Egypt, one of the world's oldest civilizations, was unified around 3150 BC byKing Narmer. It later came under Persian, Greek, Roman, and Islamic rule before joining theOttoman Empire in 1517. Controlled by Britain in the late 19th century, it became a republic in 1953. After several political transitions,Abdel Fattah el-Sisi currently leads the country.
By about 6000 BC, aNeolithic culture had taken root in the Nile Valley.[2] During the Neolithic era, several predynastic cultures developed independently inUpper and Lower Egypt. TheBadari culture and the successorNaqada series are generally regarded as precursors todynastic Egypt. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site,Merimde, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining culturally distinct, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence ofEgyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC.[3]
InUpper Egypt, the predynasticBadari culture was followed by theNaqada culture (Amratian),[4] being closely related to the Lower Nubian;[5][6][7][8] othernortheast African populations,[9] with some affinities with other coastal communities from theMaghreb,[10][11] sometropical African groups,[12] and possibly inhabitants of theMiddle East.[13] Upper Egypt is considered to have formed the pre-dominant basis for the cultural development of Pharaonic Egypt and the Proto-dynastic kings emerged from the Naqada region.[14][15]
Historical scholarship has generally regarded the peopling of the Egyptian Nile Valley from archaeological and biological data, to be the result of interaction between coastalnorthern Africans, "neolithic"Saharans,Nilotic hunters, and riverine proto-Nubians with some influence and migration from theLevant (Hassan, 1988).[16][17]
As of 2025, the earliest full-genome analysis of an ancient Egyptian is that ofOld Kingdom individual (NUE001) (2855–2570 BCE), with implications for the genetic makeup of Early Dynastic Egyptians in general: the study shows that the genetic profile of this individual was most closely represented by a two-source model, in which 77.6% ± 3.8% of the ancestry corresponded to genomes from the Middle Neolithic Moroccan site of Skhirat-Rouazi (SKH, dated to 4780–4230 BCE), itself consisting of predominantly Levant Neolithic ancestry (76.4 ± 4.0%) and minorIberomaurusian ancestry (22.4 ± 3.8%), with the remaining (22.4% ± 3.8%) most closely related to known genomes fromNeolithic Mesopotamia (dated to 9000-8000 BCE).[18]
A unified kingdom was formed in 3150 BC by KingMenes, leading to aseries of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia.Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in itsreligion,arts,language and customs.
TheFirst Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years.[20] Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in theMiddle Kingdom c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of PharaohAmenemhat III. Asecond period of disunity heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of theSemitic-speakingHyksos. The Hyksos migrants[20][21] took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital atAvaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led byAhmose I, who founded theEighteenth Dynasty and relocated the capital fromMemphis toThebes.
New Kingdom, Third Intermediate Period and Late Period
TheNew Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as aninternational power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire fromSyria toUpper Nubia. This period is noted for some of the most well knownPharaohs, includingHatshepsut,Thutmose III,Akhenaten and his wifeNefertiti,Tutankhamun andRamesses II. The first historically attested expression ofmonotheism came during this period asAtenism, although some[who?] considerAtenism to be a form ofmonolatry rather than ofmonotheism. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later ruled and invaded byLibyans,Nubians andAssyrians, but native Egyptians eventually drove them out and regained control of their country.[22]
TheThirty-first Dynasty of Egypt, also known as the Second EgyptianSatrapy, was effectively a short-living province of the Achaemenid Empire between 343 BC to 332 BC.[24] After an interval of independence, during which three indigenous dynasties reigned (the28th,29th and30th dynasty),Artaxerxes III (358–338 BC) reconquered the Nile valley for a brief second period (343–332 BC), which is called the Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt, thus starting another period of pharaohs of Persian origin.[25]
A team led byJohannes Krause managed the first reliable sequencing of the genomes of 90 mummified individuals in 2017. Whilst not conclusive, because of the non-exhaustive time frame and restricted location that the mummies represent, their study nevertheless showed that these Ancient Egyptians "closely resembled ancient and modern Near Eastern populations, especially those in the Levant, and had almost no DNA from sub-Saharan Africa. What's more, the genetics of the mummies remained remarkably consistent even as different powers—including Nubians, Greeks, and Romans—conquered the empire".[26]
ThePtolemaic Kingdom was a powerfulHellenistic state extending from southernSyria in the east, toCyrene to the west, and south to the frontier with Nubia.Alexandria became the capital city and a center ofGreek culture and trade. To gain recognition by the native Egyptian populace, they named themselves as the successors to the Pharaohs. The later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions, had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life.[27][28]
The last ruler from thePtolemaic dynasty wasCleopatra, who committed suicide following the burial of her loverMark Antony, who had died in her arms (from a self-inflicted stab wound) afterAugustus had captured Alexandria and her mercenary forces had fled.
