Free «Egypt» Essay

Egypt is the cradle of one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. Egyptians have succeeded in literature, geography, sculpture, art, and urban planning. To date many scientists cannot reliably explain the emergence of this knowledge. Moreover, Egypt had a clear state structure headed by Pharaoh. The laws of that time were honored and observed unquestioningly, because politics and religion were connected. Modern Egypt exports wheat, corn, rice, cotton, natural vegetable oils, various flower essences, handmade furniture, gold, silver, and precious stones. The presented country is rich in oil, gas, iron ore, as well as the world famous Aswan granites. However, the major share of the whole national income is generated from tourism and revenue from shipping. Therefore, Egypt is a country with a significant culture, history, tradition and being a center of tourism, Egypt is a beneficial place for business.

Egypt is the largest Arab state. The major part of the country is situated in the northeast of Africa, and only a small piece of Egyptian land is in Asia (on the Sinai Peninsula) (Russel, 2013, p. 31). The narrow Isthmus of Suez, connecting Africa and Eurasia, has been a zone of active contacts between the inhabitants of two continents for long. In the north, Egypt has an access to the Mediterranean Sea, and in the east to the Red Sea. It borders with Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and Israel to the northeast. The territory of Egypt is 390,120.66 square miles (Russel, 2013, p. 31). The official name of country is the Arab Republic of Egypt. Its modern inhabitants are mainly Arabs of Egypt (90% of the total population) (Russel, 2013, p. 33). The majority of the population practices Islam. The average population density in the Nile Delta exceeds 1000 people for 1 square km., and the desert areas are practically not inhabited (Russel, 2013, p. 40). In the valley of the Nile, all the most important cities of the country are located, including the capital of Egypt Cairo.

Without any doubts, Egypt could be called the cradle of civilization. The rich and highly developed culture of Ancient Egypt had a huge impact on the development of the peoples of the Middle East and the ancient Greek (Russel, 2013, p. 55). The history of Egypt includes many wars and conflicts that affected its culture, population, and territory. One of such influential events happened in 1922, when Britain formally recognized the independence of Egypt (Russel, 2013, p. 42). The state was proclaimed a kingdom. After the war with Israel, a large number of monuments and memorials began to appear in Egypt, these events also influenced the literary heritage and culture of Egypt as a whole. In the 1990s, militant Islamic fundamentalists tried to destabilize Egypt by a series of terrorist attacks against the tourism industry and killings of political figures (Russel, 2013, p. 362). The socio-political crisis escalated in the fall of 2010, when prices for imported wheat rose by more than 50%. The government failed to effectively mitigate this price shock, and several million Egyptians with low income were on the verge of survival. It led to the revolution and coup d'état (Russel, 2013, p. 62). Nowadays, any manifestations of violence or theft in Egypt are immediately suppressed by law enforcement officers and citizens.

Egypt is a republic. The head of the state is the president. The head of the government is the Prime Minister (Russel, 2013, p. 34). The supreme legislative body is the unicameral National Assembly. According to the Constitution, the president is granted virtually unlimited powers (Russel, 2013, p. 36). The territory is administratively divided into 26 governorates and two regions such as Lower Egypt (Alexandria, Cairo, Port Said) and Upper Egypt (Luxor, Aswan, Ken) (Russel, 2013, p. 35). One of the major sources of national income is the fees levied on ships passing through the Suez Canal. Its exploitation brings the state significant revenue, which is more than $ 1 billion a year (Ikram, 2015, p. 73). Millions of tourists visit Egypt annually. Therefore, hotel and tourist business is highly developed in the county. The national currency is Egyptian Pound (E£). According to the Central Bank of Egypt, the official exchange rate is 17, 5 E£ for 1 US Dollar (Central Bank of Egypt, n.d.). Nevertheless, the Egyptian economy has experienced many challenges over the past decades.

