EGYPT PROFILE
While best known for its pyramids and ancient civilisations, Egypt has played a central role in Middle East politics in modern times.
Its three wars with Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973, then its eventual peace with its adversary in 1979, have seen Egypt move from being a warring nation to become a key representative in the peace process.
But the historic step taken by President Anwar Sadat in the Camp David agreement with Israel saw the expulsion of Egypt from the Arab League until 1989, and in 1981 Mr Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists angry at his moves to clamp down on their activities.
Since then, President Hosni Mubarak has taken a more moderate line, but Islamic groups have continued their campaigns sporadically, being responsible for deadly attacks that have often targeted tourists and resort areas.
Campaigners for political reform have become more vocal in recent times and have taken to the streets in defiance of an emergency law, in force since 1981. Activists say the law restricts political expression.
Although Egypt has changed its constitution to allow the opposition to contest presidential polls, potential candidates must meet strict criteria for participation. A ban remains on religious political parties.
Egypt's ancient past and the fact that it was one of the first Middle Eastern countries to open up to the West following Napoleon's invasion means that it is seen by many as the intellectual and cultural leader in the region. The head of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque is one of the highest authorities in Sunni Islam.
Egypt's teeming cities - and almost all agricultural activity - are concentrated along the banks of the Nile, and on the river's delta. Deserts occupy most of the country.
Source: BBC News
Egypt (Egyptian: Km.t, Coptic: Kimi, Arabic: Misr; Egyptian Arabic: Masr), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,560 square miles), Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and Israel and the Gaza Strip to the northeast; on the north and the east are the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, respectively.
Egypt is the fifteenth most populous country in the world. The vast majority of its 78.8 million population (2006) live near the banks of the Nile River (about 40,000 km? or 15,450 sq miles) where the only arable agricultural land is found. Large areas of land form part of the Sahara Desert and are sparsely inhabited. Around half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo (the largest city in Africa and the Middle East), Alexandria and other major towns in the Nile Delta.
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most ancient and important monuments, including the Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza; the southern city of Luxor contains a particularly large number of ancient artifacts such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Today, Egypt is widely regarded as a main political and cultural centre of the Middle East.
Source: Wikipedia
RED SEA RIVIERA
The Red Sea Riviera consists of the resort cities lying on the northern and western shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and along the eastern shore of mainland Egypt south of the Gulf of Suez. Although there are large distances between these cities, they are often referred to as a Riviera. Cruise ships often visit two or three of these destinations on their longer cruises. Egypt, Israel and Jordan boast tourist resorts in this region of the world.
In 2005, a war of words ensued between the tourist boards of Israel and Egypt over the use of the term Red Sea Riviera as both were using it in their advertising campaigns.
Listed in order of the most northern first:
On the Sinai penninsula:
Eilat
Aqaba
Taba
Nuweiba
Dahab
Sharm-El-Sheikh
On the Eastern Egyptian shore:
Gamsha Bay a huge resort planned for 2009
El-Gouna
Hurghada
Makadi Bay
Soma Bay
Safaga
Quseir
Port Ghalib
Marsa Alam
Hamata / Berenice
Source: Wikipedia
MEDIA
Egypt is a major regional media player. Its press is one of the most influential and widely-read in the region, and its TV and film industry supplies much of the Arab-speaking world with shows from its Media Production City, an enterprise which was set up to create the "Hollywood of the East".
Media criticism of the government is commonplace, but press laws which allow prison sentences for libelling the president, state institutions and foreign heads of state remain in place.
There are two state-run national TV channels and six regional channels, but many viewers turn to pan-Arab channels for their news. Egypt is a big force in satellite TV; its Space Channels are popular across the Arabic-speaking world. Broadcasters can tap into a major programme-making industry and have access to a large film archive.
Egypt was the first Arab nation to have its own satellite, Nilesat 101. Private satellite TV stations include Dream 1, Dream 2 and Al-Mihwar TV. The state's radio monopoly was broken with the arrival of private, commercial music stations in 2003.
The press
Al-Ahram - state-owned daily, the oldest newspaper in the Arab world
Al-Ahram Weekly - English-language
Al-Jumhuriyah - state-owned daily
Al-Akhbar - semi state-owned daily
Al-Ahali - opposition
Al-Wafd - opposition
Al-Messa - pro-government
Middle East Times - English-language weekly
Television
Egypt Radio Television Union (ERTU) - state-run, operates domestic and satellite networks, including Nile TV International
Dream TV - privately-owned satellite network, operates Dream 1 targeting young viewers and Dream 2, an entertainment channel
Radio
Egypt Radio Television Union (ERTU) - state-run, operates eight national networks and external services Radio Cairo and Voice of the Arabs
Nile FM - private, Western pop
Nogoum FM - private, Arabic pop
News agency
Middle East News Agency (MENA) - state-run
PRESIDENT
President: Muhammad Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak is Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century and one of the longest-serving leaders in the Arab world.
Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's long-serving leader
Aged 77, he gained a fifth consecutive term in presidential elections in September 2005. The poll was the the first under a new system which allows multiple candidates to stand. In previous elections Egyptians voted yes or no for a single candidate appointed by parliament.
However, the only opposition organisation which has broad public support, the Muslim Brotherhood, is banned from open political activity and could not field a candidate.
Mr Mubarak succeeded Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981. He is a great survivor, having escaped no fewer than six assassination attempts.
The president is an economic liberal and his government has promised economic reforms. But Egypt remains plagued by high unemployment and low standards of living.
Mr Mubarak has pursued friendly relations with the West. He broke the isolation imposed on Egypt by Arab countries opposed to peace with Israel.
As a military man he modernised the air force after Egypt's defeat in the six-day war with Israel in 1967. He helped to plan the 1973 Yom Kippur War - an Egyptian-Syrian attack on Israeli forces on the Suez Canal and in the Golan Heights.
The succession has been hotly debated. Reports that Mr Mubarak's younger son Gamal is being groomed for office have angered the opposition and have been denied by the president.
Since 1952, when army officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the monarchy, Egyptian leaders have been drawn from the military.
Hosni Mubarak was born in 1928. He and his wife Suzanne, who is part Welsh |
