A Real Life new mermaid found on the beaches of Hawaii & Egypt

A Real Life new mermaid found on the beaches of Hawaii & Egypt 

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Agiba Beach Matrooh Egypt - Videos

Agiba Beach Matrooh Egypt - Videos

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The Lost Kingdom of Cleopatra, Heracleion (Thonis), Egypt

The Lost Kingdom of Cleopatra, Heracleion (Thonis), Egypt

For over a thousand years, Heracleion or Thonis was considered to be a legend (much like Atlantis is today). It was home to Egyptian Pharaohs and it’s written that Helen of Troy along with her lover, Paris (if familiar with the film Troy, thats Diane Kruger and Orlando Bloom) visited this ancient city as did Heracles (who the city is likely named after).

Heracleion is a myth no longer after being rediscovered in 2000 by Frank Goddio and his team. To date they have unearthed 64 ships, giant 16 foot statues, gold coins, stone slabs inscribed with Ancient Greek and Ancient Egyptian and hundreds of smaller archaeological gems. Can you imagine being Frank Goddio on first sight of this astonishing discovery? His Christmas sure came early!

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El Hassana Dome Protectorate - Giza

El Hassana Dome Protectorate - Giza

Announced in 1989, El Hassana Dome Protectorate is located in the Giza governorate in Egypt and is a geological protected area covering a land area of one square km. reaching the place is very easy from Cairo which lays just 23 kms away from the protectorate.

The Hassana Dome is often referred as a museum or a specialized scientific institute which helps in the study of geology and a number of geological formations including foults, folds and also comparing these formations with other places. The dome is a perfect area for the study of fossil science due to the existence of fossils gathering preserved here in perfectly reserved colonies. The climate change which characterizes the area also helps in the studies greatly. The morine fossils found here depict a complete record of the ancient history.

More about the history of the reserve

The reserve is located in the Cairo-Alexandria road at Abu Rawash and lies around 8 km from the Great Giza Pyramids. The distinguished history of the reserve is depicted in its topographical merits and its geological makeup. It’s the only reserve near Cairo that has remnants from the crustaceous age dating back to about one million years. The rocks found here belong to the Stone Age and are believed to have been formed 60 million years back and from the rocky age about 40 million years back.

Area the reserve covers

The Hassana dome covers an area of one square km and the highest point here lies at 149 meter above sea level is referred as the Al Hassana dome and is located in the western desert. Meanwhile the highest point in the eastern part rises to about 109 meters above sea level.

The name of the reserve comes from its dome shaped hills which are located at the foot of the Hassana valley. The reserve meanwhile is divided into two by the Cairo- Alexandria highway. The protectorate is one of the smallest one in Egypt and is not very popular among tourists. Also the urbanization and pollution has taken a toll over the same. The New Giza housing project is very near located. The protectorate is referred as a purely geological protectorate and you cannot find much here where plants, animals or wildlife is considered.

Excavation contents of the reserve

The quarried content of the Al Hassana Dome gives it a distinguished meaning where the components are gathered as a well preserved canton. The place represents an open museum that displays a complete record of ancient life, its climate and the environment during the late cretaceous age which dates back to about 100 million years.

The Dome reserve is also known to have some of the rarest plant species found only in northern Egypt.

To any person who is not a geologist or doesn’t have any love for nature might find the Dome Reserve something very ordinary. But to the specialists and those having a keen eye for nature the Hassana Dome truly does resemble an open-air prehistoric museum.

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Egypt Site Guide - Destinations

Egypt Site Guide

Guide to all Egypt attractions here are 75 sites listed here, with more to come in the future!

1.  Pyramids of Giza & Sphinx
2. .Memphis Museum
3. The Steps pyramids of Sakkara
4. The Pharaonic Village
5. The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities
6. The Pyramids of Giza & Sphinx
7. The Pyramids of Abu Sir
8. The Pyramids of Dashur
9. Pyramids of Meidum.The Pyramids of Meidum
10. The Pyramids of El Lisht
11. The Pyramids of Abu Rawash
12. The Pyramids of Hawara
13. The Pyramid of El Lahun

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Egypt Trips - Egypt Tour Packages

Egypt Tour Packages

Egypt Travel Experts, gives you the best Egyptian Travel experience with a full range of private tours that includes all top Egypt sightseeing, Nile cruise experince and red sea getaway desitnations.

When it comes to Egypt trips, we are the Egypt Treavel Experts! We can arrange every aspect of your stay in Egypt such as complete package tours to Nile and Lake Nasser cruises, tailor-made itineraries, long or short city breaks or What ever you want, we will guarantee your satisfaction!

If you want to capture the beautiful memories with your partner, family or friends and enjoy your vacation by sightseeing all of Egypt! Then our tour packages will help you to make it come true by providing you with a very affordable trip packages and an amazing travel experiance! 

Join throusand of satisfied travellers who have exerianced our great private tours!

Nobody covers Egypt like we do, whether you are interested in a classical tour of Egypt that incorporates the wonderful sights of Cairo, including the Sphinx and the majestic pyramids of Giza, the fascinating Egyptian Museum, the bustling bazaars of old Cairo with its world-famous Citadel and the great temples of Luxor and Aswan or perhaps you would wish to take a relaxing Beach vacation on the gloden shores of the Red Sea.

1. Egypt Splender
2. Egypt Splender by sleeper train.
3. Nile legend (Egypt budget vacation)
4. Egypt on the go.
5. Egypt short break.
6. Egypt stop over.
7. Egypt Red Sea Jewel.
8. Red Sea Adventure - Cairo/Nile Cruise and Hurghada.
9. Egypt Budget Package.
10. Egypt Odyssey.
11. Egypt Revealed.
12. Egypt in Style.
13. Egypt Panorama.
14. Egypt Special.
15. All of Egypt Tour.
16. Grand Egypt Tour.
17. Egypt on the Full.
18. Majestic Egypt Tour Package.
19. Egypt and Petra Adventure.
20. All of Egypt and All of Jordan.

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History Of Egypt - Egyptology

History Of Egypt

The origins of ancient Egyptian civilization, which many regard as one of the fountainheads of Western culture, cannot be established with certainty. Archaeological evidence suggests that early dwellers in the Nile Valley were influenced by cultures of the Near East, but the degree of this influence is yet to be determined. Describing the development of Egyptian civilization, like attempts to identify its intellectual foundations, is largely a process of conjecture based on archaeological discoveries of enduring ruins, tombs, and monuments, many of which contain invaluable specimens of the ancient culture. Inscriptions in hieroglyphs, for instance, have provided priceless data.

The framework for the study of the Dynastic period of Egyptian history, between the 1st dynasty and the Ptolemaic period, relies on the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, a Ptolemaic priest of the 3rd century BC, who organized the country's rulers into 30 dynasties, roughly corresponding to families. General agreement exists on the division of Egyptian history, up to the conquest of Alexander the Great, into Old, Middle, and New kingdoms with intermediate periods, followed by the late and Ptolemaic periods, but chronology and genealogy are continually being refined in light of new evidence and by the use of increasingly sophisticated dating techniques.

