Egypt

Egypt spans Africa and Asia, thanks to the Sinai Peninsula. Most of its land is in the Nile Valley of North Africa. The region where most of its more than 84 million people live, near the Nile, contains the only farmable land in the country. Egypt is mostly arid desert, and it has sand dunes that are over 100 feet high. The economy is a mix, based on industries such as agriculture, media, petroleum imports, natural gas, and tourism. Variants of the official language, Egyptian Arabic, Sa’idi Arabic, and Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic are spoken by about 30% of the population. The minority languages are very much that. The Necropolis at Giza, a site including the Sphinx, is the last of the Seven Wonders of the World still in existence.

Popular foods in Egypt cuisine include beans, fish, kebabs, pita bread, eggplant, and onions. Try ful medames (mashed fava beans), koshari (stuffed pigeon, or molokheya, a soup made from jute leaves, coriander, garlic, and occasionally chicken or rabbit meat. Vegetarian options include fast food, Egyptian cuisine, and vegetarian-friendly Middle Eastern, Indian, and Western-style restaurants. Cairo has a decent number of health food shops. You can even buy macrobiotic groceries!