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Egypt is the oldest tourist destination on earth. Ancient Greeks and Romans started the trend, coming to goggle at the Cyclopean scale of the Pyramids and the Colossi of Thebes. During colonial times, Napoleon and the British looted Egypt's treasures to fill their national museums, sparking off a trickle of Grand Tourists that eventually became a flood of travellers, taken on Nile cruises and Egyptological lectures by the enterprising Thomas Cook. Today, the attractions of the country are not only the monuments of the Nile Valley and the souks, mosques and madrassas of Islamic Cairo, but also fantastic coral reefs and tropical fish, dunes, ancient fortresses, monasteries and prehistoric rock art.
The land itself is a freak of nature, its lifeblood the River Nile. From the Sudanese border to the shores of the Mediterranean, the Nile Valley and its Delta are flanked by arid wastes, the latter as empty as the former are teeming with people. This stark duality between fertility and desolation is fundamental to Egypt's character and has shaped its development since prehistoric times, imparting continuity to diverse cultures and peoples over seven millennia. It is a sense of permanence and timelessness that is buttressed by religion, which pervades every aspect of life. Although the pagan cults of Ancient Egypt are as moribund as its legacy of mummies and temples, their ancient fertility rites and processions of boats still hold their place in the celebrations of Islam and Christianity.
Though most visitors are drawn to Egypt by its monuments, the enduring memory is likely to be of its people and their way of life.
The result is a multi-layered culture, which seems to accord equal respect to ancient and modern. The peasants of the Nile and Bedouin tribes of the desert live much as their ancestors did a thousand years ago. Other communities include the Nubians of the far south, and the Coptic Christians, who trace their ancestry back to pharaonic times. What unites them is a love of their homeland, extended family ties, dignity, warmth and hospitality towards strangers. Though most visitors are drawn to Egypt by its monuments, the enduring memory is likely to be of its people and their way of life.
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• The Arab Republic of Egypt covers 1,001,450 square kilometres, of which 96.4 percent is desert; only the Nile Valley, its Delta and some oases are fertile.
• Egypt's population of 76 million is over twice that of the next most populous Arab country (Algeria) and a quarter of the population of the Arab world. Its ethnic profile is Eastern Hamitic and Semitic – Egyptians, Bedouins, Nubians and Berbers account for 99 percent – with tiny minorities of Greeks, Armenians and others. Arabic is spoken universally, Nubian around Aswan and Lake Nasser, and Siwi at Siwa Oasis. Islam is the national religion, with some 96 percent followers; almost all the rest are Coptic Orthodox Christians. Average life expectancy is 70 years.
• A republic since 1952, Egypt is divided into 26 governorates or muhafazat. President Hosni Mubarak has been head of state since 1981. The National Democratic Party invariably wins tightly regulated elections to the People's Assembly (Maglis al-Shaab) and Advisory Council (Maglis al-Shura). Opposition parties and independent MPs are outspoken, but powerless to change anything.
•Tourism is Egypt's largest money-earner, followed by tolls on the Suez Canal, and exports of oil, petroleum products, textiles and natural gas.
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