Africa 2000
Egypt
‘Nesri” was the more common name with which Egypt used to be called by older generations of Ethiopians. The Arab world still refers to this north-African powerhouse by that ancient name which means ‘Eagle’, the symbol of Pharoah’s divinity.
'Gift of the Nile'
Land of the Pharoahs, Place of Antiquity and more aptly – the Gift of the Nile. It is a fact of Egyptian existence that it is wholly dependent for 100% of its water requirements from the once greatest river in the world (scientists announced June 14 that the Amazon was longer).
Egypt is a desolate land without a single fresh water source apart from the Nile. In fact, Egypt’s 78 million people inhabit a green corrider straddling the banks of the Nile for 550 kms North to South. This well-watered corridor is no more than 50 kms at its widest points but still manages to support the second largest population in Africa (also a statistic that is about to change when in 2010, Ethiopia’s 80 million people will surpass Egypt’s).
The Nile has not only provided for the fellaheen masses but has been the fount of mighty civilizations that have made Egypt a byword for research into the antiquities. The earliest recorded archeological evidence about Egypt’s ancient past dates back to 4000 BCE.
The first unitary empire was established by 3200 BCE and at their apex, Egyptian empires stretched as far south as Nubia (Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan) and north up to present day Syria. A highly regimented system based on the divinity of the pharaoh, slavery and pagan worship flourished along side a wealth of architectural wonders such as the Great Pyramids, Giza and the Sphinx.
Egyptian life started and ended with the blessed annual flooding of the Nile Swollen by the abundant rain in Ethiopia, the source of 80% of the water the Nile gives life sustaining relief by overrunning its flood plains in Sudan and Egypt, preparing the soil for another bountiful cotton or rice harvest.
Pharoahnic Egypt enjoyed its own alphabet known as hieroglyphics along with a sophisticated language – Egyptian. This ancient tongue was virturly wiped out by Arabic and only manages to survive in the liturgy of the coptic church. The Church itself is a minority amounting to just about 5% of the population.
Modern Egyptian history is far less illustrious than its glorious past. The ancient unbroken dynastic line began to fray due to repeated invasion by Hykosos and Assyria. The last pharaoh gave up his throne in 341CE to the might of Persia. From then on until as late as the 1950’s, Egypt was occupied by successive colonizers which read like a Who’s Who list of historic former empires. Persians, the Greeks-Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Arabs and Great Britain were all at various times rulers.
Egypt became no more than a province under Islamic Caliphates and Islam became the dominant religion replacing Coptic Christianity and Judaism.
Britain officially held Egypt as a colony and as a Protectorate between 1882-1922.The strings of foreign domination were slightly loosened in 1936 in a limited autonomy deal which included a symbolic joint custody or condominium-over the vast Sudan.
Egypt and 10 other Arab states proclaimed war in 1948 on the just born state of Israel and was thoroughly defeated. This debacle led to the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952 and a republic was founded by Lt.Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser was and still is regarded as the most powerful and charismatic pan-Arabist leader of the Middle East.
Egypt waged and was involved in other unsuccessful wars and battles with Israel (1956, 1967, 1973) However, it was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel under the Camp David agreement of 1979 between Menachim Begin and Anwar Sadat.
Facts and Figures
Location-Northeast corner of Africa; Libya on West, Sudan on South; Red Sea, Saudi Arabia and Israel on East
Area-1,001,450 sq.km
Geography-Nearly all desert, only vegetation straddles the Nile Valley
Population-78,890,000
Distribution - 42 % urban
Ethnic Groups-Egyptian Arab 99%, Nubian 1%
Languages –Arabic (official), English, French
Religions – Sunni Islam 94%, Coptic Christian 6% (Orthodox)
Capital City – Cairo, pop 11,200,000
Government Type-Republic
Head of State-President Hosni Mubarak, since 1981
Head of Government-Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, since 2004
Economy-Cotton, rice, wheat, textiles, light consumer products, oil and gas, tourism
Currency – Egyptian Pound (EGP) 5.75 =$1USD
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – $303.5 bln
Per Capita GDP -$3,900 mln
Electricity Production – 91.7 bln kwh
Literacy – 71.4%
Life Expectancy – 68.8 male, 73.9 female
HIV Rate – < 0.1 %
Telephones – 10,400,000 lines
Vehicles – 2,500,000 units
Radios – 317 per 1000 pop
TV sets – 170 per 1,000
Railroads – 5,062 kms
Internet – 5,000,000 users
(Facts and figures are the latest avilable at time of publication and may not necessarily be the most accurate.)
Man of many words
Najib Mahfuz is Egypt’s most famous novelist and the first Arab to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Najib Mahfuz was born in Cairo, Egypt, on December 12, 1912. He was the youngest of seven children in a middle-class merchant family. When he was ten years old, his family moved to a more Westernized (reflecting the ideals of Europe and the United States) neighborhood of Cairo. Mahfuz became fond of reading detective stories, going to the movies, playing soccer, and listening to music with his friends. During his high school years he began to read the Arabic classics as well as the Western ones that he could find in translation.
