-
40 Hotels Sharm el-Sheikh
Find and book a hotel online. Good availability and great rates!
www.booking.com/Hotels
History of Egypt
The Great Pyramids, completed about 5,000 years ago, is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C. and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. Conquest of the country by Alexander the Great in 332 BC led to three centuries of Greek rule, followed by a brief but significant period of Roman rule. Arab invaders, who conquered Egypt and introduced Islam around AD 640, have had the most lasting influence. Others who left their mark include the Ottoman Turks, the French and the British. Egypt won nominal independence from Britain in 1922. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt once again became an important world transportation hub. Independent from the UK, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II.
In 1953, with the overthrow of King Farouk, Gamel Abdel Nasser came to power and ruled with tremendous popular support for 14 years. He was succeeded by Anwar Sadat, who, through both war and diplomacy, established peace with neighboring Israel. His efforts came with a high price: Sadat was assassinated in 1981. The current president, Hosni Mubarak, has been in power ever since. Hosni Mubarak began his fifth six-year term as president in 2005, after a controversial election that had low voter turnout.
