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The mighty monuments of the pharaohs and
of the Greeks and Romans, the magnificent mosques, the Coptic monasteries- both
the ones which lie in ruins and those still thriving-all reflect the many stages
of Egypt's rich past. Yet, amidst the signs of change, Egypt continues to exude
a strong sense of unchangeability. There is much in the life of the countryside
which also evokes the past: the daily and seasonal cycles of farming life seem
in many ways to be little different from the scenes depicted on the tombs of
three or four thousand years ago. The shaduf and the saqia wheel are still used
to life water from the river to the canals, and from the canals to the fields.
The simple plough drawn by oxen or camels, the winnowing of wheat and the
manufacture of mud bricks and pottery, are all echoes from the past. All the
same there is much that is different. Egypt remains one of the most significant
states in the Near East, and as in so many places there is conflict of
'progress' with tradition.

The many phases of Egypt's long history
are seen clearly in the monuments, and much of what was depicted in ancient art
can still be seen today. The landscape, however, has been much altered. The
papyrus swamps which lined the river banks and covered whole areas of the Delta
have disappeared.