The Ptolemies faced rebellions of native Egyptians, often caused by an unwanted regime, and were involved in foreign and civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its annexation by Rome. Nevertheless,Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt well after theMuslim conquest. The native Egyptian/Coptic culture continued to exist as well (the Coptic language itself was Egypt's most widely spoken language until at least the 10th century).
Egypt quickly became the Empire'sbreadbasket supplying the greater portion of the Empire's grain in addition to flax, papyrus, glass and many other finished goods. The city of Alexandria became a key trading outpost for the Roman Empire (by some accounts, the most important for a time). Shipping from Egypt regularly reached India and Ethiopia among other international destinations.[29] It was also a leading (perhapsthe leading) scientific and technological center of the Empire. Scholars such asPtolemy,Hypatia, andHeron broke new ground in astronomy, mathematics, and other disciplines. Culturally, the city of Alexandria at times rivaled Rome in its importance.[30]
TheHanging Church of Cairo, first built in the 3rd or 4th century, is one of the most famousCoptic Orthodox churches in Egypt.
Christianity reached Egypt relatively early in the evangelist period of the first century (traditionally credited toMark the Evangelist).[31] Alexandria, Egypt and Antioch, Syria quickly became the leading centers of Christianity.[32]Diocletian's reign marked the transition from the classical Roman to the Late antique/Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. TheNew Testament had by then been translated into Egyptian. After theCouncil of Chalcedon in AD 451, a distinctEgyptian Coptic Church was firmly established.[33]
Sasanian Egypt (known inMiddle Persian sources asAgiptus) refers to the brief rule of Egypt and parts ofLibya by theSasanian Empire, which lasted from 619 to 629,[34] until the Sasanian rebelShahrbaraz made an alliance with the Byzantine emperorHeraclius and had control over Egypt returned to him.[34]
Extent of the Tulunid domains under Khumarawayh, in 893
The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a briefPersian invasion early in the 7th century, until 639–642, when Egypt was invaded andconquered by the Arab Islamic Empire. The final loss of Egypt was of incalculable significance to the Byzantine Empire, which had relied on Egypt for many agricultural and manufactured goods.
When they defeated the Byzantine armies in Egypt, the Arabs broughtSunni Islam to the country. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with their Christian traditions as well as other indigenous beliefs and practices, leading to variousSufi orders that have flourished to this day.[31] These earlier rites had survived the period of Coptic Christianity.[35][page needed]
Muslim rulers nominated by theIslamic Caliphate remained incontrol of Egypt for the next six centuries, withCairo as the seat of the Caliphate under theFatimids.[dubious –discuss] With the end of theKurdishAyyubid dynasty, theMamluks, aTurco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD 1250. By the late 13th century, Egypt linked the Red Sea, India, Malaya, and East Indies.[36] The Greek and Coptic languages and cultures went into a steep decline in favor of Arabic culture (though Coptic managed to last as a spoken language until the 17th century and remains a liturgical language today).