Mahfuz studied philosophy at Cairo University, and after graduating in 1934 he began working as a civil servant. He continued to work until he retired as director of the Cinema Organization, after which he worked as an adviser to several cultural organizations within the Egyptian government. Mahfuz made frequent contributions to the daily newspaper Al-Ahram, where most of his writings appeared in serial form before being published in book form. He was married in his early forties and is the father of two daughters.
Mahfuz’s early writings are considered historical because he dealt with subjects inspired by ancient Egyptian history. In an interview with the magazine Al-Hawadess, Mahfuz corrected this notion by saying that only one of the early three works—Kifah Tiba (The Struggle for Thebes, 1944)—was a true historical novel. With Al-Qahira Al-Jadida (New Cairo, 1945), Mahfuz then began a series of novels that dealt with more contemporary (current) subject matter and characters. Most of the novels after these bear names of the old-time areas of Cairo, such as Khan Al-Khalil (1946) and Zuqaq al-Midaq (1947).
Mahfuz’s trilogy (series of three dramas), Al-Thulathia (made up of Bayn al-Qasrayn, Qasr al-Shauq, and Al-Sukkariyya), written between 1946 and 1952, traces the changes undergone by a family in Cairo and its leader, Ahmad Abd a-Jawad. Through his characters, Mahfuz skillfully describes the cultural and political problems that Egypt experienced in the early 1900s. Al-Thulathia was considered a major contribution to world literature and a unique contribution of Egyptian genius. It was awarded Egypt’s highest literary honor in 1957.
In Awlad Haritna (Sons of Our Alley, 1967), Mahfuz questioned the relationship between God and man, good and evil, and life and death. His interest in the differences between ‘ilm (knowledge) and iman (faith) appears throughout his later writings, such as Alf Layla wa Layla (A Thousand and One Nights, 1982). Al’Ai’sh fi al-Hakika (He Who Lives in Truth, 1985) was considered more of a historical novel than fictional writing.
African Dancer at the Venezuelan Embassy
By Tedla Desta
It was last Thursday at the Venezuelan Embassy that a beautifully painted African dancer hung on the walls of the embassy’s gallery was opened for visitors.
This painting was capable enough to grab the attention of many visitors. Explaining about the painting, Abyalew Assefa said that it was painted to depict Africa’s wealth and prosperity.
The artist follows a realistic way of painting that in most of his works of art, bright lights are seen including on the African Dancer.
Last April the Embassy of Venezuela in Addis Ababa opened the Office for Cultural Cooperation to consolidate the relationship between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as well as the cooperation in the cultural sector between both countries.
As part of the program arranged by the Cultural Office this Gallery of Art by Abyalew Assefa opened at the Embassy of Venezuela to allow the promotion of the artistic values of Ethiopians.
Abyalew was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1971. He studied painting, graphics, illustration, sculpture and mural art at Addis Ababa University, School of Fine Arts and Design. He specialized in Graphic Art and graduated with great distinction in 1991. In 1993, he went to Nairobi, Kenya and studied illustration and magazine preparation.
Since 1991, he has been working as a studio artist, freelance illustrator and graphics designer in various NGOs and companies. The works of the artist are also found in Asia, Europe and in many of the states in of the United States of America. Furthermore, his works are found in the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations as well as in the residence of the President of Burkina Faso, H.E. Mr. Blaise Compaore.
Addis on the verge of heritage loss
Today’s residents and city leaders see a promising but challenging future. As a result, Addis is experiencing rapid urban development unparalleled in the city’s history. The feverish pace of building is reflected in the dozens of high-rise buildings currently under construction throughout the city.
“Though impressive and exciting, this relentless march toward development now threatens the very historical assets this city was built upon – especially in the historical Piazza district – creating the need to act. These rapid growth threatens to overrun parts of Addis that are integral to its historic heritage.” says a statement of Addis Woubet.
The restoration of the fast deteriorating relics of our capital in this vital preservation effort needs much effort. Once restored, this beautiful houses, a great venue for cultural events and exhibits, will serve as an information center, where visitors and local citizens alike can learn about Addis Ababa’s historic architecture and rich cultural heritage.
Rapid growth threatens to overrun parts of Addis that are integral to its historic heritage. Protecting these priceless heritage sites in the Piazza Historic District, and other parts of the town and leverage these assets in the economic revitalization of the heart of Addis must be a mission of all.
Unless immediate action is taken, the city’s cultural heritage is threatened, and the historical assets that should be anchoring economic revitalization efforts will be lost. “The remaining buildings from Menelik’s era are disappearing from view behind large construction projects. Many of the city’s residents and even some leaders are not even aware these buildings exist,” the statement adds.
The value and the existence of the goods is an income as well. It brings the highly needed foreign currency to the country builds the economy.
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