Egypt Today

1
Egypt Today

• World Studies

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Egypt

• Official Name Arab Republic of Egypt
• Capital Cairo (founded 969 A.D.)
• Location North Africa, bordering the
• Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and
  includes the Sinai Peninsula
• Population 78.7 million (2006 census)
• Religion Muslim 94, Coptic Christian
• and other 6
• Language Arabic (official), English and French
• Size slightly more than 3X times the size of New
  Mexico

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Egyptian Rule
King Fuad (monarchy)
Mamelukes
1700
1900
1936
639 AD
1517
1250
France and Britain
1922
Ottoman Empire
Arab Muslims
King Farouk (Fuads son)
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Linking the Two Seas

• Egyptian ruler Ismail Pasha (1863-1879) wanted to
  build a canal to make Egypt equal to the Western
  nations. He believed it would increase trade.
• This became the Suez Canal It linked the
  Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea
• The canal opened November 17, 1869
• Many Egyptians were not happy about the canal
  it took 10 years to build and some thought it
  would only continue French and British control
  over Egypt
• Cost put Egypt into bankruptcy and Ismail had to
  sell Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal to the
  British Government. It was the only to stop an
  Egyptian financial crisis.

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Government

• 1922- Became a monarchy after Britain gave up
  absolute control. The first King was King Fuad.
• 1936- Ruled by Kings son, King Farouk
• A lot of things still remained under British
  control
• An Egyptian army officer (Nasser)overthrows King
  Farouk

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Overthrow

• An army officer named Gamal Abdel Nasser
  overthrew King Farouk
• Wanted a stronger government and to be rid of
  British influence
• He changed Egypt from a monarchy to a republic
• Wanted to unite all Arabs, with Egypt as their
  leader
• He was the leader from 1954 1970
• Brought Egypt out of intense poverty

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Nassers Major Accomplishment

• Nile River floods frequently
• Nasser approved construction of Aswan High Dam to
  control the flooding
• Took 15 years and cost 1 billion to build
• Farmers now have dependable source of water
• Allowed Egypt to grow crops year-round
• 11,000 feet long
• Provides electricity irrigation for all of Egypt

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But

• In exchange for one benefit there are always
  downfalls this is called a tradeoff
• Because of the dam, the river blocks the
  depositing of the rich soil
• 100 million tons of earth settle behind the dam
  each year
• Farmers have to use artificial fertilizers
  these pollute the Nile

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Women in Egypt

• Much of Egyptian cultures view on women rights
  came from Egypts main religion, Islam.
• Egyptian womens movement started during the
  revolution of 1919, but still were denied the
  right to vote
• Gradually gained the right to higher education
• 1956 New constitution under Nasser gave women
  right to vote and run for office
• 2000 Law passed to make it easier for a woman to
  get a divorce

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A New President

• 1970 President Nasser dies.
• Anwar Sadat elected (had been the Vice President
  under Nasser)
• Egypt opposed Israel for many years, but in 1979,
  Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace
  treaty
• Opposed Iraqs invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

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Resistance

• Many people were against Sadat and his close
  relationship with the US
• An extremist group, called the Muslim
  Brotherhood, insisted Egypt be governed only by
  Islamic law
• October 6, 1981 Sadat was assassinated by a
  group of young soldiers

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Muslim Brotherhood

• Militant group founded in 1928
• Members in several Muslim countries
• 1954 - attempted to assassinate Nasser
• Believe Egyptian government is being untrue to
  the principles of Islam by working with Israel
  and the US
• They have been underground for many years but
  have recently become visible and powerful in the
  Middle East

13
Government today

• 1971 Constitution adopted
• Country led by a President that is elected every
  six years.
• It is a republic with a parliamentary government
  with a judicial system based on British common
  law and Islamic moral law.
• The People's Assembly is a part of the Egyptian
  government. 434 of the members are elected by the
  people, and 10 are appointed by the President.
  They approve new laws and budgets. The members of
  The People's Assembly are elected every 5 years.
   
• The responsibility of ruling Egypt is shared by
  both a president and a prime minister.
• The Egyptian President supervises the formulation
  of laws and policies and is in charge of Egypt's
  Armed Forces (the military).

The President, Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak (Hosni
Mubarak) was elected to office in 1981 and has
been the President ever since.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was sworn into office
in 2004.
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Land and People

• Most of the population live in a narrow strip of
  land on both sides of the Nile
• Some live in cities, others in villages
• Egypts major primary product and export is
  cotton became a major export during Civil War
  in US because cotton exports from the south were
  interrupted

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• More than 90 percent of Egypt is barren desert.
• Life in modern Egypt is pretty crowded.
• It is populated by almost 80 million Egyptians of
  ancient Egyptian, Arab, Bedouin and Nubian
  ancestry who only live on 3 of the countrys
  land
• Not many foreigners choose to live in Egypt.
• 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 scattered here and
  there.
• In ancient days, the papyrus plant grew
  abundantly along the banks of the Nile. Now it's
  almost extinct and grown only for the production
  of souvenirs for the tourism industry.

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Village Life

• Life in modern Egypt for the fellahin is similar
  to their ancient Egyptian or early Arab settlers
  ancestors.
• More than half live in villages
• Those who live in the villages are peasant
  farmers or fellahin
• They live in 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. These people work their small plots of
  land and keep livestock.
• Eat a simple diet of bread and beans often
  leads to malnutrition
• Tuberculosis very common and very few are treated
  by doctors
• Many children do not go to school
• The men wear a long flowing robe called a
  galabiyah and many women wear the veil.
• The women also wear silver and gold jewelry,
  necklaces, and bracelets on their wrists and
  ankles. This is not vanity, however, but the
  dowry a husband must pay for the right to marry
  her. Women keep jewelry as a form of economic
  security.

