Egypt Then – Ancient Egypt

Who hasn’t heard about the Pyramids, the Sphinx or King Tut?

Ancient Egyptian civilization and its great achievements are the subject of study in schools around the world from the early grades up.

Herodotus, the famous Greek traveler called Egypt the Gift of the Nile and, in fact, this great civilization would not have existed without its life giving waters. The development of early settlements into great cities was made possible by the constant yearly inundation that turned the barren desert into rich fertile soil around its banks. There was plenty of crops to sustain an ever growing population that could diversify its activities and develop skills for organizing into complex systems of government, religion, military, construction, writing and the arts.

Ancient Egypt became the richest world empire. The pharaohs conducted military campaigns that extended its borders and brought so much wealth to the country that pharaohs began a monument building program unparalled in history, the remains of which we tour today.

When Napoleon set up to conquer Egypt in 1797, a sudden burst of popular interest in all things Egyptian spread across Europe, and the term Egyptomania was coined. Egypt became the perfect scenario for artistic imagery, a remote vast desert land scarcely populated by exotic people amidst monumental ruins half covered in the sand of times at the banks of a mystical river whose unexplored source was deep in the heart of a primitive continent.

Today, the fascination for Ancient Egypt persists. People continually flock to the Land of the Pharaohs to witness the mighty Pyramids, the Great Sphinx and the Treasures of Tutankhamen.

Egypt Now – Modern Egypt

Egypt today is a study in contrasts, especially in Cairo, where modern skyscrapers, highways, a subway system, hotels, restaurants, advertising and western clothing blend together with ancient pharaonic ruins, Islamic mosques, Coptic churches, Middle Eastern garb and bazaars.

As for the rest of the country, life for the fellahin is similar to that of their ancient Egyptian or early Arab settlers ancestors. They inhabit the rural villages along the Nile, living in mud brick houses or goatskin tents, and tilling the soil with the same tools of pharaonic times.

Along the Nile valley, modern Egypt still looks very much like its ancient past, except for the roadways running along the river and some electricity towers and lines here and there.

For the traveler, Egypt today is an open air museum, with ancient monuments scattered along the east and west banks of the Nile, from the Pyramids of Giza at the North to the Great Temple of Abu Simbel near the present day border of Sudan.

Around the Red Sea Coast and the Sinai Peninsula, there has been significant developments focused in the tourism industry, as former fishing villages are turning into resort towns catering to wealthy tourists principally from Europe and the Middle East.

This website is dedicated to both Egypts – the Egypt that takes you back to the glory of bygone days and the Egypt of a devout people that struggle every day to overcome corruption and poverty while keeping a friendly smile to foreign visitors.