After the 15th century, the Ottoman invasion pushed the Egyptian system into decline. The defensive militarization damaged its civil society and economic institutions.[36] The weakening of the economic system combined with the effects of the plague left Egypt vulnerable to foreign invasion. Portuguese traders took over their trade.[36] Egypt suffered six famines between 1687 and 1731.[38] The 1784famine cost it roughly one-sixth of its population.[39]
The briefFrench invasion of Egypt led byNapoleon Bonaparte began in 1798. The campaign eventually led to the discovery of theRosetta Stone, creating the field ofEgyptology. Despite early victories and an initially successful expedition into Syria, Napoleon and hisArmée d'Orient were eventually defeated and forced to withdraw, especially after suffering the defeat of the supporting French fleet at theBattle of the Nile.
The expulsion of the French in 1801 byOttoman,Mamluk, and British forces was followed by four years of anarchy in which Ottomans, Mamluks, andAlbanians — who were nominally in the service of the Ottomans – wrestled for power. Out of this chaos, the commander of the Albanian regiment,Muhammad Ali (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) emerged as a dominant figure and in 1805 was acknowledged by theSultan inIstanbul as hisviceroy in Egypt; the title implied subordination to the Sultan but this was in fact a polite fiction: Ottoman power in Egypt was finished and Muhammad Ali, an ambitious and able leader, established adynasty that was to rule Egypt until the revolution of 1952. After 1882 the dynasty became a British puppet.[40]
Muhammad Ali's primary focus was military: he annexedNorthern Sudan (1820–1824),Syria (1833), and parts ofArabia andAnatolia; but in 1841 the European powers, fearful lest he topple the Ottoman Empire itself, forced him to return most of his conquests to the Ottomans. He kept the Sudan and his title to Egypt was made hereditary. A more lasting result of his military ambition is that it required him to modernize the country. Eager to adopt the military (and therefore industrial) techniques of the great powers, he sent students to the West and invited training missions to Egypt. He built industries, a system of canals for irrigation and transport, and reformed the civil service.[41]
The introduction in 1820 of long-staple cotton, the Egyptian variety of which became notable, transformed its agriculture into a cash-cropmonoculture before the end of the century. The social effects of this were enormous: land ownership became concentrated and many foreigners arrived, shifting production towards international markets.[41]
British indirect rule lasted from 1882, when the British succeeded in defeating the Egyptian Army atTel el-Kebir in September and took control of the country, to the1952 Egyptian revolution which made Egypt a republic and when British advisers were expelled.
Muhammad Ali was succeeded briefly by his sonIbrahim (in September 1848), then by a grandsonAbbas I (in November 1848), then bySaid (in 1854), andIsma'il (in 1863).Abbas I was cautious. Said and Ismail were ambitious developers, but they spent beyond their means. TheSuez Canal, built in partnership with the French, was completed in 1869. The cost of this and other projects had two effects: it led to enormous debt to European banks, and caused popular discontent because of the onerous taxation it required. In 1875, Ismail sold Egypt's 44% share in the canal to the British Government.Ismail also tried to conquer theEthiopian Empire and was defeated twice at Gundet in 1875 and again at theBattle of Gura in 1876.
Within three years this led to the imposition of British and Frenchcontrollers who sat in the Egyptian cabinet, and, "with the financial power of the bondholders behind them, were the real power in the Government."[42]
Local dissatisfaction with Ismail and with European intrusion led to the formation of the first nationalist groupings in 1879, withAhmad Urabi a prominent figure. In 1882 he became head of a nationalist-dominated ministry committed to democratic reforms including parliamentary control of the budget. Fearing a reduction of their control, Britain and France intervened militarily, bombarding Alexandria and crushing the Egyptian army at thebattle of Tel el-Kebir.[43] They reinstalled Ismail's sonTewfik as the figurehead of ade facto British protectorate.[44][45]In 1914, the Protectorate was made official, and the Ottoman Empire no longer had a role. The title for the head of state, which in 1867 had changed frompasha tokhedive, was changed again tosultan.Abbas II was deposed as khedive and replaced by his uncle,Hussein Kamel, as sultan.[46]
On 18 June 1953, theEgyptian Republic was declared, with GeneralMuhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 byGamal Abdel Nasser – the real architect of the 1952 movement – and was later put underhouse arrest.
