Egypt land of extremes: this ancient land faces many challenges as a modern country.Hader Saed (hah-DEER sah-FEED), 12, is a slim girl with long black hair, brown eyes Brown Eyes (브라운 아이즈) was a Korean musical duo, specializing in ballads. Although both members have powerful voices, they were initially disregarded because of their physical looks. , and a sweet smile. The Arabic meaning of her first name--"sound of the sea"--fits her quiet yet intense personality. Hader is a sixth-grader at the Navreya Public School in Cairo, Egypt's capital. With a metropolitan area that is home to more than 12 million people, Cairo is the largest city in Africa. Here, pedestrians swarm through the streets, and grid-locked traffic is part of everyday life. Egypt is a nation of extremes. Although its population hovers around 74 million, nearly all of its people live on about 4 percent of the land, along the Nile River Nile River Arabic Bahr al-Nil River, eastern and northeastern Africa. The longest river in the world, it is about 4,132 mi (6,650 km) long from its remotest headstream (which flows into Lake Victoria) to the Mediterranean Sea. . Cairo may be bustling at all hours, but most of the country is desert, and nearly empty. In this ancient land, tradition mixes uneasily with modern conveniences. Hader embraces her country with all of its complications. "I feel a lot when I sing the national anthem," she says. "I love my country. Egypt is inside of us. It is everything to us." Crowded Cities, Crowded Schools Hader lives in a ground-floor apartment in a middle-class neighborhood. Her father is the building's superintendent. Hader, her parents, and her sisters, ages 8 and 15, can often be found gathered around the TV set in their small, tidy den, a room that doubles as a bedroom. If there is one thing Hader doesn't like about her homeland, it's the crowds. Overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. affects many aspects of Egyptian life, including education. Most classrooms have 50 to 60 children. Because of overcrowding, a lack of funds, and a high dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human rate, about 43 percent of Egyptians are illiterate. Hader attends a madrasa, a school that teaches basic subjects along with Islam, the Muslim religion. About 94 percent of Egyptians are Muslims. Most students attend school Monday to Thursday, and on Saturday. Friday is the Muslim day of prayer, and workers and students normally have the day off. Hader loves to study. "I want to succeed and be good at what I do," she says. Although she was too shy to address me in English, it is her favorite subject. Hader also values holy days and feasts. Each year she looks forward to Ramadan, an Islamic holy month that celebrates the prophet Muhammad receiving the first verses of the Koran from Allah (God). During Ramadan, Muslims fast (do not eat) daily from sunrise to sunset. "One feels the happiness and celebration in the people," says Hader. She especially likes it when her father buys her chocolate at the end of the fasting day a fast day; a day of fasting. See also: Fast . Escaping the Smog In another part of Cairo, I meet Shady (SHAH-dee) Emad, 11, and his cousin, Andrew Ayed, 14. The boys live in a well-to-do suburb. Here the roads are less crowded, the homes are larger, and the streets are lined with trees. The air is also cleaner, which is rare in the heavily polluted pol·lute tr.v. pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes 1. To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter. See Synonyms at contaminate. 2. capital. Shady lives in a handsome building owned by his grandfather. Various members of their extended family occupy other parts of the building. Andrew, who lives nearby, visits often. His parents both work--his father is a journalist and his mother is a doctor--and Andrew has learned to take care of himself. "Because I'm alone in the home, I have to know all of the kinds of food to make," says Andrew. He especially likes to prepare foul (FOOL), a dish with lava beans. Both boys are Coptic Christians, a uniquely Egyptian branch of Christianity. They attend American private schools and speak English with enthusiasm. A Lack of Opportunities Shady and Andrew are fascinated by technology. Shady already knows that he wants to be an electronics engineer. His favorite subject is math. "I'm good at it," he says. He loves to play Spider-Man 2 on his PlayStation, a gift from a relative in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Andrew also enjoys PlayStation, as well as surfing the Internet, watching TV, and talking with friends. "Conversations with friends are the best thing in my life," Andrew says. "Especially with girls!" Andrew wants to go into communications, but he seems frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: by a lack of opportunities. "In Egypt, everything is low technology," he says. "Everything we buy is from other countries. Here we don't make anything new." Even so, Andrew is serious about contributing to his country. "Anyone who has a good brain can make something good for Egypt." Terrorism and the Economy Andrew's concerns about Egypt are well founded. The country's economy is struggling and, typically, at least 10 percent of its people are out of work. Tourism, the second-highest national source of income, is vulnerable to the constant political pressures of the Middle East. Recent attacks on tourists have led to fears of a new wave of terrorism by Islamic radicals. Egypt is on the continent of Africa, but culturally it is more a part of the Middle East. In 639 A.D., it was conquered by Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula Arabian Peninsula or Arabia Peninsular