Archives 02 2010
The Egyptian school law obliges the primary public schools to teach only in classic Arabic, but she allows the private schools to teach the other languages besides official Arabic. It means that there are several English and French schools reserved for affluent classes, then rare schools intended for the Armenian or Greek minorities.
As for the secondary sector, the pupils have to learn a foreign language from the first cycle: they have the choice between English and French. In the second cycle, it is necessary to them to choose the second foreign language: English or French (the one who was not chosen in the first cycle), German, Italian or Spanish. About 60 000 pupils study so at present in schools of French language.
In universities, the system is more supple, even if as a rule classic Arabic remains the language of education. In reality, according to the faculties and the disciplines, English and French also establish languages of university education. For example, the medicine, the genius (engineering) and the sciences generally are taught in English, the right in French; several faculties dispense their education at once(at the same time) in French and in English.
Let us add some words on the education of the religion in Egypt in the "civil" said Egyptian schools, These teach the Moslem religion or the Christian religion, according to governmental official programs. It is not possible to the relatives to dispense their children of the religious education, nor to choose the religion of these last ones. When one of the parents is Muslim, the children are necessarily considered as Moslem and educated according to this religion. Furthermore, there is no possibility of learning another religion than those fixed by the State. As the Moslem pupils, the Christian pupils are obliged to learn the Christian religion, according to an official program fixed by a commission chosen by the ministry of Education and the education. In all the civil schools, this education occupies three hours a week to the primary cycle (on total one from 27 to 34 hours of study), and two hours in the cycles.
The courses of Arabic language (classic) make a wide part for exclusively Moslem religious events. For example, every Christian pupil receives a little of religious education when he follows Arab courses, while a Muslim pupil ignores everything of the Christian religion. The textbooks of class used in Arab courses stay too strongly influenced by the Islam. So, in the introduction of a textbook of Arabic, we can learn that his objective is to implant in the heart of the pupils the high values which deepen the faith in God, in their religion, their homeland, their Arabic nation and the whole humanity, by pushing them to the good works and to the "manners". These books contain all of numerous texts pulled by the Koran and by the numerous narratives of the prophet Mahomet. In a general way, the books of religion and Arabic show of a certain xenophobia, even a racism, and have appeals to words for non-believers, kafirs, moushriks, etc.
The textbooks of Christian religion make no reference to the Moslem religion, either to the Koran, or to Mahomet or to the Muslims, but references are made for the Bible as sacred book of the Christians. Nevertheless, the Christian pupil has to learn all the same and recite formulae and understand purely Islamic notions which tend to demonstrate that the Islam is the only real religion.
There are numerous private schools in Egypt. These private and paying schools enjoy generally a big reputation, because the quality of their education is considered as better; moreover, they are more and more popular. We teach it, besides Arabic, either English, or French, that is German; there are some rare schools intended for the Greek and Armenian minorities. Thanks to the support of the Egyptian sovereigns, catholic religious congregations based, between 1860 and 1910, several schools loaded with the education in French of the easy families. We count more than about forty today. These establishments are an integral part of the Egyptian educational system. The specificity of these schools likes the wide place which is granted to the languages teaching, in particular in French which is taught it during all the schooling, because of 10 hours a week.
Finally, the Egyptian educational system seems to know grave problems at every level, the primary sector (primary school, Primary) up to the university. These problems are mainly owed to the lack of financial resources and to the overcrowded classes (often counting up to 80 pupils). In the rural regions, schools miss premises. It is not surprising to notice that the rate of illiteracy is very high, especially except urban areas, then 45 % of the Egyptian population does not know how to either read or write.
Published on 02/28/2010
The Egyptian language of the time of the Pharaohs does not exist any more today. We emitted for a long time the hypothesis that the former Egyptian was the "language-mother" which would have given birth to the current Hamitic and Semitic languages. But it is not the case, because some of his "languages-girls" were contemporary him. We know that the former Egyptian having evolved in neo-Egyptian, the language of Upper Egypt, remained used up to the neighborhood of 600 BC.
The evolution of the language began with the former Egyptian the most former shape of which would go back up about 3000 BC. It is the language which we find in the texts of pyramids and registrations of the IIIth in the VIth dynasty of the Former Empire. The first certificates of the average Egyptian (or classic Egyptian) appeared by 2100 BC; this language, which survived for approximately 500 years, lives the "language of hieroglyphs" in history of antique Egypt, during the period of the Average Empire. Under the XVIIth dynasty, the average Egyptian was adopted as official language (literary texts, royal registrations, administrative documents, etc.); We find him on the registrations of sarcophaguses today. As for the new Egyptian (or neo-Egyptian), he replaced in Upper Egypt the average Egyptian in the spoken language (after the year 1600 BC) and remained used up to the neighborhood of the year 600 (BC).
During Low Time(Period) (VII-VIth centuries), two varieties of Egyptian and two writings derived of the new Egyptian were simultaneously used: on one hand, demotic "archaic" in the North, on the other hand, hieratic "abnormal" in the South. This naming of demotic (from Greek dêmos significant "popular") indicates a language remained used until VIIth century AD. In the writing, the term of demotic makes reference to the "popular language" used on the everyday life, whereas the official registrations in hieroglyphs tend to indicate the archaic styles of the Former Empire and the Average Empire.
