Important Facts
Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations, dating back over 6000 years. Population: 55 million people Geographic size: 387,000 square miles Capital: Cairo Major cities and population: Cairo, Alexandria, El Giza, Suez, Asyut, Luxor, Aswan, and El Minya
Egypt is located in the northeast corner of Africa. It covers 386,662 square miles – which is almost the size of France! It is the twelth largest country in Africa.
Landscape:
Egypt is part of the Middle East region. It spans across Africa and Asia .
Egypt’s landscape is almost entirely desert, and the weather makes it a challenging place to live.
It has many fascinating, ancient ruins that show that people have lived here for many thousands of years.
Villages There are remote villages where Ox-drawn carts ferry water from stone wells and take crops and other produce to markets.
Cities But in the cities it’s very different. There are lots of busy roads full of noisy cars, buses and taxis. New buildings, subway stations, minarets and tall apartment blocks line each street. On the coast (by the sea), luxurious beach hotels are famous for scuba-diving holidays, cool pools and fabulous fish restaurants.
Climate Egypt is one of the hottest and sunniest countries in the world. It receives very little rain.
Egypt has mainly two seasons: a mild winter from November to April a hot summer from May to October.
Temperature Summer: Temperatures can reach a high of 27° C (80° F) in the summer. But, in the desert, it can be as hot as 43° C (109° F) during the day.
Winter: Temperatures can be as low as 14° C but is usually around 20° C. In the desert they can be as low as 0° C (32° F) at night and as high as 18° C (64.4° F) during the day.
Rainfall Along the Mediterranean coast, they have an average annual rainfall of about 20 cm. Rainfall decreases rapidly towards the south; Cairo receives on average only 2.5 cm of rain a year, and in many desert locations it may rain only once in several years. Physical features: Physical features are natural things such as landscape.
The Sahara Desert It is the largest hot desert on Earth and covers most of North Africa, including 11 different countries. It is 3,629,360m2 but is still getting bigger! It is 4800 miles long and 1,118 miles wide. It used to be full of plants and animals but dried up 4000 years ago. Although it is very large, only 2.5 million people live there.
The world’s longest river- The River Nile. The River Nile flows north into Egypt from Sudan and has crossed half of Africa to get there. The Nile leads into the Mediterranean Sea. It is very important because it provides the water source for Egypt’s population.
Red lands A desert located around the farmlands (black land) and is where cooper, gold and other similar materials could be found.
Countries surrounding Egypt:
In the south you have Sudan. In the West you have Libya. To the North-east you have Israel/Palestine To the north you have the Mediteranean sea which is home Cyprus To the east you have the red sea and beyond there is Saudi Arabia.
Human features: Human features are man-made things such as buildings and clothes.
Great Pyramid of Giza: It is the largest pyramid in the world. It just outside of Cairo, Egypt. (Egypt's capital city) The pyramid was built for the Pharaoh Khufu. It was made for his tomb after he died. It had no decorations or inscriptions on the outside.
The Spinx: The Sphinx is built out of a piece of limestone. It is 240 feet long, and 66 feet high. It sits near the city of Cairo, at the edge of the Nile. Even though much of the Sphinx's face is damaged, people continue to go visit it, making it a great tourist attraction.
The Luxor Temple: The Luxor Temple is a temple located in the town of Luxor. The town of Luxor is located in Southern Egypt. Thousands of tourists go to the temple to visit the extraordinary sight. Many festivals and holidays are celebrated in this temple. The temple of Luxor is close to the Nile. This temple signifies Egypt's religious past and current religious state, making it a very important and interesting landmark to visit.
The Cairo Tower: The Cairo Tower is located in the capital of Egypt, Cairo. It is 187 meters high making it the tallest tower in Cairo and tallest all-concrete tower in the world.
Abu Simbel: These twin temples were carved out of the mountainside in the 13BC. They're located on the western bank of Lake Nasser.
Landmarks
Egypt borders on the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
The Nile, the world's longest river, flows through Egypt on its way to the Mediterranean Sea.
Most major cities, including about 99% of the population, lie along the Nile River.
Most of western Egypt is desert. Winds blowing the sand can create sand dunes hundreds of feet high.
Points of interest Egypt still has many reminders of its ancient civilization. Some of the pyramids are over 4,500 years old. In Ancient Egypt the King, or Pharaoh, built temples to the gods. The King would prepare for his death by building a great tomb or temple to be worshipped as a god. These are the great pyramids.