Prehistory

Some 60,000 years ago the Nile River began its yearly inundation of the land along its banks, leaving behind rich alluvial soil. Areas close to the floodplain became attractive as a source of food and water. In time, climatic changes, including periods of aridity, further served to confine human habitation to the Nile Valley, although this was not always true. From the Chalcolithic period (the Copper age, beginning about 4000 BC) into the early part of the Old Kingdom, people apparently used an extended part of the land.

In the 7th millennium BC, Egypt was environmentally hospitable, and evidence of settlements from that time has been found in the low desert areas of southern, or Upper, Egypt; remains of similar occupation have been discovered at Nubian sites in modern Sudan. Enough pottery has been found in Upper Egyptian tombs from the 4th millennium BC (in the Predynastic period) to establish a relative dating sequence. The Predynastic period, which ends with the unification of Egypt under one king, is generally subdivided into three parts, each of which refers to the site at which its archaeological materials were found: Badarian, Amratian (Naqada I), and Gerzean (Naqada II and III). Northern sites (from about 5500 BC) have yielded datable archaeological material of apparent cultural continuity but no long-term sequences such as those found in the south.

Early Dynastic (or Archaic) Period

Archaeological sources indicate the emergence, by the late Gerzean period (about 3200 BC), of a dominant political force that was to become the consolidating element in the first united kingdom of ancient Egypt. The earliest known hieroglyphic writing dates from this period; soon the names of early rulers began to appear on monuments. This period began with a 0 Dynasty, which had as many as 13 rulers, ending with Narmer (about 3100 BC), followed by the 1st and 2nd dynasties (about 3100-2755 BC), with at least 17 kings. Some of the earliest massive mortuary structures (predecessors of the pyramids) were built at Abydos, and elsewhere during the 1st and 2nd dynasties.

The Old Kingdom

The Old Kingdom (about 2755-2255 BC) spanned five centuries of rule by the 3rd through the 6th dynasties. The capital was in the north, at Memphis, and the ruling monarchs held absolute power over a strongly unified government. Religion played an important role; in fact, the government had evolved into a theocracy, wherein the Pharaohs , as the rulers were called, were both absolute monarchs and, also gods on earth.

The 3rd Dynasty was the first of the Memphite houses, and its second ruler, Zoser, or Djoser, who reigned about 2737-2717 BC, emphasized national unity by balancing northern and southern motifs in his mortuary buildings at Sakkara . His architect, Imhotep, used stone blocks rather than traditional mud bricks in the complex there, thus creating the first monumental structure of stone; its central element, the Step Pyramid, was Zoser's tomb. In order to deal with affairs of state and to administer construction projects, the king began to develop an effective bureaucracy. In general, the 3rd Dynasty marked the beginning of a golden age of cultural freshness and vigor.

The 4th Dynasty began with King senfru, whose building projects included the first true pyramid at Dahshor (south of sakkara ). Snefru, the earliest warrior king for whom extensive documents remain, campaigned in Nubia and Libya and was active in the Sinai. Promoting commerce and mining, he brought prosperity to the kingdom. Snefru was succeeded by his son Khufu (or Cheops), who built the Great Pyramid at Giza. Although little else is known of his reign, that monument not only attests to his power but also indicates the administrative skills the bureaucracy had gained. Khufu's son Redjedef, who reigned about 2613-2603 BC, introduced the solar element (Ra, or Re) in the royal titular and the religion. Khafre (or Chephren), another son of Khufu, succeeded his brother to the throne and built his mortuary complex at Giza. The remaining rulers of the dynasty included Menkaure, or Mycerinus, who reigned about 2578-2553 BC; he is known primarily for the smallest of the three large pyramids at Giza.

Under the 4th Dynasty, Egyptian civilization reached a peak in its development, and this high level was generally maintained in the 5th and 6th dynasties. The splendour of the engineering feats of the pyramids was approximated in every other field of endeavour, including architecture, sculpture, painting, navigation, the industrial arts and sciences, and astronomy; Memphite astronomers first created a solar calendar based on a year of 365 days. Old Kingdom physicians also displayed a remarkable knowledge of physiology, surgery, the circulatory system of the body, and antiseptics.

Beginning of Decline

Although the 5th Dynasty maintained prosperity with extensive foreign trade and military incursions into Asia, signs of decreasing royal authority became apparent in the swelling of the bureaucracy and the enhanced power of no royal administrators. The last king of the dynasty, Unas, who reigned about 2428-2407 BC, was buried at sakkara , with a body of religious spells, called Pyramid Texts, carved on the walls of his pyramid chamber. Such texts were also used in the royal tombs of the 6th Dynasty. Several autobiographical inscriptions of officials under the 6th Dynasty indicate the decreasing status of the monarchy; records even indicate a conspiracy against King Pepi I, who reigned about 2395-2360 BC, in which the ruler's wife was involved. It is believed that during the later years of Pepi II, who reigned about 2350-2260 BC, power may have been in the hands of his vizier (chief minister). Central authority over the economy was also diminished by decrees of exemption from taxes. The Nomes (districts) were rapidly becoming individually powerful, as the monarchs—governors of the districts—were beginning to remain in place rather than being periodically transferred to different Nomes.

First Intermediate Period

The 7th Dynasty marked the beginning of the First Intermediate period. As a consequence of internal strife, the reigns of this and the succeeding 8th Dynasty are rather obscure. It is clear, however, that both ruled from Memphis and lasted a total of only 25 years. By this time the powerful nomarchs were in effective control of their districts, and factions in the south and north vied for power. Under the Heracleopolitan 9th and 10th dynasties, the nomarchs near Heracleopolis controlled their area and extended their power north to Memphis (and even into the delta) and south to Asyut (Lycopolis). The rival southern nomarchs at Thebes established the 11th Dynasty, controlling the area from Abydos to Elephantine, near Syene (present-day Aswan). The early part of this dynasty, the first of the Middle Kingdom, overlapped the last part of the 10th.

The Middle Kingdom

Without one centralized government, the bureaucracy was no longer effective, and regional concerns were openly championed. Egyptian art became more provincial, and no massive mortuary complexes were built. The religion was also democratized, as commoners claimed prerogatives previously reserved for royalty alone. They could, for instance, use spells derived from the royal Pyramid Texts on the walls of their own coffins or tombs.

Reunification

Although the Middle Kingdom (2134-1784 BC) is generally dated to include all of the 11th Dynasty, it properly begins with the reunification of the land by Mentuhotep II, who reigned 2061-2010 BC. The early rulers of the dynasty attempted to extend their control from Thebes both northward and southward, but it was left to Mentuhotep to complete the reunification process, sometime after 2047 BC. Mentuhotep ruled for more than 50 years, and despite occasional rebellions, he maintained stability and control over the whole kingdom. He replaced some nomarchs and limited the power of the nomes, which was still considerable. Thebes was his capital, and his mortuary temple at Dayr al Bahrì incorporated both traditional and regional elements; the tomb was separate from the temple, and there was no pyramid.

