Egypt

I

Introduction

Egypt, officially Arab Republic of Egypt (from 1958 to 1971, United Arab Republic), republic located in north-eastern Africa and the Sinai Peninsula, in the Middle East. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by Israel and the Red Sea, on the south by Sudan, and on the west by Libya. The country has a maximum length from north to south of about 1,085 km (675 mi) and a maximum width, near the southern border, of about 1,255 km (780 mi). It has a total area of about 997,739 sq km (385,229 sq mi). Cairo is the capital and largest city.

Egypt is the offspring of the River Nile, whose waters and rich silts provided the basis for the development of one of the world’s first great civilizations, that of ancient Egypt, with a recorded history dating back to about 3200 bc. The History section below covers Egypt from ancient times, including the Dynastic Period (3000 bc-332 bc), the Hellenistic Period (332 bc-30 bc), Roman and Byzantine rule (30 bc-ad 642), the Caliphate and the Mamelukes (642-1517), Ottoman domination (1082-1882), and British colonialism (1882-1952), as well as modern, independent Egypt (1952 to the present).

II

Land and Resources

Less than 10 per cent of the land area of Egypt is settled or under cultivation. This territory consists of the valley and delta of the Nile and a number of desert oases. More than 90 per cent of the country consists of desert areas, including the Libyan Desert in the west, a part of the Sahara, and the Arabian Desert (also called the Eastern Desert), which borders the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez, in the east. The Libyan Desert (also known as the Western Desert), which includes a vast sandy expanse called the Great Sand Sea, has several depressions with elevations below sea level. These include the Qattara Depression (also spelt Qattarah), which has an area of about 18,100 sq km (6,990 sq mi) and reaches a depth of 133 m (436 ft) below sea level, the lowest point in Africa. Also found there are the oases of Siwa, Khārijah, Baḩrīyah, Farafra, and Dakhla.

Much of the Arabian Desert occupies a plateau that rises gradually eastward from the Nile Valley to elevations of about 610 m (2,000 ft) in the east and is broken along the Red Sea coast by jagged peaks as high as about 2,135 m (7,000 ft) above sea level. In the extreme south, along the border with Sudan, is the Nubian Desert, an extensive region of dunes and sandy plains. The Sinai Peninsula consists of sandy desert in the north and rugged mountains in the south, with summits looming more than 2,135 m (7,000 ft) above the Red Sea. Jabal Katrinah (2,642 m/8,668 ft), the highest elevation in Egypt, is in the Sinai Peninsula, as is Mount Sinai, where, according to the Old Testament, Moses received the Ten Commandments.

A

Rivers and Lakes

The Nile enters Egypt from Sudan and flows north for about 1,545 km (960 mi) to the Mediterranean Sea. For its entire length from the southern border to Cairo, the Nile flows through a narrow valley lined by cliffs. Lake Nasser, a huge reservoir formed by the Aswān High Dam, extends south across the border with Sudan. The lake is about 480 km (300 mi) long and is about 16 km (10 mi) across at its widest point. About two thirds of the lake lies in Egypt. South of a point near the town of Idfu, the Nile Valley is rarely more than 3 km (2 mi) wide. From Idfu to Cairo, the valley is about 23 km (14 mi) in width, with most of the arable portion on the western side.

In the vicinity of Cairo the valley merges with the delta, a fan-shaped plain, the perimeter of which occupies about 250 km (155 mi) of the Mediterranean coastline. Silt deposited by the Rosetta (Arabic, Rashid), Damietta (Arabic, Dumyat), and other tributaries has made the delta the most fertile region in the country. However, the Aswān High Dam has reduced the flow of the Nile, causing the salty waters of the Mediterranean to erode land along the coast near the Nile. A series of four shallow, brackish lakes extend along the seaward extremity of the delta. Another larger lake, Lake Qārūn, is situated inland in the desert north of the town of Al Fayyūm. Geographically and traditionally, the Nile Valley is divided into two regions, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, the former consisting of the delta area and the latter comprising the valley south of Cairo.

Although Egypt has about 2,900 km (1,800 mi) of coastline, two thirds of which are on the Red Sea, indentations suitable as harbours are confined to the delta. The Isthmus of Suez, which connects the Sinai Peninsula with the African mainland, is traversed from the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez by the Suez Canal.

B

Climate

The climate of Egypt is characterized by a hot season from May to September and a cool season from November to March. Extreme temperatures during both seasons are moderated by the prevailing northern winds. In the coastal region temperatures range between a mean maximum of 37.2° C (99° F) and a mean minimum of 13.9° C (57° F). Wide variations of temperature occur in the deserts, ranging between a mean annual maximum of 45.6° C (114° F) during daylight hours and a mean annual minimum of 5.6° C (42° F) after sunset. During the winter season desert temperatures often drop to 0° C (32° F). The most humid area is along the Mediterranean coast, where the average annual rainfall is about 200 mm (8 in). Precipitation decreases rapidly to the south; Cairo receives only about 25 mm (1 in) of rain a year, and in many desert locations it may rain only once every several years.