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Egypt is probably the world's oldest civilization having emerged from the Nile Valley around 3,100 years ago.
It is probably one of the oldest vacation spots. Early Greeks, Romans and others went there to see the wonders of some of mankind's earliest triumphs.
But Egypt is also much more than Pyramids and Monuments.Having Cairo as its capital, It has a lot of active city life to offer. Hot nightspots, luxury Hotels, five star restaurants, romantic cruises down the Nile on festive riverboats, a night at the Grand Opera are just a few examples to enjoy the city.
 General Facts
Population: 74.9 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Cairo
Area: 1 million sq km (386,874 sq miles)
Life expectancy: 67 years (men), 72 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Egyptian Pound = 100 piastres
Main exports: Petroleum, petroleum products and cotton
GNI per capita: US $1,310 (World Bank, 2005)
Internet domain: .eg
International dialling code: +20
Religion
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6%
Language
Arabic (official), English and French widely spoken by educated classes
Government
Congenital long form: Arab Republic of Egypt
Congenital short form: Egypt
Government type: Republic
Capital: Cairo
Flag
The first national flag of modern Egypt was established by a Royal Decree in 1923 when Egypt gained conditional independence from Great Britain in 1922. The color was green with a white crescent and three stars in the middle.
In 1958, a Presidential Decree established a new flag for the United Arab Republic, which comprised a merger of Syria and Egypt. The New flag had three colors: red, white with 2 green stars and black. The flag was rectangular in shape and the width was one-third of its length.
In 1972, the Law was amended to change the flag. The stars were removed from the flag and replaced by golden hawk.
In 1984, the hawk was replaced by a golden eagle; the eagle of Saladdin, the Ayubbid Sultan who ruled Egypt and Syria in 12th Century, the same Saladdin of the crusades.
The Nile
The Nile River is the longest river in the world, stretching for 4,187 miles. The Nile flows from south to north and is formed by three major tributaries: the White Nile, the Blue Nile and the Atabara.
The Blue Nile has its source in the highland of Ethiopia, by Lake Tana. The runoff from spring rain and melting snow caused the annual summer flood of the Nile that the Egyptian depended on for water to irrigate their crops, and deposit fertile top soil.
Just north of Khartoum the combined white and Blue Nile meet their final major tributary, the Atbara which also has its source in the Ethiopian highland
The Nile then plunges into a canyon. Before the construction of the Aswan high dam, the Nile rolled through a series of six rapid, called cataracts, between northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Since construction of the dam, the river has gradually changed its course
north of Cairo, the Nile splits into two branches (or distributors), the Rosetta Branch to the west and Damietta to the East.
Lake Naser is a man-made lake created by the construction of the Aswan high dam opened in 1971. The dam was built to regulate the flow of the Nile River
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