The reign of the first 12th Dynasty king, Amenemhet I, was peaceful. He established a capital near Memphis and, unlike Mentuhotep, de-emphasized Theban ties in favor of national unity. Nevertheless, the important Theban god Amon was given prominence over other deities. Amenemhet demanded loyalty from the nomes, rebuilt the bureaucracy, and educated a staff of scribes and administrators. The literature was predominantly propaganda designed to reinforce the image of the king as a "good shepherd" rather than as an inaccessible god. During the last ten years of his reign, Amenemhet ruled with his son as co-regent. "The Story of Sinuhe," a literary work of the period, implies that the king was assassinated.

Amenemhet's successors continued his programs. His son, Sesostris I, who reigned 1962-1928 BC, built fortresses throughout Nubia and established trade with foreign lands. He sent governors to Palestine and Syria and campaigned against the Libyans in the west. Sesostris II, who reigned 1895-1878 BC, began land reclamation in Al Fayyum. His successor, Sesostris III, who reigned 1878-1843 BC, had a canal dug at the first cataract of the Nile, formed a standing army (which he used in his campaign against the Nubians), and built new forts on the southern frontier. He divided the administration into three powerful geographic units, each controlled by an official under the vizier, and he no longer recognized provincial nobles. Amenemhet III continued the policies of his predecessors and extended the land reform.

A vigorous renaissance of culture took place under the Theban kings. The architecture, art, and jewelry of the period reveal an extraordinary delicacy of design, and the time was considered the golden age of Egyptian literature.

Second Intermediate Period

The rulers of the 13th Dynasty—some 50 or more in about 120 years—were weaker than their predecessors, although they were still able to control Nubia and the administration of the central government. During the latter part of their rule, however, their power was challenged not only by the rival 14th Dynasty, which won control over the delta, but also by the Hyksos, who invaded from western Asia. By the 13th Dynasty there was a large Hyksos population in northern Egypt. As the central government entered a period of decline, their presence made possible an influx of people from coastal side of Phoenicia and Palestine and the establishment of a Hyksos dynasty. This marks the beginning of the Second Intermediate period, a time of turmoil and disunity that lasted for some 214 years. The Hyksos of the 15th Dynasty ruled from their capital at Avaris in the eastern delta, maintaining control over the middle and northern parts of the country. At the same time, the 16th Dynasty also existed in the delta and Middle Egypt, but it may have been subservient to the Hyksos. More independence was exerted in the south by a third contemporaneous power, the Theban 17th Dynasty, which ruled over the territory between Elephantine and Abydos. The Theban ruler Kamose, who reigned about 1576-1570 BC, battled the Hyksos successfully, but it was his brother, Ahmose who finally subdued them, reuniting Egypt.

The New Kingdom

With the unification of the land and the founding of the 18th Dynasty by Ahmose I, the New Kingdom (1570-1070 BC) began. Ahmose re-established the borders, goals, and bureaucracy of the Middle Kingdom and revived its land-reclamation program. He maintained the balance of power between the nomarchs and himself with the support of the military, who were accordingly rewarded. The importance of women in the New Kingdom is illustrated by the high titles and position of the royal wives and mothers.

The 18th Dynasty Kings

Once Amenhotep I, who reigned 1551-1524 BC, had full control over his administration—he was co-regent for five years—he began to extend Egypt's boundaries in Nubia and Palestine. A major builder at Karnak, Amenhotep, unlike his predecessors, separated his tomb from his mortuary temple; he began the custom of hiding his final resting place, then he continued the advances of the new Imperial Age and emphasized the preeminence of the god Amon. His tomb was the first in the Valley of the Kings. Thutmose II, his son by a minor wife, succeeded him, marrying the royal princess Hatshepsut to strengthen his claim to the throne. He maintained the accomplishments of his predecessors. When he died in 1504 BC, his heir, Thutmose III, was still a child, and so Hatshepsut governed as a regent. Within a year, she had herself crowned pharaoh, and then mother and son ruled jointly. When Thutmose III achieved sole rule upon Hatshepsut's death in 1483 BC, he reconquered Syria and Palestine, which had broken away under joint rule, and then continued to expand his empire. His annals in the temple at Karnak chronicle many of his campaigns. Nearly 20 years after Hatshepsut's death, he ordered the obliteration of her name and images. Amenhotep II, who reigned 1453-1419 BC, and Thutmose IV tried to maintain the Asian conquests in the face of growing threats from the Mitanni and Hittite states, but they found it necessary to use negotiations as well as force.

Amenhotep III ruled peacefully for nearly four decades, 1386-1349 BC, and art and architecture flourished during his reign. He maintained the balance of power among Egypt's neighbors by diplomacy. His son and successor, Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV), was a religious reformer who fought the power of the Amon priesthood. Akhenaton abandoned Thebes for a new capital, Akhetaton (see Tall al 'Amarana , which was built in honor of Aton, the disk of the sun on which his monotheistic religion centered. The religious revolution was abandoned toward the end of his reign, however, and his son-in-law, Tutankhamen, returned the capital to Thebes. Tutankhamen is known today chiefly for his richly furnished tomb, which was found nearly intact in the Valley of the Kings by the British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in 1922. The 18th Dynasty ended with Horemheb, who reigned 1321-1293 BC.

The Ramesside Period

The founder of the 19th Dynasty, Ramses I, who reigned 1293-1291 BC, had served his predecessor as vizier and commander of the army. Reigning only two years, he was succeeded by his son, Seti I, who reigned 1291-1279 BC; he led campaigns against Syria, Palestine, the Libyans, and the Hittites. Seti built a sanctuary at Abydos. Like his father, he favored the delta capital of Pi-Ramesse (now Qantir). One of his sons, Ramses II, succeeded him and reigned for nearly 67 years. He was responsible for much construction at Luxor and Karnak, and he built the Ramesseum (his funerary temple at Thebes), the rock-cut temples at Abu Simbel, and sanctuaries at Abydos and Memphis. After campaigns against the Hittites, Ramses made a treaty with them and married a Hittite princess. His son Merneptah, who reigned 1212-1202 BC, defeated the Sea Peoples, invaders from the Aegean who swept the Middle East in the 13th century BC, and records tell of his desolating Israel. Later rulers had to contend with constant uprisings by subject peoples of the empire.

The second ruler of the 20th Dynasty, Ramses III, had his military victories depicted on the walls of his mortuary complex at Medinet Habu, near Thebes. After his death the New Kingdom declined, chiefly because of the rising power of the priesthood of Amon and the army. One high priest and military commander even had himself depicted in royal regalia.

Third Intermediate Period

The 21st through the 24th dynasties are known as the Third Intermediate period. Kings ruling from Tanis, in the north, vied with a line of high priests, to whom they appear to be related, from Thebes, in the south. The rulers of the 21st Dynasty may have been partially Libyan in ancestry, and the 22nd Dynasty began with Libyan chieftains as kings. As the Libyans' rule deteriorated, several rivals rose to challenge them. In fact the next two dynasties, the 23rd and 24th, were contemporaneous with part of the 22nd Dynasty, just as the 25th (Kushite) Dynasty effectively controlled much of Egypt during the latter years of the 22nd and the 24th dynasties.

