Egypt tourist information

Egyptian cuisine consists of local culinary traditions such as Ful Medames, Kushari and Molokhia, while sharing similarities with food found throughout the eastern Mediterranean like kebab and falafel. Most Egyptians perhaps consider Ful Medames, or mashed fava beans, to be the national dish. Ful is also used in making Ta'miyya or Falafel. Bread accompanies most Egyptian meals; local bread is called Eish Masri or Eish Baladi, a word which also means life.

Ancient Egyptians are known to have used a lot of garlic and onion in their everyday dishes. Fresh mashed garlic with other herbs is used in spicy tomato salad and is also stuffed in boiled or baked aubergines (eggplant). Garlic fried with coriander is added to Mulukhiyya, a popular green soup made from finely chopped leaves. Fried onions are added to Kushari, a dish consisting of brown lentils, macaroni, rice, chickpeas and a spicy tomato sauce.

Other popular dishes include Kebab and Kofta, usually of lamb meat, chops and minced meat on skewers grilled on charcoal. Egyptians are famous for stuffing spicy rice in vegetables like green pepper, aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes to make Mahshi. Mahshi is generally rolled in grapevine leaves, Mahshi Warraq Enab, or in cabbage leaves, Mahshi Koronb. Shawerma is a popular sandwich of shreded meat or chicken, usually rolled in pita bread with Tahina sauce. Dukkah is a dry mixture of chopped nuts, seeds and Middle Eastern spices and flavors.

Although Ramadan is a month of fasting in Egypt, it is usually when Egyptians pay a lot of attention to food in variety and richness, since the whole family would gather on the breakfast table just after sunset. There are several special desserts almost exclusive to Ramadan such as Konafa and Atayef. In this month, many Egyptians will make a special table for the poor or passers-by, usually in a tent in the street, called Ma'edat Al Rahman which translates literally as Table of (God) the Gracious (Merciful). Christians of Egypt, mainly Copts, observe fasting periods according to the Liturgical Calendar that practically extend to more than two-thirds of the year. The diet is mainly vegan. During this fasting, Copts will usually eat vegetables fried in oil as they avoid meat, chicken, dairy products including butter.

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C. and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines.

It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914.

Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to ready the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.