Nasser assumed power as president in June 1956. British forces completed their withdrawal from the occupied Suez Canal Zone on 13 June 1956. Henationalized the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956, prompting the 1956Suez Crisis.
Sadat switched Egypt'sCold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched theInfitah economic reform policy, while clamping down on religious and secular opposition.
In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched theOctober War, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and theGolan Heights. It was an attempt to regain part of the Sinai territory that Israel had captured six years earlier. Sadat hoped to seize some territory through military force, and then regain the rest of the peninsula by diplomacy. The conflict sparked an international crisis between the US and the USSR, both of whom intervened. The second UN-mandated ceasefire halted military action. While the war ended with a military stalemate, it presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to regain the Sinai in return for peace with Israel.[citation needed]
Sadat made a historic visit to Israel in 1977, which led to the 1979peace treaty in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in theArab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from theArab League, but it was supported by most Egyptians.[49] On 6 October 1981,Sadat and six diplomats were assassinated while observing a military parade commemorating the eighth anniversary of the October 1973 War. He was succeeded byHosni Mubarak.
In 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, terrorist attacks in Egypt became numerous and severe, and began to targetCopts and foreign tourists as well as government officials.[50] Some scholars and authors have credited Islamist writerSayyid Qutb, who was executed in 1967, as the inspiration for the new wave of attacks.[51][52]
The 1990s saw anIslamist group,al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, engage in an extended campaign of violence, from the murders and attempted murders of prominent writers and intellectuals, to the repeated targeting of tourists and foreigners. Serious damage was done to the largest sector of Egypt's economy—tourism[53]—and in turn to the government, but it also devastated the livelihoods of many of the people on whom the group depended for support.[54]
Victims of the campaign against the Egyptian state from 1992 to 1997 exceeded 1,200[55] and included the head of the counter-terrorism police (Major General Raouf Khayrat), a speaker of parliament (Rifaat el-Mahgoub), dozens of European tourists and Egyptian bystanders, and over 100 Egyptian police.[56] At times, travel by foreigners in parts ofUpper Egypt was severely restricted and dangerous.[57] On 17 November 1997,62 people, mostly tourists, were killed nearLuxor. The assailants trapped the people in theMortuary Temple of Hatshepsut. During this period, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya was given support by the governments of Iran and Sudan, as well asal-Qaeda.[58][failed verification] The Egyptian government received support during that time from the United States.[58]
In 2003, theKefaya ("Egyptian Movement for Change"), was launched to oppose the Mubarak regime and to establish democratic reforms and greatercivil liberties.
On 25 January 2011, widespread protests began against Mubarak's government. The objective of the protest was the removal of Mubarak from power. These took the form of an intensive campaign ofcivil resistance supported by a very large number of people and mainly consisting of continuous mass demonstrations. By 29 January, it was becoming clear that Mubarak's government had lost control when a curfew order was ignored, and the army took a semi-neutral stance on enforcing the curfew decree.
