Thursday, December 27, 2012

5T0JL(Mauritania) on 30m CW!!!

5T0JL(Mauritania) on 30m CW!!!


5T0JL Mauritania flag Mauritania 
Jean J. Lewuillon
Avenue E. Verhaeren 110/1
1030 Brussels
Belgium

[+] Mailing label
Lookups:   87310
Email: Use mouse to view.. QSL: ON8RA

20121226 2102UTC 10105kHz 5T0JL
Date : 26/Dec/2012 2102UTC 
Freq : 10105kHz CW
Rig  : SDR(PI4THT) 
ANT  : GP
PC recording

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL

5t0jl

is currently active from  16 nov 2012 at 1900Z mainly on 10 Mhz CW with homebrew folded dipole & 90 watts.

The GAP Titan DX has been eaten by the ambient salty conditions.

5T0JL QSLing policy please note:

A special word of thanks to those amateur radio who have exchanged cards with me. All in all the normal SASE procedure was used throughout with some exceptions where many IRCs were invalidated because they were missing the stamp of ORIGIN. some other envelopes had nothing except a Qsl card. All will get their cards later anyway.

QSL'S ! ! ! Some new Premium Card Service are taken care of since today 17 december 2012. Please be patient, Thanks

BESIDE ALL CATEGORY CARDS HAVE BEEN CLEARED BY LAST MID NOVEMBER !

I'm takingthis opportunity to address my deep hearted thanks to all friends recorded in my manual log. and the nice compliments or superlatives addressed for my fairness about my operating practices while handling huge and incredible pile-up on simplex.

Why simplex you may ask? To me it is natural, It's the rule, it's the law, and I could not find any recommendations by IARU or the ITU to wildly use substitutes such as Qsx, UpUp or Split.
At 84, I am simply trying to keep 5T alive despite the many odds, still I am dependent on others for station cleaning and other tasks, set up or antennas checks, checking electrical installations as frequent outages are occuring in the city, cleaning the radio shack etc. in fact I really need a full solar battery back up to keep the radio alive in any circumstances.

                                                                                                                                               Here below the T42EU mixed team of 11 SSB/CW operators in Cuba
Other callsigns: ex-F3JL (1960-1983), 9Q5LJ (1965-1967), ON8RA (since 1965),

9X5AB (1980-1983), W3/ON8RA (1969-1975), W6/ON8RA (1996-1998).

Team opr with: OR5EU, T42EU, 5T0EU and 5T0CW.
Actually I am the only licensed ham radio opr in 5T/Mauritania since july 2008 when 5T5SN Qsy'd to TN9SN.
Are you interested to run a Dx-Ped in 5T ? I sure can
help in licensing, lodging, discovering the Sahara rocks
and sand beauties. Just drop me an email.

5T0EUHosted in 2004
5T0CWHosted in 2005
5T0ID Hosted in 2007
5T0SP Hosted in 2012 a friendly DX Polish team with big success this year see it here: http://5t0sp.dxing.pl
5T0ZA  Will be Hosted this february 2013 with Jon/TF3ZA and his truck drive through Africa via Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and further on to Kinshasa, Kamina, Lubumbashi to end up in Cape Town, South Africa. Complete itinerary to be disclosed soon. Mali has been totally removed from plans. An amateur radio license has been requested for all country visited. So 5T0ZA will be used while in Mauritania only. So look for Jon if you want to follow him in this Dx Trip thrilling adventure ! He will not be Qrv while driving, trafic in the evening/night only. 5T license granted.
Full biography below this pics gallery

9Q5LJ 1965/1967 and ON8RA since 1965 still going strong as 5T0JL today.

Shown below is one of our DC3's with it's usual crew of 5 ! Pilot, co-Pilot, Nav, Wireless op and Flight mechanic.

Below is my 9X5 QSL card used during my sporadic stay in Rwanda which ended with a three full years until 1983.

Below is my Qsl card used during myUS tour 1970-1975. The antenna was a home brew Quad not a beam as shown.



