My Teenage Life in Egypt

Millions of people today agreewith Herodotus and have made tourism the most important part of the service sector. It is one of Egypt’s key industries, both in terms of the number of people it employs to take care of the tourists who visit the country and also the amount of money these tourists spend while they are in Egypt. The Great Pyramids at Giza are an obvious attraction. Leisurely multi-day cruises on the Nile are popular.Many of these cruises visit Luxor, site of temples and many burial sites of the pharaohs. Nearby isKarnak, theworld’ssecond-largest ancient religious site, which con- tains several massive temples built bydifferent pharaohs duringanum- ber of centuries. Hardy travelers

The three main pyramids at Giza stand just south of Cairo, along with smaller pyramids and the statue called the Sphinx.

venture several hundredmiles further south toAbu Simbel. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo features the treasures of King Tut andmanymummies. Many people visit Egypt for reasons unconnected to the ancient past. Theyflock to thenumerous sandybeaches along theRedSea for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, and sunbathing. Unfortunately, terrorists murdered 58 tourists at Luxor in 1997. Cou- pledwith recent political instability, this important source of revenue has seen a significant decline, which harms the economy.

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