On 11 February 2011, Mubarak resigned and fled Cairo. Vice PresidentOmar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had stepped down and that theEgyptian military would assume control of the nation's affairs in the short term.[59][60] Jubilant celebrations broke out inTahrir Square at the news.[61] Mubarak may have left Cairo forSharm el-Sheikh the previous night, before or shortly after the airing of a taped speech in which Mubarak vowed he would not step down or leave.[62]
On 13 February 2011, the high level military command of Egypt announced that both the constitution and the parliament of Egypt had been dissolved. The parliamentary election was to be held in September.[63]
Aconstitutional referendum was held on 19 March 2011.[64] On 28 November 2011, Egypt held itsfirst parliamentary election since the Mubarak regime fell. Turnout was high and there were no reports of violence, although members of some parties broke the ban on campaigning at polling places by handing out pamphlets and banners.[65] There were, however, complaints of irregularities.[66]
The first round of a presidential election was held in Egypt on 23 and 24 May 2012.Mohamed Morsi won 25% of the vote andAhmed Shafik, the last prime minister under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak, 24%. A second round was held on 16 and 17 June. On 24 June 2012, the election commission announced that Mohamed Morsi had won the election, making him the first democratically elected president of Egypt. According to official results, Morsi took 51.7 percent of the vote while Shafik received 48.3 percent.[67] On 30 June 2012, Mohamed Morsi was sworn in as Egypt's new president.[68]
On 8 July 2012, Egypt's new presidentMohamed Morsi announced he was overriding the militaryedict that dissolved the country's elected parliament and called lawmakers back into session.[69]
On 10 July 2012, theSupreme Constitutional Court of Egypt negated the decision by Morsi to call the nation's parliament back into session.[70] On 2 August 2012, Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Qandil announced his 35-member cabinet, including 28 newcomers, of whom four came from the influentialMuslim Brotherhood while six and the former interim military rulerMohamed Hussein Tantawi as the Defence Minister came from the previous Government.[71]
On 22 November 2012, Morsi issued a declaration immunizing his decrees from challenge and seeking to protect the work of the constituent assembly drafting the new constitution.[72] The declaration also requires a retrial of those accused in the Mubarak-era killings of protesters, who had been acquitted, and extends the mandate of the constituent assembly by two months. Additionally, the declaration authorizes Morsi to take any measures necessary to protect the revolution. Liberal and secular groups previously walked out of the constitutional constituent assembly because they believed that it would impose strict Islamic practices, whileMuslim Brotherhood backers threw their support behind Morsi.[73]
The move was criticized byMohamed ElBaradei, the leader of Egypt's Constitution Party, who stated "Morsi today usurped all state powers & appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh" on his Twitter feed.[74] The move led to massive protests and violent action throughout Egypt.[75] On 5 December 2012, Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Egypt's president clashed, hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails and brawling in Cairo's streets, in what was described as the largest violent battle between Islamists and their foes since the country's revolution.[76] Six senior advisors and three other officials resigned from the government and the country's leading Islamic institution called on Morsi to stem his powers. Protesters also clamored from coastal cities to desert towns.[77]
Morsi offered a "national dialogue" with opposition leaders but refused to cancel a 15 December vote on a draft constitution written by an Islamist-dominated assembly that has ignited two weeks of political unrest.[77]
A constitutional referendum was held in two rounds on 15 and 22 December 2012, with 64% support, and 33% against.[78] It was signed into law by a presidential decree issued by Morsi on 26 December 2012.[79] On 3 July 2013, the constitution was suspended by order of theEgyptian army.[80]
On 30 June 2013, on the first anniversary of the election of Morsi, millions of protesters across Egypt took to the streets and demanded the immediate resignation of the president. On 1 July, theEgyptian Armed Forces issued a 48-hour ultimatum that gave the country's political parties until 3 July to meet the demands of the Egyptian people. The presidency rejected the Egyptian Army's 48-hour ultimatum, vowing that the president would pursue his own plans for national reconciliation to resolve the political crisis. On 3 July, GeneralAbdel Fattah el-Sisi, head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, announced that he had removed Morsi from power, suspended the constitution and would be calling new presidential and Shura Council elections and namedSupreme Constitutional Court's leader,Adly Mansour as acting president.[81] Mansour was sworn in on 4 July 2013.[82]
