Population of Egypt: 80,335,036 (July 2007 est.)Capital: Cairo >>Metro Area Population: 17,856,000
To Arabic-speaking Egyptians, Egypt is known as مصر , or Misr. Cairo is القاهرة, or Al-Qahirah, meaning “The Triumphant.” However, in colloquial, spoken Arabic Cairo is also called Misr. . . just so things aren’t confusing at all.
The official language is, of course, Arabic.
Egypt is 94% Muslim, with a small Coptic Christian population. Almost all are Sunni Muslims, which contrary to popular news coverage are 80% of Muslims worldwide. Egypt does not have that much oil. It’s North Africa, not the Persian Gulf. If in doubt, refer to the map.
The current leader of Egypt is Hosni Mubarak, their president. He has been president since 1981, when he succeeded Anwar Al-Sadat after he was assassinated. There is a "rubber-stamp" parliament, but the president holds the majority of powerCairo is on the banks of the Nile and near its delta. Only about 3% of Egyptian land is arable, and that’s all along the banks of this river, the world’s longest, and one of the very few that flow from South to North. It is incredibly loud and overpopulated, incredibly polluted, essentially an overdeveloped 3rd world city/country, if that makes any sense. 85% of the population has access to satisfactory drinking water, and 99% of Cairene citizens have electricity, primarily powered by hydroelectric and gas power.
Yes, the Pyramids are on the edge of the city, and I’ve heard that they are visible from campus, although I am much more interested in modern day Egypt than that of millennia ago. Have no fear, I still can't wait to set eyes on the last remaining of the original 7 wonders of the world.
There’s so much else I could say, but this brief intro will suffice for now. This semester will be unlike anything I’ve experienced before, and I’d like to believe I’m ready for it. . . we shall see. Let the packing commence.
SOURCES/FYI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html
http://www.cairotourist.com/cairostatistics.htm
The American University of Cairo, my future home:
http://www.aucegypt.edu/Pages/default.aspx