Late Period

The 25th through the 31st dynasties ruled Egypt during the time that has come to be known as the Late Period. The Cushites ruled from about 767 BC until they were ousted by the Assyrians in 671 BC. Native rule was reestablished early in the 26th Dynasty by Psamtik I. A resurgence of cultural achievement, reminiscent of earlier epochs, reached its height in the 26th Dynasty. When the last Egyptian king was defeated by Cambyses II in 525 BC, the country entered a period of Persian domination under the 27th Dynasty. Egypt reasserted its independence under the 28th and 29th dynasties, but the 30th Dynasty was the last one of native rulers. The 31st Dynasty, which is not listed in Manetho's chronology, represented the second Persian domination.

The Hellenistic and Roman Periods

The occupation of Egypt by the forces of Alexander the Great in 332 BC brought an end to Persian rule. Alexander appointed Cleomenes of Naucratis, a Greek resident in Egypt, and his Macedonian general, known later as Ptolemy I, to govern the country. Although two Egyptian governors were named as well, power was clearly in the hands of Ptolemy, who in a few years took absolute control of the country.

The Ptolemaic Dynasty

Rivalries with other generals, who carved out sections of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC, occupied much of Ptolemy's time, but in 305 BC he assumed the royal title and founded the dynasty that bears his name (see Ptolemaic Dynasty). Ptolemaic Egypt was one of the great powers of the Hellenistic world, and at various times it extended its rule over parts of Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Libya, Phoenicia, and other lands.

Partly because native Egyptian rulers had a reduced role in affairs of state during the Ptolemaic regime, they periodically demonstrated their dissatisfaction by open revolts, all of which were, however, quickly suppressed. In the reign of Ptolemy VI, Egypt became a protectorate under Antiochus IV of Syria, who successfully invaded the country in 169 BC. The Romans, however, forced Antiochus to give up the country, which was then divided between Ptolemy VI and his younger brother, Ptolemy VIII; the latter took full control upon the death of his brother in 145 BC.

The succeeding Ptolemies preserved the wealth and status of Egypt while continually losing territory to the Romans. Cleopatra VII was the last great ruler of the Ptolemaic line. In an attempt to maintain Egyptian power she aligned herself with Julius Caesar and, later, Mark Antony, but these moves only postponed the end. After her forces were defeated by Roman legions under Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), Cleopatra committed suicide in 30 BC.

Roman and Byzantine Rule

For nearly seven centuries after the death of Cleopatra, the Romans controlled Egypt (except for a short time in the 3rd century AD, when it came under the power of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra). They treated Egypt as a valuable source of wealth and profit and were dependent on its supply of grain to feed their multitudes. Roman Egypt was governed by a prefect, whose duties as commander of the army and official judge were similar to those of the Pharaohs of the past. The office, therefore, was one with which the native population was familiar. Because of the immense power of the prefects, however, their functions were eventually divided under Emperor Justinian, who in the 6th century AD put the army under a separate commander, directly responsible to him.

Egypt in the Roman period was relatively peaceful; its southern boundary at Aswan was only rarely attacked by the Ethiopians. Egypt's population had become Hellenized under the Ptolemies, and it included large minorities of Greeks and Jews, as well as other peoples from Asia Minor. The mixture of the cultures did not lead to a homogeneous society, and civil strife was frequent. In 212, however, Emperor Caracalla granted the entire population citizenship in the Roman Empire.

Alexandria, the port city on the Mediterranean founded by Alexander the Great, remained the capital as it had been under the Ptolemies. One of the great metropolises of the Roman Empire, it was the center of a thriving commerce between India and Arabia and the Mediterranean countries. It was the home of the great Alexandrian library and museum and had a population of some 300,000 (excluding slaves).

Egypt became an economic mainstay of the Roman Empire not only because of its annual harvest of grain but also for its glass, metal, and other manufactured products. In addition, the trade brought in spices, perfumes, precious stones, and rare metals from the Red Sea ports. Once part of the empire, Egypt was subject to a variety of taxes as well.

In order to control the people and placate the powerful priesthood, the Roman emperors protected the ancient religion, completed or embellished temples begun under the Ptolemies, and had their own names inscribed on them as Pharaohs ; the cartouches of several can be found at Isna, Kawn Umbu, Dandara, and Philae. The Egyptian cults of Isis and Serapis spread throughout the ancient world. Egypt was also an important center of early Christendom and the first one of Christian monasticism. Its Coptic or Monophysite church separated from mainstream Christianity in the 5th century.

During the 7th century the power of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire was challenged by the Sassanids of Persia, who invaded Egypt in 616. They were expelled again in 628, but soon after, in 642, the country fell to the Arabs, who brought with them a new religion, Islam, and began a new chapter of Egyptian history.

Egypt under the Byzantinans

Alienated by the religious intolerance and heavy taxation of the Byzantine government, the Coptic Egyptians offered little resistance to their Arab conquerors. A treaty was subsequently signed, by which the Egyptians agreed to pay a poll tax (jizyah) in return for an Arab promise to respect the religious practices, lives, and property of the Copts. Besides the poll tax, the male population, estimated at between 6 and 8 million, paid the kharaj, a tax levied on agricultural land.

Local Government

No changes in the administration were made by the Arabs, who adopted the Byzantine decentralized system of provincial governors reporting to a chief governor, resident in the capital, Alexandria. They did, however, later move the capital to a new, more central location, called Al Fustat ("the tent"), a few miles south of present-day Cairo.

For the next two centuries Egypt was ruled by governors appointed by the caliph, the leader of the Muslim community. In this system, mild and generous rule alternated with severity and religious oppression, depending on the character of the governor appointed, his relationship with the population, and his financial needs. Immigration of Arab tribes and the replacement of the Coptic language by Arabic in all public documents began a slow process of Arabization that was eventually to turn Coptic-speaking Christian Egypt into a largely Muslim and wholly Arabic-speaking country. Coptic became a liturgical language.

Internal Strife

Under the Abbasid caliphs (750-868), governors were appointed for brief periods, and Egypt was plagued by a series of insurrections arising from conflicts between the different sects of Muslims who had settled there: the Sunni, or orthodox majority, and the minority Shia sect. On several occasions the Copts also rose to protest excessive taxation. Such uprisings were met with repression and persecution by the government. Internal conditions became so bad in the late 8th century that a group of new immigrants from Andalusia allied themselves with an Arab tribe and seized Alexandria, holding it until an army arrived from Baghdad and exiled them to Crete. Insurrections continued to break out among the Arabs, who even defeated a governor and burned his baggage. Rebellions by the Copts continued until Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun led a Turkish army to put down the revolts in 832. This was a period of ruthless and unscrupulous governors, who abused the population and extorted money from them. The only bulwark against such oppression lay in the chief qadi, the country's leading Muslim magistrate, who maintained the sacred law—the Sharia—in the face of abuse of power, and helped ease the rapacity of the governors.

Despite a predominantly rural population, commercial centers flourished, and Al Fustat grew to become a trading metropolis.From 856 onward Egypt was given as an iqta, a form of fief, to the Turkish military oligarchy that dominated the caliphate in Baghdad. In 868 Ahmad ibn Tulun, a 33-year-old Turk, was sent to the country as governor. A man of ability and education, Tulun ruled wisely and well, but he also turned Egypt into an autonomous province, linked with the Abbasids only by the yearly payment of a small tribute. Tulun built a new city, Al Qita'ì ("the Wards"), north of Al Fustat. Under his benevolent rule Egypt prospered and expanded to annex Syria. Tulun's dynasty (the Tulunids) ruled for 37 years over an empire that included Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.

