سه‌شنبه، فروردین ۱۸، ۱۳۸۸

E G Y P T

Egyptian Flag

Egypt on Earth

Map of Egypt

Cairo

Cairo

Cairo
Cairo

Cairo

Cairo

Nile River

Farafra desert

Farafra desert


Country Name:
Conventional long form:
Arab Republic of Egypt
Conventional short form: Egypt
Local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
Local short form: Misr
Former: United Arab Republic (with Syria)
Background:
The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's growing population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.
Geography:
At 1,001,450 square kilometres, Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country. In terms of land area, it is approximately the same size as all of Central America, twice the size of Spain, four times the size of the United Kingdom, and the combined size of the US states of Texas and California.
Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area.
Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea.
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
Capital:
Name:
Cairo
Time difference: UTC+2
Area:
1,001,450 sq km
Climate:
Desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Egypt does not receive much rainfall except in the winter months. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as 410 mm, with most of the rainfall between October and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria, frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt.
Temperatures average between 27 °C and 32 °C in summer, and up to 43 °C on the Red Sea coast. Temperatures average between 13 °C and 21 °C in winter. A steady wind from the northwest helps to hold down the temperature near the Mediterranean coast. The Khamaseen is a wind that blows from the south in Egypt in spring, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the desert to more than 38 °C.
Every year, a predictable flooding of the Nile replenishes Egypt's soil. This gives the country consistent harvest throughout the year. Many know this event as The Gift of the Nile.

Elevation Extremes:
Lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m,
Highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m
Natural Resources:
Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Population:
83,082,869
Net Migration Rate:
-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Urbanization:
Urban population:
43% of total population (2008)
Rate of urbanization: 1.8% annual rate of change (2005-2010)
Religions:
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%
Languages:
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes