15_Nations_Egypt.png

15 Nations Global Tour: Egypt (Stop #7)

Privacy Level: Public (Green)

Surnames/tags: Notables 15 Nations Tour Egypt
Profile manager: David Randall private message [send private message]
This page has been accessed 640 times.

This sub-project is part of the larger 15 Nations Global Tour. Please visit the main project page for details on the goals and objectives of this project.

Contents

Geography

Egypt is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt; Alexandria is the second-largest city.

Demographics

Egypt has a population of about 105 million people, making it the fourteenth largest nation in the world by population. Ethnic Egyptians are by far the largest ethnic group in the country, constituting 99.7% of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Abazas, Turks, Greeks, Bedouin Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the Sinai Peninsula, the Berber-speaking Siwis (Amazigh) of the Siwa Oasis, and the Nubian communities clustered along the Nile. Some 5 million immigrants, mostly Sudanese, also live in Egypt.

The official language of Egypt is Literary Arabic. The primary spoken languages include Egyptian Arabic (68%), and Sa'idi Arabic (29%).

Egypt is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country with the largest Muslim population in the Arab world. Islam as its state religion. Egypt also has the largest Christian population in the Middle East and North Africa. An estimated 85–90% of Egyptians identify as Muslim, 10–15% as Coptic Christians.

History

Considered a cradle of civilization, Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage along the Nile Delta back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Modern Egypt, however, dates back to 1922, when it the country gained independence from the British Empire. Initially a monarchy, Egypt declared itself a republic, following the 1952 revolution. In 1958, it merged with Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which dissolved in 1961.

Egypt fought several armed conflicts with Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, and occupied the Gaza Strip intermittently until 1967. In 1978, Egypt signed the Camp David Accords, officially withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and recognizing Israel. After the Arab Spring, which led to the 2011 Egyptian revolution and overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the country faced a protracted period of political unrest. Egypt's current government, a semi-presidential republic led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi since 2014, has been described by a number of watchdogs as authoritarian and responsible for perpetuating the country's poor human rights record.

Notable Egyptians

In the below list, columns can be sorted by clicking on the arrow button in any category heading box. A "C" in the final column denotes a Notable who has been successfully connected to the Big Tree. "N/C" stands for Not Connected.

Notable Born Died Claim to Fame Photo C
Huda Sha'arawi18791947Feminist and NationalistC
Taha Hussein18891973Writer and IntellectualN/C
Sayed Darvish18921923Father of Modern Arab MusicN/C
Hassan Fathy19001989ArchitectC
Mohamed Naguib190119841st President of EgyptN/C
Farid Simaika19071943Olympic DiverC
Doria Shafik19081975Feminist Poet and EditorC
Gamal Abdel Nasser191819702nd President of EgyptN/C
Anwar El-Sadat191819813rd President of EgyptC
Boutros Boutros-Ghail19222016United Nations General SecretaryN/C
Youssef Chahine19262008FilmmakerN/C
Hind Rostom19292011Film ActressN/C
Ahmed Zewail19462016Nobel ChemistN/C
Ahmed Zaki19492015Film ActorN/C
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi1954LIVINGCurrent President of EgyptN/C




Collaboration


Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.