THE MAN & HIS RADIO, DESTINY or PASSION?
ON8RA/5T0JL/Jean, Belgian born 1928, grew up in the middle of the new era of radio broadcasting with the growing importance of shortwave radio.
At teenage back in 1939/1940 WWII is striking Belgium, despite the odds I joined the local Boy Scouts where I will be learning the Morse code by using a «whistle» and built my first crystal radio with the help of my father. completed my ability to copy the code by listening to the many CW networks during the war. and I finally joined the Royal Air Force to be a pilot but I could not fulfill the eyesight requirement so I ended up as Wireless Operator end of 1946/early 1947 flying DC3, 4 and 6, I retired in 1968 and kept on going over HF since.
An interesting part of my radio life occured between 1978 and 1980 when working in the Silicon Valley, California, on an HF oblique ionospheric sounding program to observe the ionosphere behaviour in real time which ultimately led to the production of the AN-TRQ 35V. At 84 in october 2012, I'm still currently involved in HF, CW being my favourite mode, while being professionally involved with Data over HF.
Up to now I scored a total of 58 countries, lived in or visited. I speak fluent french, english and brasilian. My current call signs are ON8RA, Class A CEPT licence and 5T0JL, delivered in Mauritania by the Regulation Authority. as well as a few expired international licenses. What a page of history. HF radio, passion or destiny ?

THE RADIO SET UP AS FROM FEBRUARY 2011

Simple and very modest, Located N180603 / W155904.57, Elev. 3m ASL
Transceiver Kenwood 570D conservatively set @ 90 watts output
Old TenTec KR5A keyerworks much better now with new 9V battery thanks to 0N4TC for helping. A very good keyer allowing ratio adjustments for a more personal Morse signature.
A Ten Tec KR20A keyer, by special donation from Ron/K4SSMhas been added for high speed CW traffic. In recent trafic 35 to 40 Wpm was easily reached but with a very impersonal keying and Morse signature.
A home brew G5RVhas been put down for good.
A brand new CAROLINA WINDOM Model 80 from a special donation byEd/KG4W is ready to go up but the next door building manager changed his mind and has not authorized a nylon cord attachment for higher height yet.
A GAP Titan Dx Vertical Dipole from which I am learning a lot on antenna theory because in the past I was more focused to cubical quads or yagis construction and never paid attention to the natural vertical dipole characteristics giving us the key to ease our hobby. as you do not have to bother on direction nor propagation, nor LP or SP, nor height above ground, nor radials, nor gray line, amazingly the antenna will feel all that for you and will bring the DX on your log easy. It is as simple as this. Unsollicited dope on my signal's quality are here to prove it and confirm, simply blowing out all my past experience regarding antennas.
NEW - Home brew Folded Dipole
As of 12th August 2012, construction of a homebrew Folded Dipole for 30 meters built from tits and bits available on the local market completed this 13th august with an antenna analyzer testing and adjusting. That's approximately 28 meters of wire in a bulky construction. I had a 4/1 new Balun four years in a drawer. Total cost so far equivalent to 5 USD. Works like a dream antenna with fantastic results.

THE OPERATOR'S DESK

Clock, paper Log Book and pencils. My shack is 9 square meters, inside temperature constantly between 28°C and 33°C depending the outside temp. No air conditioning.

HELPFUL TOOLS ARE:

A portable computer w/internet connection but not really mandatory. hopefully we can still grab the world with our HF radio can't we?
Propagation software such as: PropMan 2000 by Rockwell-Collins, VOAProp by G4ILO, and the VE3NEA suite complete with Ionoprobe, HamCap, Dx Atlas and Band Master.
CW learning tool: The G4FON software, a fantastic program where I can simulate the worst to the harshest receive conditions. A perfect tool to keep my rusty receive CW capability still going at 35wpm on paper/pencil, 45wpm mentally, I used to type 50wpm on dedicated typewriter long years ago and it feeled really slow., we do not have those typewriter anymore. Just a bit faster than TTY@45 bauds to give you an idea.
HAMMING PRACTICES
  • Adhere and effectively apply the DX Code of Conduct to gather efforts and tryto improve our DX Etiquette by visiting G3SWH/Phil's page on Qrz.com and implement his best recommendations.
  • Dedicated to simplex operation, please do not ask me for Split or QSX or Up as our CW Bandwidth is ample enough to accomodate an eventual pile-up. By doing so I am staying within the ITU/IARU regulations and I do not induce my fellow hams to put themselves at risk. I will clarify all this later.