The Fatimid

After the last rule by the Tulunids, the country fell into a state of anarchy. Its weak and defenseless condition made it an easy prey for the Fatimids, a Shiite dynasty that in 909, rejecting the authority of the Abbasids, had proclaimed their own caliphate in Tunisia and by the mid-10th century controlled most of North Africa. In 969 they invaded and conquered Egypt and subsequently founded a new city, Cairo, north of Al Fustat, making it their capital. See Caliphate.

Al Fustat, however, remained the commercial hub of the country under the Fatimids. It was an impressive, multistoried urban center with an excellent underground sewage system. An Iranian traveler, Nasir-i-Khosrau, who visited Egypt in 1046, marveled at the rich markets and the security of the land. Egypt was then enjoying a period of tranquillity and prosperity.

The Fatimids, although Shiites in their beliefs, for the most part coexisted peacefully with the predominantly Sunni population. They founded the oldest university in the world, Al Azhar, and Cairo became a great intellectual center.

The Ayyubids

Tranquillity disappeared with later Fatimid rulers, who could not control their unruly regiments of Berber and Sudanese soldiers. A low Nile caused serious famine in 1065. New danger appeared with the First Crusade from western Europe, which established Christian control over Syria and Palestine in the late 1090s. The Fatimid caliphs, by now pawns in the hands of their generals, appealed to Nur ad-Din of Halab (Aleppo), and he sent an army to help them against the Crusaders in 1168. Saladin, one of Nur ad-Din's generals, was installed as vizier. In 1171 he abolished the Fatimid caliphate, founding the Ayyubid dynasty and restoring Sunni rule to Egypt. Saladin reconquered most of Syria and Palestine from the Crusaders and became the most powerful Middle Eastern ruler of this time. His nephew, Sultan al-Kamil, who reigned 1218-1238, successfully defended Egypt against a Christian attack in 1218-1221, but after his death Ayyubid power declined. The Ninth Crusade, led by Louis IX of France, was repelled in 1249, with the aid of the Mamelukes, slave troops in Ayyubid service. The following year the Mamelukes overthrew the Ayyubids and established their own ruling house.

The Mamelukes

The first Mameluke dynasty, the Bahri, held power as sultans of Egypt until 1382. Hereditary succession was frequently disregarded and the throne usurped by the more powerful emirs (military commanders). Many among them were remarkable rulers, such as Baybars I, who halted the Mongol advance into Syria and Egypt in 1260. Two other Mongol invasions were repelled by the Mamelukes, who also expelled the Crusaders from the region and captured 'Akko, their last stronghold in Palestine, in 1291. In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the Mameluke realm extended north to the borders of Asia Minor.

The age of the Mamelukes was one of extraordinary brilliance in the arts. It was also an age of commercial expansion; Egypt's spice traders, the Karimi, were merchant princes who vied with the emirs in patronizing the arts.

After the death of the last great Bahri sultan, al-Nasir, in 1341, Egypt lapsed into decline. His descendants were mere figureheads who allowed real power to remain in the hands of the emirs. In 1348 the plague known as the Black Death swept over the land, radically reducing the population.

The second dynasty of Mameluke sultans, the Burjis, was of Circassian origin and ruled from 1382 to 1517. Most of the Burji rulers exercised little real authority; their dynasty was marked by continual power struggles among the Mameluke elite. In the midst of rebellion and civil strife, the Mamelukes continued to hold Egypt and Syria by virtue of their ability to repel invasions. By the early 16th century, however, they were threatened by the growing power of the Ottoman Empire, and in 1517 the Ottoman Sultan Selim I invaded Egypt and ruled it.

The Ottoman

Although the real hold of the Ottoman Turks over Egypt was to last only until the 17th century, the country remained nominally part of the Ottoman Empire until 1915. Rather than exterminate the Mamelukes, the Ottomans used them in their administration. They established a governor and settled six ocaks (regiments) in Egypt as a garrison. In time the roman ocaks intermarried with the native people, playing an important role in the country's economic and political life. Rural areas were treated as crown lands, parceled into plots called iqta, the produce of which went to the Ottoman elite.

The Mameluke Come Back

As time went on, an inflationary trend that historians have noted in 16th-century Europe had repercussions in Egypt as well. Rising prices led to rivalry among the ocaks over the country's wealth. This weakened their control, and the Mamelukes stepped into the breach. By the mid-17th century the Mameluke emirs, or beys, had established their supremacy. Land taxes were farmed out among them, and the urban guilds, which were closely allied with the roman ocaks, were heavily taxed as a means of diminishing Ottoman influence and of increasing revenue. The Ottomans acquiesced in the system so long as the tribute was regularly paid.

The period from the 16th to the mid-18th century was an age of commercial prosperity when Egypt, at the crossroads of several commercial routes, was the center of a flourishing intermediary trade in coffee, textiles, and spices.

The Ottoman governor quickly became a puppet, first in the hands of the regiments, which held the military power, and then in the hands of the Mamelukes, who came to control the ocaks. The leading Mameluke bey, called the Shaikh al-Balad ("chief of the city"), thus became recognized as the real ruler of the land. The beys imposed higher taxes to finance their military expeditions in Syria and Arabia. Although defeated in Syria by the Ottomans, who once more sought to reinforce their authority, the Mamelukes dominated Egypt until 1798. The last 30 years of the 18th century were marked by plagues and famine that reduced the population to a bare 4 million.

The Time of Mohammed Ali

The French occupation of Egypt in 1798, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, was a brief interlude, for the French never acquired full dominion or control. The grain-producing regions of Upper Egypt remained in Mameluke hands. Napoleon's invasion was too short-lived to have any lasting impact, but it marked the beginning of a renewed European interest in Egypt. In 1801 an Anglo-Ottoman force expelled the French. For the next few years, struggles between Mamelukes and Ottomans for mastery ruined the country until Muhammad Ali, an Ottoman general of Albanian origin, seized power with the cooperation of the local population. In 1805 the Ottoman sultan declared him the governor of Egypt.

Muhammad Ali, a man of genius, slowly and methodically destroyed or bought off all his opponents until he became the only source of power in the country. To gain control of all the trade routes into Egypt, he embarked on wars of expansion. He first conquered Al Hijaz (the Hejaz, now in Saudi Arabia) in 1819 and Sudan from 1820 to 1822; by 1824 he was ready to help the Ottoman sultan put down an insurrection in Greece. The European powers, however, intervened to halt Egyptian advances in Greece, and Muhammad Ali was forced to withdraw his army.

At home, Muhammad Ali encouraged the production of cotton to supply the textile mills of Europe, and he used the profits to finance industrial projects. He established a monopoly over all commodities and imposed trade barriers to nurture industry. He sent Egyptians abroad for technical education and hired experts from Europe to train his army and build his manufacturing industries (which, however, were never as successful as he hoped they would be).

