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Egypt Travel and Destination Guide
BACKGROUND INFO
Full Name
Arab Republic of Egypt
Capital City
Cairo
Area
1,001,449 sq km
Population
80,000,000
Time Zone
GMT/UTC +2
Daylight Saving Start
last Friday in April
Daylight Saving End
last Thursday in September
Weights Measures System
Metric
Geography
Hacking a whopping square chunk out of Africa's northeast corner, Egypt stretches over more than a million square kilometres (386102 sq mi). More than 94% of the land area is barren desert, which has induced 90% of the population to squish into just 3% of the total land area, the fertile Nile Valley and Delta. Egypt borders Libya in the west, Sudan in the south, the Mediterranean Sea in the north, and the Red Sea and Israel in the east. The eastern region, across the Suez Canal, is Sinai. This region slopes up to the high mountains of Mt Katherine (Gebel Katarina at 2642m/8666ft is Egypt's highest point) and Mt Sinai. Along Egypt's Mediterranean coast there are countless white-sand beaches, many developed as tourist resorts but some still pristine and isolated. North of Cairo the Nile splits into a series of tributaries that flow into the Mediterranean.
Languages
• Arabic (official)
People
Egyptians, Berbers, Bedouin, Hamitic Arabs and Nubians
Religion
94% Muslim, 6% Christian
Government Type
Republic
Government Leaders
Mohammed Husni Mubarak
President (head of state)
Ahmed Mohamed Nazif
Prime Minister (head of government)
Country Dialing Code
20
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