Egypt is a interesting place with a mixture of the old and the new world. Some customs are the same today as in Ancient Egypt and some are different. You will learn why it is such an interesting place to visit.

The Ancient Egyptian people lived more then 5000 years ago. They are one of the oldest civilizations in the world. They were good at trading goods and were famous for their pyramids, sculptures, temples and paintings. The pyramids are the oldest and only surviving monuments of the seven ancient wonders of the world. They were built some time between 2700 B.C. 2500 B.C.

A lot is known about the ancient Egyptian .Because their hot and dry weather preserved a lot of things they made, they also decorated the walls of their tombs with pictures. We learn about what they did from these pictures of their everyday life.

In Ancient Egypt the man was head of the household, and the family was very organized. The man could have all the wives he wanted. However, he was responsible for supporting all of them.Women could get a divorce easily if her husband was a cruel man. The women would keep the children and shared the property with the father.

Anciently Egypt was a kingdom , but in 1952 it became a republic. Today the official name for Egypt is Arab Republic of Egypt. Their president is Mohamed Hosny Mubarak. He is their fourth president and was elected in 1981. Since then he was elected twice for office with most of the votes. Their first lady is Suzanne Mubarak.

Currently the Egyptian economy is undergoing a economic reform program. The major sources of income are the Suez Canal, tourism and gas and oil. Spinning, weaving, metal engineering & food are the major manufacturing. The major crops in Egypt are cotton, wheat, corn and rice.

The arts in Egypt today are just as important as ancient times. Egypt has produced many great writers, Naguib Mahfouz being one of the most famous. Mahfouz wrote 40 novels and short story collections, as well as 30 screenplays & several plays. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988 the first Arab writer to be so honored.

Music has a long tradition in Egypt. Popular Egyptian music includes folk music for the country, at this time traditional Arabic mucic, & western-style music. The country's most famous singer for this time is Omm Kuthem.

The film making industry also is important in modern Egypt, dating back to the period before World War I. Today modern Egyptian films are shown all over the Arab world, which make the Egyptian dialect the most popular among the Arabic speaking countries.

Many holidays are celebrated:
Eid El Fetr is also a special holiday in Egypt which comes after Ramadan.
Sham El Nessim comes after Easter so it is always on a Monday.
Armed Forces Day is on October 6th. It is the celebration of the Egyptian army's crossing into Sinai in 1973.
The Mulid El Naba Islamic lunar way is an Islamic holiday which is celebrated according to the calender.
In Egypt their Christmas is on the 6 and 7th of January.

When visiting Egypt as a tourist enjoy good whether, sandy beaches and all kinds of water games like surfing, snorkeling, diving and all kinds of other games all year. You can also visit monuments and enjoy a fabulous and a beautiful cruise on the Nile River. The mixture of the old and the new in Egypt makes it a very interesting place to visit.

To learn more about Egypt visit the following sites:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/egtoc.html
http://www.egypt.com/
http://www.virtual-egypt.com/