time, Egypt joined the international coalition which drove Iraqi occupation forces out of Kuwait and since then, Egypt has played a vital role in the Middle East Peace Process.

Geography
Egypt is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean, to the south by Sudan, to the west by Libya, and to the east by the Red Sea and Israel. The River Nile divides the country unevenly in two, while the Suez Canal provides a third division with the Sinai Peninsula. Beyond the highly cultivated Nile Valley and Delta, a lush green tadpole of land that holds more than 90 per cent of the population, the landscape is mainly flat desert, devoid of vegetation apart from the few oases that have persisted in the once fertile depressions of the Western Desert. Narrow strips are inhabited on the Mediterranean coast and on the African Red Sea coast. The coast south of Suez has fine beaches and the coral reefs just offshore attract many divers. The High Dam at Aswan now controls the annual floods that once put much of the Nile Valley under water; it also provides electricity.

The Pyramids of Giza

The valley of kings

St. Catherine