A transcontinental country, Egypt is in North Africa and Western Asia. It borders the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, Israel and the Gaza Strip, Libya and Sudan. Almost all of the Egyptian population lives along the banks of the Nile River. Approximately 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim and most others are Christian, primarily in the Coptic Orthodox denomination.

Like other SST locations, the program in Egypt is designed to help students understand the complexities of the cultures that they live in. A significant component of Middle Eastern culture is the Islamic religion, so students will have opportunities to talk and relate with Muslims and learn from them. Students will spend 7 weeks in Cairo, a center of learning, culture and commerce. They will stay at Eman (Faith) Hostel in Helwan, which is a southern suburb of Cairo. They will commute daily by the Metro (subway) to the ETC language center in Hadayek El Maadi for Arabic and cultural classes. During the second part of the semester, students will have the opportunity to do service. Other colleges have study abroad programs in Egypt, but few have programs that are a semester in length and that stay in Egypt the entire time.

Students will have the opportunity to visit a number of very important historical sites, as Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world’s most famous monuments. In addition to seeing many of the important historic sites in Cairo such as the Pyramids, Islamic Cairo, Old Cairo and the Egyptian museum, the students will travel to Alexandria, the Sinai Peninsula, and Upper Egypt where they will see the ancient monuments in the Valley of the Kings.