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CAIRO

• Life in modern Egypt is a study in contrasts,
  especially in Cairo, the capital city. The
  constant blasting of the car horns and the
  loudspeakers of its thousand minarets show people
  both the hectic present and the quiet past.
• There are modern skyscrapers, highways, a subway
  system, hotels, restaurants, advertising and
  western clothing blend together with the ancient
  ruins of the pharaohs, Islamic mosques, Coptic
  churches, Middle Eastern garb, bazaars and the
  odor of cattle in a unique mosaic of life in
  modern Egypt.
• You might even see a huge caravan of farmers,
  donkeys and camels making their way down a major
  street in Cairo.

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Largest Egyptian City

• Over 15 million people largest city in Egypt
• Used to have gardens and trees, but have since
  been paved over
• Crowded, polluted, and high unemployment
• Many housing problems
• Crowded because people come every year looking
  for work

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City Life

• Poor people live in the older sections of the
  city some live in cemeteries or on roofs
• Most work in factories or sell souvenirs
• Most of the well educated people live on the west
  bank of the Nile near government buildings,
  hotels, museums, and universities

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Arab worlds leading country

• 1829 Opened the first modern school for girls
• 1950s First to require all children attend
  elementary school
• Information entertainment is transmitted to the
  people by up-to-date television, radio, movies,
  newspapers, and magazines
• American style food, sports, music, arts, cinema
  and theater.

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Cities of the Dead

• Naema Zaki and her five children have been
  forced to make the cemeteries in Cairos City of
  the Dead their permanent home because of the
  countrys chronic housing crisis shortage. We
  came to live in these cemeteries because they are
  inexpensive and practical for a starting point.
  However soon we realized that its not a temporary
  house and that we want to continue here these
  people are kind and all of us here care for each
  other, unlike other Cairenes. said Zaki, a
  widow who lives in a tomb room in the Northern
  Cemetery with her children.
• For many Cairenes the City of the Dead is a
  mysterious, foreboding area. Many Cairenes are
  aware of its existence but few understand this
  group of vast cemeteries that stretches out along
  the base of the Moqattam Hills.

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• Among these cemeteries lives a community of
  Egypts urban poor, forming an illegal but
  tolerated, separate society. More than five
  million Egyptian live in these cemeteries, and
  have formed their own enterprises, said Malak
  Yakan, an anthropologist and tour guide.
• There are five major cemeteries in this city
  there, the Northern Cemetery, Bab el Nasr
  Cemetery, the Southern Cemetery, the Cemetery of
  the Great, and Bab el Wazir Cemetery, said
  Yakan.
• From the Salah Salem Highway, the City of the
  Dead appears to be organized and proper, a match
  for the beige, sandy landscape of the distant
  Citadel. Inside, however these cemeteries bear
  witness to the centuries of Cairos history.
• Previously, Cairo rulers chose the area for
  their tombs outside the crowded city in a
  deserted location. This area was used as a
  burial ground for the Arab conquests, Fatimids,
  Abbasids, Ayyubids,Mamlukes, Ottomans, and many
  more, said Yakan.
• The historic belief in Egypt is that the
  cemeteries are an active part of the community
  and not exclusively for the dead. Egyptians have
  not so much thought of cemeteries as a place of
  the dead, but rather a place where life begins.
  said Yakan.
• In modern times, because of Egypts housing
  crisis, a lack of satisfactory and affordable
  housing for a rapidly growing population, many
  poor Egyptians have made these rooms their
  permanent homes.

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• These invaders have adapted the rooms to meet
  their needs. They have used the grave markers as
  desks, and shelves. They have hung strings
  between gravestones for their laundry to dry out.
• We have brought in the electricity by wires
  over the roofs coming from the nearby mosque to
  be able to be able to live properly, said Zaki.
• The City of the Dead seems to its inhabitants
  ideal because it is already built, affordable,
  and partially equipped. However there are many
  disadvantages of living there. They are joined
  by even a greater number of cockroaches,
  mosquitoes, flies, and vermin of all sorts",
  writes Nedoroscik in The City of the Dead, A
  History of Cairos Cemetery Communities.

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• The rooms are also filled with the overwhelming
  smell of the garbage piled outside their doors
  and sewage leaking out of the un-drained tanks.
• In addition, The residents settling in the City
  of the Dead are insecure about their living
  status because they are living there against the
  law, said Yakan. It was the French occupation
  from 1978-1801 that began changing the image of
  the vast cemeteries of the City of the Dead.

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• It has brought a more westernized attitude
  towards cemeteries in the Egyptian society,
  making the presence of people living and carrying
  out activities in the cemeteries ignored,
  condemned and shamed by the majority of Cairene
  society, writes Nedoroscik. The cemeteries built
  in the City of the Dead are much different than
  the western idea of cemeteries. This is because
  traditionally, Egyptians buried their dead in 
  room-like burial sites so they could live in
  them during the long mourning period of forty
  days.
• Today, the population of the City of the Dead is
  growing rapidly because of rural migration and
  its complicated housing crisis that is getting
  worse.
• But the future of the City of the Dead remains
  uncertain. The residents of the city will not
  deliberately agree to relocate unless the
  government provides other housing for them.
• I will not move from this house after all
  these years to go out in the streets, said Zaki,
  Of course I want to leave the depressed mood in
  this place, but that doesnt mean I want to live
  in the street. We deserve proper houses.