Egypt has been crossed and re-crossed by migratory peoples since the dawn of time. Some found the land good and stayed. About 5000 B.C., agriculture was introduced in the Nile Valley. The people who did this still live there, still till its rich soil and have spread throughout many other parts of the country.
The Western Desert Oasis of Siwa is populated by Berbers who still speak the Berber language. Along the Mediterranean Coastal Desert, the land was settled by Arabs from Arabia who came after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the seventh century.
In the Elba Protected Area live the Bishari, an ancient Hamitic people with a unique language called Beja. The Rashida, an Arab people from the Sudan, travel with their camels in the region. In the northern part of the Eastern Desert the tribes are of Arab ancestry as are the people of the Sinai.
These diverse groups have contributed their rich cultural heritage to Egypt in the form of unique handcrafts, customs, folklore and languages. The Government of Egypt is introducing programs through which the people will preserve their cultural and natural environments.