Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in North Africa.
Chronology
- Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c. 3150 BC
- Muhammad Ali dynasty inaugurated 9 July 1805[
- Independence from United Kingdom 28 February 1922
- Revolution Day 23 July 1952
- Republican regime 18 June 1953
- Provisional Constitution 30 March 2011
- Current constitution 18 January 2014
History
Egypt in North Africa includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Covering an area of about 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,660 sq mi), Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Cyprus; the eastern coast borders the Red Sea.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi) where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
The demographics of Egypt have changed over time. In ancient times, they were mediterranean European. The latest change was from the Mohammedan conquest-genocides in the Middle Ages which replaced much of the population with Arab. It also replaced Gnostic Christianity with Mohammedanism. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the Giza pyramid complex and the Great Sphinx. The southern city of Luxor contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East.
In Feburary 2011, there was civil uprising to overthrow then president Hosni Mubarak. There were 362 reported deaths, and a further 6000 injured. During protests in 2013, hundreds of women were raped as an attempt to silence their protests, with a frequency of for instance 91 rapes in 4 days.[1] Rape is extremely common in African and Middle Eastern countries with rape as a common means to force religious conversion, including Egypt. Many in Egypt's government refuse to publically accept teachings such as "The Holocaust" and support the Palestinian cause.[2]
