Introduction
Egypt
Egypt is the land of the Pharaohs, Lotus flowers, the Nile River, desert sands, and the Pyramids; endless archaeology, mummies, wars and great battles, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Agatha Christie and Death on the Nile… The Nubian people, the High Dam, Upper Egypt, including Aswan and Luxor, and felucca boats sail before ancient temples. This is just a tiny window into the story of Egypt.
In most recent history 1923, Egypt gained independence from Britain and became a constitutional monarchy. King Fuad 1 ruled until 1936, when his son, King Farouk I (his full name: Farouk bin Ahmed Fuad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Mohammad Ali), ruled until 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Free Officers, led a coup to remove King Farouk. Farouk officially abdicated, went into exile in Monaco and Italy, and died in Rome on March 18, 1965, at 45 years old. On June 18, 1953, the revolutionary government formally abolished the monarchy, ending 150 years of the Muhammad Ali dynasty’s rule, and Egypt was declared a republic and a new constitution established.
Nasser was a trendy yet controversial leader within Egypt; he began major socialist measures and modernization reforms in Egypt. Under his rule, two wars with Israel were fought, the last one being the Six-Day War of June 5, 1967. Egypt suffered significant losses at this time, with Nasser experiencing much humiliation. He subsequently resigned from his position on June 9, 1967, but retracted this decision the next day due to the outcry of the Egyptians that he did not resign. In December 1969, Nasser appointed Anwar Sadat and Hussein el-Shafei as his vice presidents. On September 28, 1970, Nasser suffered a heart attack and died several hours later at the age of 52.
Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat was then appointed President of Egypt on October 15, 1970, and remained president until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on October 6, 1981, not long after signing a peace treaty with Israel – the Camp David Accords signed between Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and facilitated by US President Jimmy Carter.
After Sadat’s assassination, Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, who was serving as a politician and military officer under Sadat’s rule, then became President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. He resigned his position on February 11, 2011.
The violent Revolution of 2011 brought a kairos change to the nation. It was a significant time in history when it seemed time for a change after more than 30 years of President Mubarak, by military government and Marshall Law ruled the country with a heavy hand. Mubarak was now in his 80s, and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were vying for leadership in a new nation not run by military rule. This became a threat to the ruling army structure. Through the Revolution, Mubarak resigned, and an election was held shortly after, in which Mohamed Morsi won the presidency by a tiny margin.
Morsi, representing the Muslim Brotherhood, within a very short time, began expressing harsh rule over the nation by modifying the Constitution and wanting to change judges. Many countries did not take this lightly, and demonstrations against him started in early June 2013. By the end of June 2013, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office. El-Sisi then became Egypt’s next President and extended military rule over Egypt for some time. Not as intensely as under Mubarak and Marshall Law, which has been lifted from the nation, there are still expressions of this military influence all over the country.
As a Middle Eastern nation goes, Egypt’s story and its history of rulers are no different, but a bit more colorful and, as some would say, romantic, in the sense of recent rulers tied with ancient rulers and their stories becoming one.
Today, new cities are springing up in the desert next to the ancient cities—and important cities have been established along the Nile—from Upper Egypt to Lower Egypt—Assuit, Sohag, Minya, and Cairo to Alexandria, with smaller ones in between. There’s the Suez Canal, with two lanes for ships to pass through from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, which today brings great profit to the Land of Egypt.
Egypt’s population is now over 100 million—that is the current census, but it is said that one million people are born in Egypt every seven to nine months, many of these in remote villages.
As Egypt emerges from its rich archaeological history to become an even more influential Middle Eastern nation through technology and other resources, it is a quiet giant that, I think, in many ways, is finding its voice in this new season.
History, culture, faith, traditions, and handicrafts are still rich and influential in the villages and cities. Through this blog, I will attempt to highlight these areas of life within the Egyptian family.
Chronicles of the Middle East
Introducing Egypt
‘Chronicles of the Middle East’ is about capturing the stories of people living in the Middle East and Mediterranean region and releasing these through photographs, videos, vlogs and blogs – For a greater understanding of the richness of the history of the Middle East and its peoples, and to show how what happens in this region affects all regions of the world.
