The population of Egypt is about 75 million. Cairo, Egypt's capital city, has a population of more than 17 million. This great metropolis is the meeting place of Africa, the Arab world, Europe and Asia. Cairo is the most important city in the country and is the political, cultural, and economic center.

The oldest part of Cairo lies in the vicinity of the Khan El Khalili Bazaar and Al Azhar Mosque. The modern part of Cairo was built by a descendant of Mohamed Ali, in the 19th century.  Today a sprawling city, with its ever expanding suburbs, surrounds this historic core.  The most famous mosque, the Mohamed Ali Mosque, was built in Cairo in his memory. Cairo is known as the city of a thousand minarets due to the profusion of mosques.

In approximately 3000 B.C., a civilization emerged on the banks of the River Nile. It reached a stage of development and sophistication that none of its contemporaries surpassed. The ancient Egyptians' ability to organize society, keep careful records, and maintain the continuity and advancement of their civilization almost without interruption for 30 centuries set them apart from all other civilizations.

A land of motion within the stillness of centuries, the silent felucca sails in contrast to the chaos and cacophony along the Nile. Among today's monuments are the world's largest textile mill, one of the highest dams, and the largest manmade lake. Yet, all the noises of construction, cries of street vendors, even the braying of donkeys, in ever-expanding Cairo are absorbed by the eternal quiet of the deserts.

Egypt is a country with many secrets tied to its past. It is an explorer's land, with places to find treasures such as antiquities, gold or jewels. It is a place to see palaces and bazaars, where the real and the reproduced can be considered. It is a land where flowers bloom in the desert and in the underwater gardens. For those who can “drink the water of the Nile,” the rewards are magnificent.