The Guide
From The Report: Egypt 2012
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This section features an article on the country’s footballers, plus helpful listings of hotels, useful contact details, and facts for first-time business and leisure travellers.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Warrior kings: A look at the history of the Mamluks
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The Mamluks, who descended from non-Arab slaves who were naturalised to serve and fight for ruling Arab dynasties, are revered as some of the greatest warriors the world has ever known. Although the word “mamluk” translates as “one who is owned”, the Mamluk soldiers proved otherwise, gaining a powerful military standing in various Muslim societies, particularly in Egypt. They would also go on to hold political power for several centuries during a period known as the Mamluk Sultanate…

Overview

Game of thrones: The country’s footballers are sporting royalty in Africa
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Egyptians have a great enthusiasm for association football, borne of a long history of the sport in the country, the success of the national team and the intense rivalry that characterises the game at the domestic level. Paintings on Ancient Egyptian temples depict balls being kicked. The modern game arrived around the 1880s, when Egyptians played against British troops. Al-Sekka Al-Hadid, a club founded in Cairo in 1903, is thought to be the oldest in the Middle East. It was formed by Italian…