The national language of the country is Egyptian Arabic. Due to the extremely developed hotel business a substantial part of the population, mostly in cities, understand and speak English, French and Russian. A distinctive feature of the Egyptian population is smoking of cigarettes or hookahs by almost the entire male population. More than the 90% of population are Muslims, and only a small part considers themselves as true Christians. They are called Copts (Ikram, 2015, p. 87). Copts and Muslims live differently and treat one another as infidels. However, despite such a situation, they learned to coexist peacefully, placing their churches and mosques very close to one another. The theater is highly developed and popular in Egypt. Since 1870, local people have regularly visited fascinating Arab plays. A new stage in the advancement of the theater was in 1980, when a great number of young and talented authors began their creative career (Ikram, 2015, p. 83). In addition, due to the significant cultural heritage, Egypt has many museums and libraries with unique texts and manuscripts.

Religion is the basis of the social life of Egyptians. Most of the country's holidays are also based on religion. Religious holidays of Islam are celebrated as official ones by all inhabitants of Egypt. Christian holidays are celebrated only by Christians. The exception is Christian Christmas; this holiday is considered a national holiday. The concept of family in Egypt is very important. Marriage in Muslim Egypt is a religious duty. The concept of marriage clearly implies the birth of children and obedience of a woman to a man. The family in Egypt is not limited to a husband, a wife and children but includes other relatives. The head of such a large family is always the oldest man, either father or grandfather (Ikram, 2015, p. 90). All members of the family obey him without questioning. Often a family of three or four generations lives in the same house, and is engaged in joint business.

The laws of Egypt are quite loyal to foreign citizens and their business. Foreign investments are essential for the economy of the country, so the law allows not only free movement of currency inside the state, but also its import and export. Some restrictions apply only to the order of export of currency from Egypt after the sale of real estate located on the territory of Egypt. The export of currencies after such a procedure is prohibited for five years (Ikram, 2015, p. 96). However, this relates directly to foreign currency. The Egyptian monetary unit still has an inconvertible status and there is a ban on its export from the country. Furthermore, in Egypt, there is the concept of direct and indirect taxation. The direct taxation includes income from profits directly from legal entities and individuals. The second category, indirect taxation, implies income from services, goods and certain events (Ikram, 2015, p. 97). With regard to the leading business in Egypt, one should take into consideration the strengths of the national economy. Thus, it is obvious that money should be invested in the areas, which have high rates of development. Without any doubts, hotel business and tourism are the most advantageous sectors. In addition, leading business in Egypt requires paying attention to the peculiarities of the country’s culture. For example, the notion of hierarchy has an extremely important role in the business world in Egypt. The business dinners play a significant and irreplaceable role in the establishment of business relationships. Surprisingly, gifts are highly welcomed in the business. In the presented country, such things as expensive watch or antic knife have never been treated as a bribe (“Guide to Egypt”, n.d.). However, it is highly forbidden to give alcohol as a gift because of the cultural and religious beliefs.

Despite the beneficial opportunities in business, the economy of Egypt has its challenges and anxieties. Egypt is highly dependent on imports. Citizens of the state live under the constant threat from terrorists, who by their actions cause a rapid decline in the tourism industry. Many vacationers are simply afraid to go to this country. The global economic crisis has strongly affected the economy of Egypt. A difficult economic situation has affected the industry. In 2009, the manufacturing of food products and textiles has decreased (Ikram, 2017, p. 102). The pharmaceutical industry is also subject to a crisis. The unemployment rate is about 19%. The cotton harvest decreased by more than 11%. The 28% of young people are impoverished, and 24% live only slightly above the poverty line (Ikram, 2017, p. 103). Therefore, managing the company in Egypt requires consideration of the factors presented above.

To conclude, Egypt is a great country with significant history and cultural heritage. Due to the fact that Egypt has many historical sights, the hotel business is a beneficial area for the investments. However, in managing business in the presented state the cultural and religious features are to be regarded. For instance, the world of business in Egypt has the strong notion of hierarchy and distinction between sexes. Gifts and business dinners are important for the establishing of business relationships. Additionally, running a company in Egypt could be endangered by the unstable economic situation. The frequent terroristic attacks discourage foreign investors. The high rates of poverty and employment and the dependence on imports could negatively affect leading the organization in Egypt.