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{History of Egypt}
Prehistoric Egypt
There is evidence of rock carvings along the Nile terraces and in the desert oases. In the 10th millennium BC, a culture of huntergatherers and fishers replaced a grain-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society.
By about 6000 BC the Neolithic culture rooted in the Nile Valley.During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC.
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{History of Egypt}
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{History of Egypt}
Djoser Pyramid
Giza Pyramid
The New Kingdom (c.15501070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as Tombos in Nubia, and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first historically attested expression of monotheism came during this period in the form of Atenism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded and conquered by Libyans, Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians eventually drove them out and regained control of their country.
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{History of Egypt}
Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm, Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The New Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly established.
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{History of Egypt}
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{History of Egypt}
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{History of Egypt}
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{History of Egypt}
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{History of Egypt}
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{History of Egypt}
View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House (bottomright) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital.
In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate part of the Sinai territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier.
Sadat hoped to seize some territory via military force, and then regain the rest of the peninsula by diplomacy. The conflict sparked an international crisis between the two world superpowers: the US and the USSR, both of whom intervened. Two UNmandated ceasefires were needed to bring military operations to a halt. While the war ended in a military stalemate, it presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to regain the Sinai in return for peace with Israel.
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{History of Egypt}
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Morphology pt.1
At 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,660 sq mi), Egypt is the world's 38th-largest country. In land area, it is about the same size as all Central America, twice the size of Spain, four times the size of the United Kingdom,[49] and the combined size of the US states of Texas and California.
Map of Egypt.
Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that about 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. Egypt is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a transcontinental nation, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between Africa and Asia, which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the Suez Canal) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea.
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Morphology pt.2
Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes more than 100 feet (30 m) high. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert and of the Libyan Desert. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats.
The Nile River near Aswan.
Towns and cities include Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Asyut, Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Hurghada, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Port Safaga, Port Said, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located, Zagazig, and Al-Minya. Oases include Bahariya, el Dakhla, Farafra, el Kharga and Siwa. Protectorates include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa.
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Economy pt.1
Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1970 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy. The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has received U.S. foreign aid (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States after the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the Suez Canal. Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about 600,000 metric tons (590,000 LT; 660,000 ST) per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at 1,940 cubic kilometres, and LNG is exported to many countries.
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Economy pt.2
Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the Government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the IMF has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms.[citation needed] Some major economic reforms taken by the new Government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their Government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. The Government promises major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure, with a large part of the sum paid for the newly acquired third mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat.
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Economy pt.3
The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the Orascom Group and Raya. The IT sector has expanded rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as many SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant Government encouragement. An estimated 2.7 million Egyptians abroad contribte actively to the development of their country through remittances (US$ 7.8 in 2009), as well as circulation of human and social capital and investment.
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Population
Population of Egypt, according to a survey conducted in July 2007, is estimated to be around 80,335,036. The estimated rate of growth of population in Egypt is 1.721%. Egypt is considered to be one of the populous countries in Africa. The sex ratio of Egypt population is 1.017 males per female. The total area occupied by Africa is 1,001,450 sq km. The Egypt population is mainly dense in and around the Nile basin. The fertile river plains have always attracted people to settle down in this region. Thus the population of Egypt comprises immigrants as well as the local inhabitants. People of Egypt comprise different ethnic groups. The nationality of the people of the country is Egyptian. They comprise of 98% of the total population. Bedouin, Nubian and Beja cover only 1% among the population. Rest of the 1% of population is comprised of the Europeans mainly of French and Italian origin. Armenians and Greeks also form part of the population. The religion of population of Egypt is mainly Islam. Muslims dominate 90% of the total population, most of which are Sunni Muslims. Christianity is also practiced by some people. 9% of them are Coptic and only 1% is consists of other Christian communities.