In 1831 Muhammad Ali invaded Syria, thereby coming into conflict with his Turkish overlord. The Egyptians defeated the Ottoman armies, and by 1833 they were threatening the Turkish capital, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Once again, Russia, Britain, and France intervened, this time to protect the sultan. Muhammad Ali's forces withdrew, but he was left in control of Syria and Crete.

Egyptian expansion and control over trade routes conflicted with Britain's growing interest in the Middle East as a market for its burgeoning industrial production. The threat to the integrity of the Ottoman Empire also disturbed Britain and roused fears of Russian encroachment in the Mediterranean. For these reasons the British opposed Egypt, and when Muhammad Ali again rebelled against the sultan in 1839, they stepped in for the third time to make him back down. He was offered hereditary possession of Egypt, but had to give up his other conquests and remain an Ottoman vassal.

Bankruptcy and Foreign influence

After the death of Muhammad Ali in 1849, Egypt came increasingly under European influence. His son, Said Pasha, made some attempt to modernize the government, but left a huge debt when he died. His successor, Ismail, increased the national debt by borrowing lavishly from European bankers to develop the country and pay for the Suez Canal, which was opened in 1869. These spendthrift rulers drove the country into bankruptcy and ultimately into the control of their British and French creditors. In 1876 an Anglo-French commission took charge of Egypt's finances, and in 1879 the sultan deposed Ismail in favor of his son Tawfik Pasha. Army officers, disgusted by the government's weakness, then led a rebellion to end foreign control. Tawfik appealed to the British for help, and they occupied Egypt in 1882.

Egypt Under the British

British interest in Egypt stemmed from the Suez Canal as the short route to India. Promises to evacuate the country once order had been restored were broken, and the British army remained in occupation until 1954. Although Tawfik remained on the throne as a figurehead prince, the British consul general was the real ruler of the country. The first and most important consul general was Sir Evelyn Baring(known after 1892 as Lord Cromer).

A nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kamil, a European-educated lawyer, was backed by Tawfik's successor, Abbas II, during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Kamil agitated for self-government and an end to the British occupation but was ignored by British authorities.In this period Egyptian agriculture was so completely dominated by cotton grown to feed the textile mills of Lancashire, England, that grain had to be imported to feed the rural population. Irrigation projects were carried out to increase the arable land, and in due course the entire debt to Britain was paid.British promises to evacuate diminished as Egypt and the Suez Canal became an integral part of British Mediterranean defense policy. The illegal occupation was, in fact, internationally sanctioned in 1904, when France recognized British rights in Egypt in return for British acknowledgment of French rights in Morocco.

The Protectorate declared

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 brought nationalist activities in Egypt to an end. When Turkey entered the war on the side of Germany, Britain declared Egypt a protectorate and deposed Abbas II in favor of his uncle, Hussein Kamil, who was given the title of sultan. Legal ties between Egypt and Turkey were finally severed, and Britain promised Egypt some changes in government once the war was over.

The war years resulted in great hardship for Egyptian peasants, the fellahin, who were conscripted to dig ditches and whose livestock was confiscated by the army. Inflation was rampant. These factors were responsible for increasing resentment against the British and set the stage for the violent upheaval that was to come after World War I ended in 1918.

llied promises that former Ottoman territories would be allowed self-determination raised hopes in Egypt of independence once the war was over. A new nationalist movement, the Wafd ("delegation"), was formed in 1918 to plan for the country's future. Hopes were dashed when Britain refused to consider Egyptian needs, and Saad Zaghlul, the leader of the Wafd, was exiled. The country erupted in violent revolt, and Britain was forced to reconsider its decision. Zaghlul was released, but his efforts to get a hearing at the Paris Peace Conference were thwarted by the British. Violence continued until 1922, when Britain unilaterally declared Egypt an independent monarchy under Hussein's successor, who became king as Fuad I. The British, however, reserved the right to intervene in Egyptian affairs if their interests were threatened, thereby robbing Egypt of any real independence and allowing British control to continue unabated.

The new constitution of 1924 set up a bicameral legislature but, under pressure from the British and Fuad, gave the latter the right to nominate the premier and to suspend Parliament. The result was a tripartite struggle for mastery over Egypt involving the king, the British ambassador, and the Wafd, which was the only grass-roots party. One government after another fell after trying unsuccessfully to extract concessions from the British. In 1936, under pressures caused by the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, an Anglo-Egyptian treaty was finally signed, but it continued the physical occupation of Egypt by the British army and the involvement of the British army in internal affairs.

The Coup of 1952

World War II (1939-1945) suspended further political bargaining. The war years brought inflation, interparty strife, and disillusion with the Wafd. Fundamentalist religious organizations, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and Communist groups developed.In 1948 Egypt and several other Arab states went to war in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the establishment of the state of Israel. Blaming the government for its loss, the army turned against King Faruk, Fuad's son, who showed no aptitude for government and a blatant disregard for public well-being and morality. In 1952 a group of army officers carried out a successful coup d'etat that ousted the king and in 1953 declared Egypt a republic.

Egypt as a Republic

The first president of the republic, General Muhammad Naguib, was a figurehead. The real leader was Gamal Abdel Nasser of the Revolutionary Command Council, the officers who had plotted the revolution. In April 1954 Nasser became prime minister. In November of that year, Naguib was removed from power, and Nasser assumed complete executive authority. In July 1956 Nasser was officially elected president.

At first Nasser followed a pro-Western policy and successfully negotiated the evacuation of British forces from Egypt in 1954. Soon he turned to a policy of neutrality and solidarity with other African and Asian nations and became an advocate of Arab unity.

The Suez Crisis

In efforts to acquire armaments, which the Western world would not supply to Egypt, Nasser turned to the Eastern bloc. In retaliation, the World Bank turned down Egypt's request for a loan to finance the Aswan High Dam project. Nasser therefore nationalized the Suez Canal and sought to use its revenues to finance the dam. Angered by that move, Britain and France, the main stockholders in the canal, joined with Israel in attacking Egypt in 1956. Pressure from the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) forced the three countries to evacuate Egyptian territory, and United Nations (UN) forces were placed as a buffer between Egypt and Israel.

Pursuing his dream of Arab unity, Nasser in 1958 effected a union between Egypt and Syria under the name of the United Arab Republic. Although it lasted only three years before the Syrians rebelled and reaffirmed their independence, Egypt retained the official name of the republic for many years afterward.

Arab Socialism

Within Egypt the Nasser regime suppressed political opposition and established a one-party system as a means of reforming political life. A series of decrees limited land ownership and undermined the authority of the landowning elite. In 1961 foreign capital invested in Egypt was nationalized, as were public utilities and local industries, all of which became part of the public sector. This new order, which Nasser called Arab Socialism, aimed at greater social equality and economic growth. In 1962 a national charter was drawn up, and the official National Union Party was renamed the Arab Socialist Union. Women, who had been emancipated earlier, were elected to the union, as were workers. The first woman cabinet minister was appointed.

