Amanda's+Wiki+Project

=Egypt= toc

Egypt is one of the oldest regions of all time. Great cities and kingdoms formed along the Nile river during prehistoric times, and almost 90% of Egypt's people still live there today. Almost all of Egypt is covered in dry desert land and most of their deserts are connected to the Sahara, which is the largest desert in world. Egypt today is an Arab nation, and is home to more people then any other Arab nation. It also has the second greatest population in Africa, Nigeria being the first. Lastly, Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is the largest city in the Arab world, and in the African countries as well.

History
In the Egyptian dynasty, the earliest records of a united Egypt date back to about 3000 B.C. Before that, Egypt had originally been a region divided into many different smaller states. ln 3100 B.C, a king named Menes then came into power in Upper Egypt, conquered Lower Egypt, and formed the two kingdoms as one united Egypt, with their capital as the city of Memphis. It is said that Menes’ dynasty is the very first dynasty of Egypt. His dynasty, and the one that followed, had rule over all of Egypt for around 400 years. Throughout this period, the Egyptians achieved many great things. They developed a form of writing called hieroglyphics, improved their ways of architecture, and learned the system of irrigation, which helped improve their farming. Craftsmen during this time also fashioned axes, knives, and many other different metal objects and tools.

During the period of 2700-2200 B.C, Egyptians achieved their most great accomplishment. It is often called the Age of the Pyramids because they completed more than 20 of the greatest pyramids the world has ever seen. The greatest of the pyramids is the Great Pyramid of Giza. Its construction began in 2560 B.C, and lasted until 2540 B.C. It was originally built as 481 feet tall, but is now 455 feet tall. Throughout the building of this pyramid, about 2.3 million blocks of limestone are said to be used in the completion of this massive project. It truly is one of Egypt’s greatest accomplishments.

Lastly, Egypt was one of the first nations to be visited by Christian Missionaries. The apostle Mark is believed to be the man who brought Christianity to Egypt in 57 A.D. Within 3 centuries, Egypt became a Christianized nation and followed a Coptic patriarch. Egypt’s Copts often face religious persecution though, because of the doctrinal differences between themselves and the Romans. However, in 642 A.D, the Muslim invasion began. It brought a new, more tolerant, invader into power. By the eighth century, Egypt had officially become a largely Muslim country and still is today.



Economy
Until the 1950’s, Egypt was considered a very undeveloped country. Almost all of the industries and companies were either privately owned or non existent; and most of the economy was based around farming. Today though, the government owns many businesses, including important manufacturing and mining companies and different power productions as well. Now, instead of agriculture as the main source of income for Egyptians, manufacturing is becoming a close second. Manufacturing, though is still based largely around farming, as most of the products exported are farm products grown in the region. A couple of examples of things grown in Egypt include corn, wheat, cotton, rice, barley, and even fruit. Most of the farming takes place around the Nile Valley or the Nile River Delta, where the soil is most fertile.

Some natural resources that Egypt has include the Nile River and the Suez Canal. Both of these are very important to Egypt, as they are the two of the largest and most important natural resources. The Suez Canal is important because it is known as the shortest link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. This allows trade to become more efficient for Egypt. The Nile is important because it is also used for trade, but it provides food for people of Egypt as well. Overall, both the Nile River and Suez Canal are very important to Egypt’s economy.



People
In Egypt, they have a population of about 83.7 million people. In fact, 99.6 percent of the people living in Egypt are considered to be Egyptian, while the other .4 percent are a mixture of different people. Arabic is the official language, but there are also many different dialects of Arabic spoken throughout Egypt. Egyptians also enjoy sarcasm, wordplay, and different riddles because they feel it makes their culture and language interesting. The life expectancy for male in Egypt is 71, while for a female it’s 75. The infant mortality rate in Egypt is 24 per every 1,000 births, which is considered to be a relatively low number.

Students in Egypt mainly go to school between the ages of 6 and 15, but it is not actively enforced. Most students attend public schools, but majority are overcrowded. There are slightly more boys that attend schools over girls and by the age of 18, only about 58% of females can read compared to the 75% of boys who can read. Some children also end up leaving school, in order to help their parents support the family. Arabic is the main language spoken in schools, but English classes have also become a part of the main curriculum. Many people, after their education, end up working for the government, which is Egypt’s main source of work. Most men also learn a trade to supplement their families income.