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Bilateral pt.1
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Menteri Koperasi dan Usaha Kecil dan Menengah (KUKM), Dr Syarifudin Hasan dan Menteri Kerjasama Internasional Mesir, Dr Faiza Abu Naja menandatangani MoU kerjasama pemamfaatan eceng gondok yang ada di sepanjang sungai Nil, di Cairo, pekan lalu. Keterangan tertulis KBRI Cairo yang diterima ANTARa, Kamis, menyebutkan acara MoU tersebut disaksikan oleh Menteri Irigasi dan Sumber Daya Air Mesir, Dr Mohammed Naseruddin Allam dan pelaksanaan acara itu bertepatan peringatan 63 tahun hubungan diplomatik Indonesia-Mesir. Dalam sambutannya, Menteri Faiza mengungkapkan latarbelakang diadakannya MoU tersebut diawali ketika dirinya berkunjung ke kantor Kementerian KUKM yang dipimpin Suryadharma Ali tahun 2007 yang lalu, ketika itu Menteri KUKM memperlihatkan hasil kerajinan pengusaha Indonesia yang terbuat dari bambu dan eceng gondok. Menurut Menteri Faiza, dirinya sangat kagum dengan keberhasilan Indonesia yang mampu memanfaatkan eceng gondok yang justru menjadi masalah serius di sungai Nil dan menjadi limbah di negeri piramida itu, bahkan pemerintah mengalokasikan dana untuk pembasmian rerumput liar yang pertumbuhan dan perkembangannya sangat pesat.
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Bilateral pt.2
Selain itu, eceng gondok tersebut terdapat di sepanjang sungai Nil, maka dari Mesir akan mengupayakan ekspor hasil industri tersebut ke Afrika yang diawali dengan Sudan dan ke pasar Eropa. Mesir akan menimba pengalaman Indonesia dalam pengelolaan rerumput tersebut. Di lain pihak Menteri KUKM Indonesia, Syarifudin Hasan menyampaikan optimisnya dalam meningkatkan hubungan Indonesia - Mesir dalam bidang ekonomi, terlebih saat ini hubungan politik antara kedua negara semakin erat terjalin. Menurutnya Indonesia memiliki kesamaan dalam berbagai hal, terutama dalam hal kesamaan sebagai negara berpenduduk mayoritas Muslim dan kesamaan budaya lainnya. Dirinya yakin kerjasama yang dijalin melalui MoU tersebut dapat memberikan stimulus untuk meningkatkan kerjasama di bidang lain. Di Indonesia, Pemerintah sangat mendukung eksistensi KUKM dan upaya-upaya yang dilakukannya, karena dengan keberadaannya pulalah Indonesia berhasil survive dalam menghadapi krismon dunia akhir-akhir ini, tidak seperti banyak negara di dunia. Menteri KUKM dalam penutupnya mengundang mitra kerjanya untuk berkunjung ke Indonesia guna membicarakan peluang kerja sama lainnya.
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Bilateral pt.3
Sejalan dengan Menteri KUKM, Menteri Perairan dan Irigasi Mesir menyampaikan terima kasihnya kepada Indonesia atas penandatanganan MoU tersebut, hal ini akan membantu Mesir dalam memaksimalkan usaha mengurangi efek negatif eceng gondok di sungai Nil dan justru memberikan manfaat bagi pengusaha kecil yang ada saat ini. Selain MoU di tingkat Pemerintah, dalam acara tersebut ditandatangani juga MoU antara Ketua Asosiasi Industri Permebelan dan Kerajinan Indonesia, Ambar Tjahyono dengan Ketua Egyptian-Indonesian Business Council, Ir Muhammad Barakah. Kerjasama yang dibangun antarpengusaha ini bertujuan untuk membangun kemitraan dalam tataran teknis berupa transfer informasi dan keahlian mengenai pemanfaatan eceng gondok dalam hal industri kecil dan menengah. Penandatanganan MoU mendapat liputan luas dari media cetak dan elektronik Mesir. Tampak meliput acara ini beberapa harian terkemuka Mesir seperti al-Ahram, Gomhouria, Al-Akhbar dan Kantor Berita Mesir (MENA/Middle East News Agency) serta media elektronik diantaranya yaitu Nile TV International, Nile News Channel, Channel 1 Egypt dan Egyptian Satellite Channel.(*) (Ant/R009)
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