A Tour of Egypt 11true Arabs. The distinction between Arab and Egyptian
is well recognised among Egyptians and Arabs alike.
Egypt perceives its role in the development of the Middle
East as one of leadership, peacemaker and negotiator.
Egypt’s rich educational heritage gives it a valuable
export—skilled labour. Many Egyptian professionals,
doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers and agricultural
specialists work in other Arab countries. They make
significant contributions to development throughout the
Arab world and bolster Egypt’s economy by sending wages
back home.
In the following chapters, I will try to add order to seeming
inconsistencies in Egyptian life. First, however, we must lay
the groundwork by briefly describing the country, giving a
few statistics, and pointing out some of Egypt’s most pressing
developmental concerns.
GEOGRAPHY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Egypt is located on the far north-east corner of the African
continent. It is about the size of Texas, Arkansas and
Oklahoma, combined, or 1,001,450 sq km (386,662 sq
miles). Egypt provides the gateway connecting the African
continent with the huge Eurasian land mass. It controls the
strategically and economically important Suez Canal and
Sinai Peninsula. The Mediterranean Sea marks the northern
boundary of Egypt. The Gaza Strip, Israel and the Red Sea
border it on the east; the Sudan stretches across the southern
border; and Libya lies west of Egypt’s borders.
Egypt is a vast desert plateau interrupted by the Nile
River valley and delta. Topographically, it is almost entirely
desolate, with barren hills and mountains in the east and
along the Nile. The Western Desert comprises slightly
over two-thirds of the nation. The Sinai Peninsula and the
Eastern Desert add another six and twenty-three per cent,
respectively, to the desert landscape. The result is that less
than four per cent of the total area is in the arable Nile Valley
and Delta. When viewed with this perspective, it is easy to
see why Herodotus so aptly noted in the 5th century BCE that
Egypt is the “gift of the Nile”. Like an emerald green ribbon,