Wars of the 1960s

In 1962 Egypt became embroiled in a civil war in Yemen, backing a republican movement against monarchist forces. This venture cost lives and money and left the country weakened. In 1967 Nasser, continuing the Arab struggle against Israel, closed the Strait of Tiran to Israeli shipping and requested that the UN forces be withdrawn from the border. The Israelis, believing that Nasser was preparing for war, struck first, attacking and destroying Egyptian airfields and positions in the Sinai. Israeli forces advanced until they reached the right bank of the Suez Canal. This Six-Day War left Israel in possession of the whole Sinai Peninsula. The UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories. Israel Did decline and continued to occupy the Sinai. When negotiations seemed to be leading nowhere, Nasser turned to the USSR, which rearmed Egypt in return for a naval base.Nasser died suddenly in 1970. Problems of succession to the post of president were settled when Vice President Anwar El-Sadat, a long-time colleague of Nasser, was chosen to succeed him.

The Sadat Regime

Sadat was elected by opposing political factions as a compromise candidate, on the assumption that he could be manipulated. The new president, however, outwitted his would-be puppeteers and, with the support of the army, put them under arrest. He freed political prisoners who had been incarcerated by Nasser for opposing his policies, and called for a regime of economic and political liberalization, especially for the press, which Nasser had strictly controlled.

The 6th of October War

 clashes between Egypt and Israel had continued after 1969, and this "war of attrition" had resulted in high Egyptian casualties and burdensome military expenditures. Sadat tried to find a way out of that impress negotiation. successfully he secretly planned a for a war to free the occupied sinai from Israel. He first repaired his fences with the Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, which financed arms purchases from the Soviet Union. Then, on October 6, 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur and during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan(10th of Ramadan), Egypt launched an air and artillery counterattack across the Suez Canal. Within hours, thousands of Egyptian soldiers had successfully crossed into the Sinai. Protected by a missile umbrella that destroyed Israeli aircrafts, they overran and captured the string of Israeli fortifications known as the Bar-Lev line. Israel was caught unprepared. It was a total victory . By the middle of the month, however, with immidate aid from the united states ,it had regained the initiative and was able to encircle Egyptian units on the outskirts of Suez. The United Nations then imposed a cease-fire, and an armistice line patrolled by UN forces was eventually established between the Egyptian and the Israeli armies.

Peace treaty with Israel

After the war Sadat was ready for negotiations. In 1974 and 1975 Egypt and Israel concluded agreements—again mediated by Kissinger—providing disengagement on the Sinai front. In June 1975 Egypt reopened the Suez Canal, permitting passage to ships carrying Israeli cargoes. Israel withdrew beyond the strategic passes and from some of the oil fields in the Sinai.Meanwhile, Egypt's economic position was growing rapidly worse; by early 1976 the country's debt to the USSR was estimated at $4 billion. The following year, surprising all, Sadat asked the Soviet military advisers to leave the country and threw his lot in with the United States, declaring it held the key to peace in the Middle East. Even more surprising, on November 19, 1977, Sadat flew to Israel and addressed the Knesset (parliament) . The historic journey was followed by further negotiations under U.S. auspices. At a tripartite conference with U.S. president Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland, in September 1978, Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin agreed on a framework for an Israeli-Egyptian settlement. A peace treaty between the two nations, based on the Camp David accords, was signed in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1979.

Sadat Regime

The rest of the Arab world denounced Egypt for making a separate peace with Israel, and some of the more "hard-line" Arab leaders branded Sadat a traitor to the Arab cause. The Sinai was gradually restored to Egypt, but later Egyptian-Israeli talks on a settlement of the Palestinian issue made little progress. Egypt was expelled from the Arab League in 1979 because of the peace treaty, and the league's headquarters were moved from Cairo to Tunis, Tunisia. In 1989 Egypt was readmitted to the league; the headquarters were moved back to Cairo the following year. By 1981 Sadat was meeting increasing opposition within Egypt itself, especially from Muslim fundamentalists, who opposed any accommodation with Israel. Sadat responded with a crackdown, arresting and jailing hundreds of his opponents, and placing restrictions on the press. In such an atmosphere he was assassinated by religious fanatics within his own army on October 6, 1981, during a military parade commemorating the Yom Kippur War.Sadat was succeeded by Vice President Hosni Mubarak. While adhering to the Camp David accords, Mubarak sought political liberalization within Egypt as well as improved relations with other Arab states. Israel completed its withdrawal from the Sinai on April 25, 1982.

Egypt is Free

11022011, or to understand it better, Friday 11:02:2011, a date that the people of Egypt will ‎always remember, as it was on that day that President Hosni Sayyid Mubarak relinquished control ‎of the country and fled to "exile" in Sharm El-Sheikh. But as he was fleeing from Cairo, the same ‎idea came to the minds of the world's media, after all, the problems were now over, and 18 days ‎of peaceful protest had come to a conclusion; so there was no more news. Over the following ‎week the reports from Egypt started to fade into history as Yemen, Libya, and many other of the ‎countries in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) started their own protests, which were not as ‎civilised as the Egyptian one and so a lot more newsworthy. Camera crews were relocated, ‎journalists moved to new "war zones"‎ and, almost as quick as they arrived, they departed, leaving behind the usual collection of "local" ‎reporters: and hereby lies the problem with the way that the world's media reports events: it is ‎only good news when it is bad news; bad news sells, good news is boring!‎

On Friday evening the western world rose as one to congratulate Egypt on achieving its goal and ‎very soon many of the world's leaders, or their representatives, were making their way to Cairo. ‎The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, was the first to arrive and promised that Britain would ‎help in Egypt's rebirth. He was followed by many others, including the US Secretary of State, ‎Hilary Clinton, and US Senator John Kerry ‎

‎ Tahrir Square during the protests

Mr. Cameron stated he would help, and within hours the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth office ‎travel warning was lifted, yet it took until towards the end of March for the USA to partially lift their ‎warning; were Ms. Clinton and Mr. Kerry just here for the photo opportunities and media spotlight? ‎So much for President Obama's speech on the Friday night when he said: "The United States will ‎continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is ‎necessary and asked for to pursue a credible transition to democracy. Egyptians have inspired ‎us"‎

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Egypt Cultures and Traditions - Egypt Info

Egypt Cultures and Traditions

The culture and custom of Egypt is truly cosmopolitan as it is the perfect fusion of so many culture and tradition available here. Here the tradition introduced by Pharaohs is prevalent as well as the tribal culture and tradition and even the customs of invaders are somehow seen present a midst modern Egypt culture and outlook of the citizens. The culture and tradition of Egypt is like a melting pot where multiple culture and ethnic tradition have created a new concept of living hale and hearty and a mentality that embraces new and advanced for creating a liberal ambiance around. This liberal attitude is being displayed in Egyptians friendly behavior toward the foreigners and tourists. If asked, people of Egypt will always share their service and enthusiasm with the people whom hardly they know. In Egypt, besides it excellent travel attractions and cultural ambiance, the smiling faces of the locales are an added charm. All these sweet fragments are the best part of visit to Egypt program, which will remain with you as a memory forever. The Egypt culture immense the traditions, languages, history & civilizations at ancient places.

