There is an Egypt many in the United States have probably
not seen, the homeland to more than 80 million generous,
gregarious, and proud people who today call themselves Egyp-
tians. They are Muslim and Christian, city dwellers and village
peasants, globally involved businesspeople and remote desert
nomads. Some are wealthy, but most are not. Nearly all of
them, though, have one custom in common: If they were to see
a stranger passing by their home, they would cry out, “Ahlan
wa sahlan”—“welcome!” and beckon that person to come meet
them and enjoy their hospitality.
How can people understand these different Egypts? How
can a culture of hospitality and generosity produce people who
also hate and destroy? How can so much have been accom-
plished so long ago in a country that is almost completely
barren desert? And what does the West owe to that ancient
culture? By answering these and other questions, this book will
introduce the extraordinary country that is Egypt.
Look at Egypt—officially known as the Arab Republic of
Egypt—on a world map. One obvious feature is the country’s
central location relative to the continents of Africa, Asia, and
Europe. If the Middle East is the crossroads of the three conti-
nents, then Egypt is the crossroads of those crossroads. In the
very distant past, the earliest humans came out of Africa to
populate Asia and Europe. They would have passed through
Egypt. People, and cultures bearing their ideas, and materials,
have crisscrossed Egypt for thousands of years, leaving their
mark on the country’s land and life. In return, many bor-
rowed Egyptian cultural elements. Egypt continues to be an
important crossroads even today. By sea, the shortest distance
not seen, the homeland to more than 80 million generous,
gregarious, and proud people who today call themselves Egyp-
tians. They are Muslim and Christian, city dwellers and village
peasants, globally involved businesspeople and remote desert
nomads. Some are wealthy, but most are not. Nearly all of
them, though, have one custom in common: If they were to see
a stranger passing by their home, they would cry out, “Ahlan
wa sahlan”—“welcome!” and beckon that person to come meet
them and enjoy their hospitality.
How can people understand these different Egypts? How
can a culture of hospitality and generosity produce people who
also hate and destroy? How can so much have been accom-
plished so long ago in a country that is almost completely
barren desert? And what does the West owe to that ancient
culture? By answering these and other questions, this book will
introduce the extraordinary country that is Egypt.
Look at Egypt—officially known as the Arab Republic of
Egypt—on a world map. One obvious feature is the country’s
central location relative to the continents of Africa, Asia, and
Europe. If the Middle East is the crossroads of the three conti-
nents, then Egypt is the crossroads of those crossroads. In the
very distant past, the earliest humans came out of Africa to
populate Asia and Europe. They would have passed through
Egypt. People, and cultures bearing their ideas, and materials,
have crisscrossed Egypt for thousands of years, leaving their
mark on the country’s land and life. In return, many bor-
rowed Egyptian cultural elements. Egypt continues to be an
important crossroads even today. By sea, the shortest distance
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