Epilogue

Opposite An Islamic Nation

Egyptians gather for Friday prayers on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo. More than 90 percent of Egyptians today are Muslim.

TODAY, THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT IS HOME TO MORE THAN 72 million people. Most are jam-packed into the same 550-mile-long narrow canyon that supported no more that 3 to 4 million people at the height of Egypt’s ancient empire. More than 45 percent of Egyptians live in a few huge cities, such as Cairo (10 million) and Alexandria (4 million). Agriculture employs 29 percent of Egyptians. Another 22 percent work in industry; 49 percent staff service industries.

Modern Egypt’s boundaries have not changed much since ancient times. Egypt is bordered by Libya on the west, Sudan in the south, and Israel on the northeast. Most of Egypt’s land area is barren, desolate desert. Only 2 percent (less than 8,000 square miles) of Egypt’s 385,000-square-mile area can be farmed. Almost all of it is intensively cultivated.

Modern Egypt shows little trace of ancient Egyptian culture. It is culturally and religiously an Arab, Islamic nation. More than 90 percent of Egyptians profess the Moslem (mostly Sunni) faith. A small community (perhaps 10 percent of the population) of Coptic Christians thrives, and areas of southern and middle Egypt are heavily Coptic.

Egypt is a democracy and a secular country, and most Egyptians practice a moderate, progressive form of Islam. However, Egypt is facing pressure from more traditional, conservative groups who would like to see Islam have more influence over day-to-day affairs. Conservative Muslims worry that Western influences will weaken and eventually erase the traditions that have persisted in Islamic countries for centuries. Moderate Muslims worry that Egypt will become a theocracy (a nation ruled by religious officials). The conflict is ongoing and has, at times, turned violent.

Fashionable Tourists

Early in the 1900s, traveling to Egypt to see the antiquities was considered fashionable, especially for wealthy Europeans. These tourists often climbed all over the ancient ruins and even brought back souvenirs they chiseled off. Today, visits to ancient sites are carefully supervised.

Both Christians and Muslims speak Arabic, in a variety of regional dialects. Many educated Egyptians are fluent in French and English. Only 51 percent of the population can read and write-a big jump over ancient figures (2 to 5 percent) but still well below most of the developed world.

Like literacy, life expectancy has increased since ancient times. Men can expect to live to 60, women to 66.2 (ancients did well hoping for age 30). But it still lags far behind the developed world. Infant mortality is almost 60 per 1,000 live births-61st highest in the world. With fewer than 2 million motor vehicles in the country, it is clear that many Egyptians still get around the way their ancestors did-on foot and donkeys.

Egypt’s major industries are textiles, food production, and tourism. A $3.9 billion dollar per year industry, tourism is dependent mainly upon ancient ruins and monuments, many of which are now threatened by rising water tables and salt retention-not to mention looting. Egypt’s location at the crossroads of the troubled Middle East, and some well-publicized violent incidents, have also threatened the vital flow of tourists. So far, worldwide fascination with ancient Egyptian culture has overcome tourists’ nervousness.