As for the Copt (from Greek Aiguptos meaning "Egyptian"), it is the last link in the evolution of the former Egyptian. Been attested from the IVth century BC, the Copt was used by the farmers of Upper Egypt until in the XVIIth century and remain the liturgical language of the orthodox Coptic Church today (approximately 6,5 million followers). The Coptic writing is the transcription of the Egyptian language in Greek letters completed by seven demotic characters to return the sounds which did not exist in Greek.
Also let us mention that in 333 BC Alexander the Great occupied Egypt which he freed from the Persian supervision; the country of the Pharaohs was integrated into the Hellenistic world until the arrival of Romain. Egypt became a Roman province for seven centuries, but the Roman culture penetrated hardly into the Egyptian society, already hellenized under Ptolémées. After the division of Roman Empire in 395, Egypt became Byzantine. During the next two centuries, the Coptic community of Egypt was a victim of the persecutions of the Byzantine power, which also aimed at the Jews
Published on 02/28/2010
Egypt — Officially Arab Republic of Egypt — is a country covering a 997 739 km² surface (that is 1,8 times as big as France or twice Spain), which extends over the northeast extreme of the African continent and over the peninsula of the Sinai where it is limited in the East by the State of Israel and Saudi Arabia; in the South, the country is limited by Sudan and by the West by Libya. Given that Egypt extends in the oriental extremity of North Africa and goes on on the Asian continent by the made Sinai so that this geographical situation determines its membership in the Middle East. The capital of the country is Cairo.
Country is administratively divided into 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular: muhafazah): Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, iliyah Al Isma', Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id, Dumyat, Janub Sina', Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina', Suhaj. These governorates are of population and surface very uneven.
The name of Egypt would result from the former Egyptian hikuptah significant "castle of the ka of Ptah", one of the names of Memphis the Greeks of which made Aiguptos to apply him to the whole country. In Arabic, the word Egypt says itself misr ("big city" or "capital"), of the name of the new capital built to Fustat based under the first caliph fatimide of Egypt, Ubaydallah al-Mahdi, in the Xth century, called misr al-qâhira ("the victorious capital"), today Cairo.
Published on 02/28/2010
The prices are in Egyptian pounds.
Cairo
Museum of Cairo: 60,00
Suplément Chambre des Momies : 100,00
Gizeh
Pyramid and Sphinx : 60,00
Supplement Great pyramid: 100,00
Second Pyramid : 30,00
The third pyramid : 20,00
Solar boat: 50,00
Sound and Lights Pyramids: 80,00
Saqqarah : 60,00
Memphis : 35,00
Dahshur : 30,00
Abouser : 20,00
Citadelle : 50,00
Mosquée of Sultan Hassan : 30,00
Museum Copte : 50,00
Gayer Anderson : 35,00
Museum Islamique : 30,00
Mosquée Ar Rifai : 20,00
Sehimi house : 25,00
Louxor
Valley of the Kings: 84,00
Valley of the Queens: 35,00
Temple of Karnak : 65,00
Sound and Lights Karnak: 100,00
Temple of Louxor : 50,00
Temple of Edfou : 50,00
Temple of Kom Ombo : 30,00
Temple of Hatshepsout : 33,00
Dir El Madinah : 30,00
Ramesseum : 30,00
Museum of Louxor : 80,00
Museum of the Mummification: 50,00
Abydos : 35,00
Dendérah : 35,00
Esna : 25,00
Assouan
Temple of Philae : 50,00
Sound and Lights Philae: 100,00
Unfinished obelisk: 30,00
High Dam Nasser: 20,00
Museum of Aswan: 35,00
Nubian museum: 50,00
Botanical garden: 20,00
Lac Nasser
Abou Simbel : 90,00
Sound and Lights Abou Simbel: 80,00
Wadi Sobaa : 45,00
Amada : 45,00
Kalabsha Temple : 35,00
Alexandrie
Library: 10,00
National museum: 30,00
Roman amphitheater: 15,00
Garden Montazah: 5,00
Museum of Jewels: 35,00
Mosque Abu El Abbas: free
Greco-Roman museum: 35,00
Catacomb : 25,00
Pom Bay Pillar : 15,00
Qaiet Bay Fort : 20,00
Published on 02/28/2010
Official name: Arab Republic of Egypt
Capital: Cairo. It is most big city in the Arabic World(Monde), Africa and the Middle East. It is the industrial and commercial area of Egypt.
Other main cities: Alexandrie, Tanta, Port Said, Luxor, Aswan, Zagazig and Assiout.
Population: 78.7 hab. (Estimation of May, 2008)
Language: Arab (official), Englishman (English people) and Frenchman (French people) (generally understood)
Flag: three-coloured consisted by some red, white and black, with the golden eagle of Salah Aldin situated in the middle which is the Egyptian national emblem.
Currency: Egyptian pound = 100 Piastres, 1 US dollar = approximately 5.452 Egyptian pounds.
Geography
Surface: total: 1 001 450 km², Earth: 995 450 km², Water: 6 000 km²
Location: In the North of Africa, lined by the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya, Gaza Strip and Red Sea, in the North of Sudan.
Geographical coordinates: 27 00 N , 30 00 E
Borders: Total: 2,665 km
Nearby countries: Gaza Strip (11 km), Israel (266 km), Libya (1 115 km), Sudan (1 273 km)
National day: July 23rd in commemoration of the Revolution of 1952.
Independence: February 28th, 1922 (of the United Kingdom).
Ground: Vast desert tray cut by the Nile valley and the Delta.
Climate: Warmly, dry summer, with temperatures moderated in winter.
Published on 02/26/2010