The populace of Egypt is quite high in number, it is about 71 million. Out of them the majority of populace is of Sunni Islam and they are more or less 62 millions in number. Out of the rest 8-9 millions are Coptic Christians. Regardless Sunni or cop both the classes are religion sensitive and adhere to respective religious rules and customs. In Egypt, family integrity matters a lot and head of the family takes the entire responsibility to run the family in proper manner and with great focus on behavior. The family integrity of the Egyptians is at sharp contrast to the nuclear family concept in West. Here people put special respect for family value and family relation. Perhaps this is one of the reasons, traveling in City of Egypt is safer than any other top global destinations, even for women traveling alone.

The life style of Arabs is often different and often found enveloped with some mysterious facts. As a result people often find these people mystic and sometime off beat. But in reality these people are truly friend in heart, they love people and greet people with best hospitality. They often like to call people at their home. However, if someone expresses disrespect and unfriendly gesture, these people take it as an insult and they become aggressive.

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The rules and regulation common in Egypt may seem quite a bit different, which can make people outsiders at Egypt at times confused. In order to understand the air of Egypt, you need to learn their culture, customs, and family values. Once you will be able to understand and respect their values, traveling in Egypt will be an added fun and bunch of excitement.

Commonly, Egyptians are quite adjustable in nature and they love to help people. If you ask them any question, they will answer it happily. One most interesting thing is whenever you will ask something to an Egyptian, he will call some other people to discuss about the question and will try the best to offer you the correct answer of the question asked.

Most of the Muslims in Egypt are not accustomed to drink alcohol, but hardly have they had any objection in others boozing. But it is important that if you drink alcohol while in Egypt, you should have it in moderation. In Egypt consumption of pork is not that common but the places where pork is available people can have plenty of other options.

Interested to know about Ramadan??

Ramadan is a holy month for Egyptians and during this month people greet each other celebrates the month with friends and relatives. During this month Egyptians stay awake at night and spend time in prayer and spiritual activities. Also they donate for charity and indulge of renewal relationship and sharing love and affection with each other. This time Egypt holiday season goes on.

In Egypt there are few restrictions valid for foreign women. In ticket line, foreign women stand with other women in queue. In underground first cars are found reserved for women, elderly ladies always get first preference. Outright interaction with Egyptian women are never recommended, it is always wise to speak to them via someone local or family persons whom you know well.

Crime in Egypt is rarely experienced and violence is mostly found in family disputes. However, some scattered events of petty thieves and pickpockets are sometimes found here and there. Women in an average need to be alert specifically in out-lying zones. Consumption of drugs is not appreciated and you should not carry your drugs in public if you have anything with you.

How to respond if an Egyptian invites you at his home

There is one interesting factor about Egyptian invitation. They refuse all sorts of invitation initially and it is a custom to fulfill their formalities. If an Egyptian decides that he/she will invite you with real spirit, he/she will repeat the invitation again. And it is always good to honor a cordial request. In case you will not be able to honor the request, if asked always promise them for a next visit.

In case you are invited you should attend the invitation otherwise there is chance that your host will be humiliated. It is always good show the respect and positive view toward the custom and practice of the host and behaves cordially with all people assembled there. If you wish you can take some gifts for the host but check if the gift is equal to his status.

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Tipping is Way of Life in Egypt

In Egypt tipping is cordially accepted and often expected. You can offer tips for all the people who has helped you during you travel but do not offer them small coins or notes. These activities are taken as insulting for the people you have tipped. However, your tipping should be spontaneous and it is considered offense to act under some pressure about providing tips. It is a good way to create some good impression on the people surrounding you. In this context you should not ever attempt to offer tips for professionals or the people who are of your status. You can arrange some gifts for them as gesture of friendship.

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Women of Egypt:  

Egyptian women are known for their exquisite beauty. Nowadays Egyptian ladies in general are well educated, groomed, and they take responsibility of professional world also. In Egyptian society, girls are well pampered by their parents till they get married and get established in reality.

In Egypt tradition virginity is considered as a prime value for women and therefore women do prefer keeping their modesty and virginity as maximum as possible. Egyptian women maintain their modesty at the most because men also respect ladies who are alert about their social prestige and modesty. Most of the Egyptian men prefer to get married with women who are virgin and value family values; however, there are several instances where Egyptian men have married non Egyptian girls and they are quite different in their attitude than common Egyptian girls too.

Most of the girls in Egypt wear a scarf and it has become a common practice these days for young girls. This practice honors Muslim convention for ladies covering their heads as well as it is a stylish way to respect Islamic virtue of conservativeness.

In Egypt women behave conservative mostly with strangers. They may use western wear and may found managing business and other professionals, but Egyptian women, mostly, maintain a sober approach where their social profile is presented. Many of Egyptian women are found involved in different professional activities with good success rate in Egypt as well as in outside of Egypt. However, wherever they are they keep a diligent obedience to their religious rites and customs.

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Women travelling alone into Egypt:

Egypt is a completely safe place for women. Therefore it is a safe travel destination for foreign tourist groups of women to set their vacation at Egypt. It is always recommended that in case of any sort of problem, they should seek help from local shop keepers or form police. However it is always wise to dress properly and to walk on street with common and covered dress. Being indifferent to local men is a good way for avoiding hassle and curiosity about foreign ladies traveling in this country. While planning for tour in Egypt, A woman traveling alone should care for Egypt holidays because some of the building and places may remain closed on those days.

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Places of Worship:

Places of worship are considered as sacred place for Egyptians and therefore tourists from abroad should respect their serious mentality about the places of worship. These places of worship for Muslims are called mosques and the places of worships for Christians are called church. In Egypt, both mosque and churches are found many in number.

People follow the rules of taking out their shoes before entering the sacred ground. Women and men are requested to cover up their bare heads and heads. This is always wise to use sober and covered dress specially when visiting a mosque. Friday is considered as the most scared days of the week.

Calendar:

Both Business and religious community in Egypt runs on Western/Georgian calendar but other calendars are widely honored in this country. The Islamic calendar is based on viewing religious formalities and it is based on a lunar cycle of 12 months of 29or 30 days. The Muslim year is thus almost 11 days smaller than the Georgian year according to the Gregorian calendar and months moving ahead. According to the Gregorian calendar, for example, April is the time of spring, but in the Muslim calendar entire cycle of months move through in a 33-year cycle.

The Coptic calendar is called Alexandrian calendar, and it is made on a solar cycle and made of 12 months of 30 days and 1 month of 5 days, respectively. In every4 years a 6th day is added to the shorter month. Besides Coptic Orthodox Church, farmers often follow Coptic calendar for their date reminder, calculation, as well as counting of days.

Major Public holidays:

Day Description

1st day of Spring (2nd Monday after the Coptic Easter day) It is called Sham El-Nessim day (Just avoid going out on this day to national parks and the zoo) 

25th April Sinai liberation day

1st May Workers day

23rd July 1952 revolution day

6th October Armed forces day, victory day 1973

13th October Suez liberation day

23rd December Victory day

Eid El-Adha (Sacrifice feast ) Comes right after the pilgrimage season, it lasts for four days

Eid El-Fitr (Breakfast feast) comes right after the Holy fasting month of Ramadan

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