 My own family lived in Alexandria and Cairo for almost a hundred years, and I feel a particular affinity with the place, despite the turbulent history and dramatic events that saw them leave. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi) where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.1
1Extract from wikipedia article - "Egypt" |