Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt

General Information  This was the place where one of the worlds greatest civilizations developed.  The Nile River flooded regularly.  The desert keeps Egypt almost isolated.  3200 B.C. saw the rise of a Unified Kingdom.  A series of dynasties ruled Egypt for about 3000 years.

 Persians conquered Egypt in 341 B.C. Alexander The Great named Alexandria after himself.  The Persians were followed by the Greeks, Romans, and the Byzantines.  In the 7 th century A.D., the Arabs introduced Islam and the Arabic language.  The Arabs ruled for about 600 years.  Local military people called Mamluks took over in A.D

 Egypt was next conquered by Ottoman Turks in A.D. 1517, but they allowed the Mamluks to continue ruling.  The Suez Canal was completed in A.D. 1869, and as a result, Egypt became an important trade center for the world.  Egypt gained power, but lost wealth and the fell into heavy debt.

 Britain took over Egypt’s government in 1882, and continued to rule for all intents and purposes until after WWII.  1971 saw the completion of the Aswan High Dam and the resulting formation of Lake Nasser. This disrupted the importance of the Nile River.

Location  Absolute: 27° North Latitude and 30° East Longitude.  Relative: Northern Africa. Borders on the Mediterranean Sea. Libya and the Gaza Strip sandwich Egypt.

Place:  Area Comparative: A little bit larger than 3X New Mexico.  Climate: Desert. Hot and dry summers with moderate winters.  Terrain: Desert plateau that has the Nile Valley and Delta.

 Natural Hazards: Periodic droughts. Earthquakes are common as are flash floods. Landslides occur here as well. Each spring, a windstorm that is very hot occurs. This is known as the Khamsim Winds. They also have dust storms and sandstorms.

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 Religion:

 Capital is Cairo

Human and Environmental Interaction  Loss of agricultural land due to urbanization.  Increasing soil salinity.  Desertification  Oil Pollution of Coral Reefs, Beaches, and Marine Habitats.  Water Pollution from pesticides, raw sewage, and industry effluents.

 Limited freshwater from the Nile.  Rapid Population growth.

Movement  Railways  Highways  Waterways such as the Nile River, Lake Nasser, and the Suez Canal.  Pipelines  Ports and Harbors such as Alexandria.  Airports: 89 total, 71 are paved, 18 are not.

 Transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian Heroin and Opium moving to Europe, United States, and Africa. Concern as a money laundering center due to laxity in the regulations of bankers.

Region  Egypt and Sudan both claim to control certain area of land that has been in dispute since the signing of a treaty in 1922.