During the months after thecoup d'état, anew constitution was prepared, which took effect on 18 January 2014.[83] After that,presidential andparliamentary elections have to be held in June 2014. On 24 March 2014, 529 Morsi's supporters weresentenced to death, while thetrial of Morsi himself was still ongoing.[84] Having delivered a final judgement, 492 sentences were commuted to life imprisonment with 37 death sentences being upheld. On 28 April, another mass trial took place with 683 Morsi supporters sentenced to death for killing 1 police officer.[85] In 2015, Egypt participated in theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[86]
In theelections of June 2014 El-Sisi won with a percentage of 96.1%.[87] On 8 June 2014, Abdel Fatah el-Sisi was officially sworn in as Egypt's new president.[88] Egypt has implemented a rigorous policy of controlling the border to the Gaza Strip, including the dismantling of tunnels between the Gaza strip and Sinai.[89]
In April 2018, El-Sisi was re-elected by landslide inelection with no real opposition.[90] In April 2019, Egypt's parliament extended presidential terms from four to six years. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was also allowed to run for third term in next election in 2024.[91]
Under El-Sisi Egypt is said to have returned toauthoritarianism. New constitutional reforms have been implemented, meaning strengthening the role of military and limiting the political opposition.[92] The constitutional changes were accepted in areferendum in April 2019.[93]
In December 2020, final results of the parliamentaryelection confirmed a clear majority of the seats for Egypt's Mostaqbal Want (Nation's Future) Party, which strongly supports president El-Sisi. The party even increased its majority, partly because of new electoral rules.[94]
During the 2020–2021Tigray War, Egypt was also involved. On 19 December 2020, anEEPA report stated, based on testimonials of three Egyptian officials and one European diplomat, that the UAE used its base inAssab (Eritrea) to launch drones strikes against Tigray. The investigative platformBellingcat confirmed the presence of Chinese-produced drones at the UAE's military base in Assab, Eritrea.Egyptian officials were concerned about strengthening ties between the UAE and Israel. They fear that both countries will collaborate in the construction of an alternative to theSuez Canal, starting fromHaifa in Israel.[95] On 19 December 2020, Egypt was reportedly encouraging Sudan to support theTPLF in Tigray. It wants to strengthen a joint position in relation to negotiations on theGERD Dam, which impacts both countries downstream.[95]
^Zakrzewski, Sonia R. (April 2007)."Population continuity or population change: Formation of the ancient Egyptian state".American Journal of Physical Anthropology.132 (4):501–509.Bibcode:2007AJPA..132..501Z.doi:10.1002/ajpa.20569.PMID17295300.When Mahalanobis D2 was used, the Naqadan and Badarian Predynastic samples exhibited more similarity to Nubian, Tigrean, and some more southern series than to some mid- to late Dynasticseries from northern Egypt (Mukherjee et al., 1955). The Badarian have been found to be very similar to a Kerma sample (Kushite Sudanese), using both the Penrose statistic (Nutter, 1958) and DFA of males alone (Keita,1990). Furthermore, Keita considered that Badarian males had a southern modal phenotype, and that together with a Naqada sample, they formed a southern Egyptian cluster as tropical variants together with a sample from Kerma
^Mokhtar, Gamal, ed. (1981).Ancient Civilizations of Africa. UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa; Heinemann Educational Books; University of California Press. pp. 20–21, 148.ISBN978-0-520-03913-1.The difference in behaviour between two populations of similar ethnic composition throws significant light on an apparently abnormal fact: one of them adopted and perhaps even invented, a system of writing, while the other, which was aware of that writing, disdained it
^"Egypt".CIA- The World Factbook. Retrieved2 February 2011.Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy in 1952.
^Murphy, CarylePassion for Islam: Shaping the Modern Middle East: the Egyptian Experience, Scribner, 2002, p.4
^Murphy, CarylePassion for Islam: Shaping the Modern Middle East: the Egyptian Experience, Scribner, 2002, p.57
^Kepel, Gilles,Muslim Extremism in Egypt by Gilles Kepel, English translation published by University of California Press, 1986, p. 74
^"Solidly ahead of oil, Suez Canal revenues, and remittances, tourism is Egypt's main hard currency earner at $6.5 billion per year." (in 2005)... concerns over tourism's futureArchived 24 September 2013 at theWayback Machine. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
^As described byWilliam Dalrymple in his bookFrom the Holy Mountain (1996,ISBN0 00 654774 5) pp. 434–54, where he describes his trip to the area ofAsyut in 1994.
24Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under theAntarctic Treaty.
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