Egypt is usually  described as 'the gift of the Nile', and since long before the birth of Christ travelers have been drawn by images of pyramids, the Sphinx, ancient Luxor and the Nile river. The Pharaohs, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Turks and the British have all ruled Egypt, and modern Egypt is an amalgam of these legacies and the influences of Islam and the 20th century. 

Bedouins live in goatskin tents and farmers till the earth with the simple tools of their ancestors. And the contrast can be seen in the city where the  townsfolk dress in long flowing robes, others in fashionable attire and the traffic of the city competes with donkey-drawn carts and wandering goats. All these contrasts can be seen in the city of Cairo, a massive city thronged with people and ringing to the sound of car horns, ghetto-blasters and muezzins summoning the faithful to prayer. 

Egypt links two continents, stretching across the northeastern corner of Africa and the southwestern edge of Asia. 

The country is approximately 626,000 sq miles (1,00,000 sq km) in size. The northern border is the Mediterranean Sea and the southern boundary is with Sudan. On the northeastern border is Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia. The Red Sea flanks the eastern border, while the whole of the western border is with Lybia.

Most of Egypt is subtropical area, but the southern part of Upper Egypt is tropical. Northern winds temper the climate along the Mediterranean, but the interior areas are very hot. The temperature sinks quickly after sunset because of the high radiation rate under cloudless skies. Rainfall averages about 2 inches a year, but sudden storms sometimes cause devastating flash floods. Hot dry sandstorms, known as Khamsin, come off the Western desert in spring. In Cairo, average temperatures range from 7 to 29°C (45 to 85°F) in January, while July averages range from 21.6 to 35.5° C (71 to 96° F). The winter months are considered to be December, January and February.

Cairo, the largest city in Egypt, is estimated to have a population of over 15 million people which is growing at an alarming rate. Egypt's 60 million people live primarily in the Nile Valley, leaving the rest of the land sparsely populated. 
Egypt is actually a wonderful and delightful mixture of traditions, with a socioeconomic structure which allows, more and more, a gradient of classes. But one must look, and feel with the heart in order to touch this essence of Egypt. 

Islam is the official religion of Egypt, but there is a large Coptic community and other Christian sects are represented in the country. There is also a small Jewish community. Islam is part of the Judaeo-Christian family of religions and was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in what is now Mecca, Saudi Arabia