region, southwest Asia. With its offshore islands, it covers about 1 million sq mi (2.6 million sq km). Constituent countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and, the largest, Saudi Arabia. . Thereafter, Egypt took on an increasingly Arabic identity. For centuries, other countries controlled Egypt. It achieved independence from Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. in 1922, but has remained politically troubled. Although it has democratic institutions, Egypt is run as an autocracy AUTOCRACY. The name of a government where the monarch is unlimited by law. Such is the power of the emperor of Russia, who, following the example of his predecessors, calls himself the autocrat of all the Russias. , which means that citizens are denied many personal freedoms that Americans take for granted. The government has long been at odds with democratic reformers, and with conservative and extreme Islamic groups. Hopes for Democracy Hosni Mubarak Noun 1. Hosni Mubarak - Egyptian statesman who became president in 1981 after Sadat was assassinated (born in 1929) Mubarak (moo-BAH-rahk), who has been President since 1981, is under pressure to democratize de·moc·ra·tize tr.v. de·moc·ra·tized, de·moc·ra·tiz·ing, de·moc·ra·tiz·es To make democratic. de·moc Egypt's political process "Emergency laws" have allowed the Egyptian government to ban protests and make mass arrests. Recently, Mubarak called for the first multiparty elections of his presidency. But many observers are skeptical (doubtful) about his sincerity. The law governing the upcoming election, to be held in September, makes it extremely difficult for opposition candidates to run against Mubarak. Since December, anti-Mubarak demonstrators crying, "Kiyafa" or "enough," have taken to the streets. They have been attacked by police and government supporters. Over all, Egyptians feel most frustrated about the state of their economy and their inability to improve it. Some believe that voting has never and will never amount to political change. Others are hopeful that a more open society is possible. Young Egyptians know that their future--and the future of the entire Middle East--is riding on that hope. EGYPT Egypt is a Middle Eastern country, located in northeastern Africa. A birthplace of civilization, Egypt is the world's most populous Arab country. Almost all of its people speak Arabic and consider themselves to be Arab. Most of Egypt is desert--except for the Nile Valley and Delta. FACTS TO KNOW AREA: 386,660 square miles, about three times the size of New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). . POPULATION: 74,033,000; 57% rural, 43% urban. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Arabic. GOVERNMENT: Dominated by the National Democratic Party, led by President Hosni Mubarak since 1981. Multiparty presidential elections are scheduled for this month. ECONOMY: The government owns major industries, but most small businesses and farms are privately owned. Major crops include cotton, corn, and rice. Food processing Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans or animals. The food processing industry utilises these processes. , tourism, and textiles are the major industries. Egypt has some oil and natural gas. PER CAPITA [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. GDP GDP (guanosine diphosphate): see guanine. *: $4,200. RELIGION: Islam, 94%; Coptic Christianity and others, 6%. LITERACY: Males, 68%; females, 47%. LIFE EXPECTANCY Life Expectancy 1. The age until which a person is expected to live. 2. The remaining number of years an individual is expected to live, based on IRS issued life expectancy tables. : Males, 66 years; females, 70 years. * GDP stands for gross domestic product; per capita means per person. This amount is the value of all items produced by the country in a year, divided by the population, and is often used as a measure of wealth. QUESTIONS 1. What is Egypt's capital city? -- 2. What river flows north into the Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Sea [Lat.,=in the midst of lands], the world's largest inland sea, c.965,000 sq mi (2,499,350 sq km), surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa. Geography The Mediterranean is c.2,400 mi (3,900 km) long with a maximum width of c. ? -- 3. What type of land covers most of Egypt? -- 4. Where is Egypt's farmland located? -- 5. Which city is closest to 30[degrees]E longitude? -- 6. Thebes was once the capital of ancient Egypt  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. . What is located at
Thebes today? --7. The Suez Canal Suez Canal, Arab. Qanat as Suways, waterway of Egypt extending from Port Said to Port Tawfiq (near Suez) and connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez and thence with the Red Sea. The canal is somewhat more than 100 mi (160 km) long. connects which two seas? -- 8. Which country borders Egypt to the south? -- 9. What is the distance in miles between the cities of Cairo and Alexandria? -- 10. Where in Egypt do most Egyptians live? -- Name: Hader Saed Age: 12 Quote: "I love my country. Egypt is inside of us. It is everything to us." Name: Shady Emad Age: 11 Favorite Activities: Visiting the pyramids and the beach in Alexandria. Words to Know autocracy (aw-TAH-kruh-see): a form of government in which one individual holds the reins of power. illiterate (ill-LIT-uhr-eht): unable to read or write. Koran (kuh-RAHN): Islam's holy book. Your Turn
WORD MATCH
1. autocracy A. Islamic school
2. fast B. unable to read
or write
3. madrasa C. doubtful
4. skeptical D. government
dominated by
one person
5. illiterate E. do not eat
Gabriella Gershenson in Cairo |
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