Travellers have marvelled at Egypt's archaeological wonders for centuries, ever since the Ancient Greeks visited the pyramids. Today, millions of tourists are attracted each year to the pyramids, temples, mosques and great monuments of the Nile Valley, as well as the stunning diving resorts of the Red Sea.

In 430 BC, when Greek historian Herodotos visited the magnificent monuments in Egypt, many of them were already 2,500 years old. Most, from the pyramids of Giza to the astonishingly beautiful temples of Karnak or Philae, or the painted tombs in the Valley of the Kings, can still be visited today. The sheer age of this great civilisation is mind-blowing.

The life-giving Nile runs north through the country to the Mediterranean, feeding an emerald ribbon of irrigated fields adjacent to villages shaded by date palms. Whether on a cruise ship or traditional felucca boat, life on the water is a constant visual feast, while the few huge, dusty cities - Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan and Luxor - are a babble of exotic sounds and smells.

Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik, on the Red Sea coast, are doors to a magical underwater world of technicolour fish and coral that draws divers from around the world, while other adventurous travellers head inland. Here, you can discover monasteries amid the arid mountains of Sinai or the distant desert oases, home to the hardy nomads whose camel trains still wander the Saharan sands.

Egypt is at the centre of the Arab world and has played a central role in the region's political situation in modern times. After three wars in 1948, 1967 and 1973, peace was achieved with Israel in 1979 leading to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League (they were restored in 1991). Egypt has since played a vital role in the Middle East Peace Process.