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. Till this day their predecessors still till its rich soil and have spread throughout many other parts of the country.
The Western Desert Oasis of Siwa is partially 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 mountain area live the Bishari, an ancient Hamitic people with a unique language called Beja. The Beja culture in Egypt includes the overarching Ababda nomads who live in the Eastern Desert and Red Sea mountains in south-east Egypt. 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 are a few of the diverse groups who 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.