Egypt: Geography, People, Environment Modern-day Egypt is located in North Africa & Asia and is considered part of the region known as the Middle East Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip & Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south & Libya to the west The part of Egypt that connects Africa to Asia is known as the Sinai Peninsula Ships travel from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea via the Suez Canal Egypt’s capital, Cairo is the largest city on the continent of Africa Egypt is the largest Arab country in the world - its official language is Arabic and its official religion is Islam People in modern-day Egypt call Egypt by its Arabic name, Misr In 3800 BCE, people began to develop a complex society along the Nile River Valley - this civilization came to be known as Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt had different borders than modern-day Egypt - at times, Ancient Egypt was a vast empire that conquered many other lands When the Ancient Greeks visited, they called it Aígyptos meaning “below the Aegean Sea” which is the body of water on the Greek coastline

The Nile begins in Lake Victoria in Uganda and flows North for 4200 miles (the longest in world!) Right before the Nile empties into the Mediterranean Sea, it splits of into several tributaries shaped like a fan This area of extremely fertile land at the mouth of a river is called a Delta Along the length of the Nile lie 6 cataracts or waterfalls Most ancient Egyptians lived North of 1 st cataract

Egypt is predominantly desert - 99% of the population lives along the Nile Each year from June - Sept, rain/melting snow from mountains at Nile’s source cause the Nile to flood the flatland of the Nile River Valley As the waters recede, they leave behind a layer of silt (extremely fertile soil) Egyptian farmers planned their work according to the annual flood Farmers practiced irrigation – bringing water to fields through the use of canals B/c of the annual Nile flood, Egypt is often called the “Gift of the Nile”