MY CW HAMMING PRACTICE

Coming soon

PROJECTS PENDING

  • 160m with an end loaded vertical dipole or,
  • to set a Top loadedfor 160m
  • to experiment a MOXON vertical either wired fullsize or with coaxial elements
  • to get on the air with PSK31 and possibly other modes.
  • to launch another challenging Dx Ped where, on the move right now with 5T0SP, please look up athttp://5t0sp.dxing.pl/; where amplifiers would be prohibited, only wire antennas would be accepted, the use of renewable energy would be imposed. A reachable goal to anyone's goodwill

 

SPECIAL NOTE ON QSLing

Due to my irregular stay in both Mauritania and Belgium on one hand, and knowing the mailing of all QSL's is donein Belgium exclusively it is easy to realize that receiving the exclusive 5T0JL qsl card may take a long time. So I am asking all my fellow hams to exercise their patience as, I repeat, all Qsl's received Direct will be answered. Owing the many questions received recently I felt having the obligation to explain.
Answering QSLs has taken place this 8th december 2011, a nice gift for the Holiday Season's still I do apologize for the long waiting time. Sorry my friends I could not do any better
New Qsl rules downhere, but nothing is perfect, please remember.
1. Premium Qsl service @ 5 greens:This service has been slow lately. With all my apologies. Do not shoot at the pianist please.(coïncidence, my son acting Qsl Mgr is a classical pianist.)
2. Custom service @ 3 greens:Very sorry this service already backlogged needs some adjustments too.
3. No Rush service @ 2 greens: Qsl received at on8ra will be responded when back to ON land
NOTE. IRCs accepted but not recommended as they are accumulatinga lot of burden plus a small surcharge added by the BelgianPost office counter due to the last raise worldwide Postal rates.
One must understand this Premium and Custom services implies third party dedication and work with internet communications alike for Data exchange.Indeed a lot of emails going back and forth as many cards have confusing data at times.
So all in all I will not get rich with this new plan, to the contrary, it will give an opportunity to anyone to choose the Qsl service they want for those in need of quick confirmation.At least we are trying..

CLUB MEMBER / CERTIFICATE HOLDER

FOC 2005 - A1Operator Club ARRL - UFT n°0176 - Croatian CW Club n°882 - UTF Member
CWJF n° 541 - A1 Club Japan

NOUAKCHOTT WEATHER





THE GAP TITAN DX SAGA
Air Shipping torture to the GAP Titan Dx with resulting damages upon arrival !!! See below
The GAP disaster in plain.
Below the GAP disaster in details.
Below, A nice bend on the main radiating element of the GAP. I used a hand plumbing bender tool to correct this cm by cm !!
A reverse tubing treatment in a way. there was no other solution !
More pîcs coming soon.




JA5CJZ(Japan) on 40m LSB-3!!!



JA5CJZ(Japan) on 40m LSB-3!!!

JA5CJZ Japan flag Japan 
Login is required for additional detail.

[+] Mailing label
Lookups:   52047 Ham Member
Email: Login required to view


20121226 2038UTC 7160kHz JA5CJZ (RX point = EU)
Date : 26/Dec/2012 2038UTC 
Freq : 7143.60kHz LSB
Rig  : SDR(PI4THT) 
ANT  : GP
PC recording


20121226 2035UTC 7160kHz JA5CJZ (RX point = JAPAN)
Date : 26/Dec/2012 2035UTC 
Freq : 7160kHz LSB
Rig  : KENWOOD TS-870S
ANT  : LOOP(for 20m not enough Gain)
PC recording


His place is very nealy about 20km


                           

             Brittany  spaniel Billy


ER4DX(Moldova) on 40m LSB!!!

ER4DX(Moldova) on 40m LSB!!! 


ER4DX Moldova flag Moldova 
Vasiliy A. Romanyuk
.
Otaci
Moldova

[+] Mailing label
Lookups:   269596
QSL: VIA QSL MGR - RA4LW, DIRECT ONLY

20121226 2022UTC 7140kHz ER4DX
Date : 26/Dec/2012 2022UTC 
Freq : 7140kHz LSB
Rig  : KENWOOD TS-870S(7000Hz)
ANT  : LOOP(for 20m not enough Gain)
PC recording


Lookups269596 (315691)
QRZ AdminRA4LW
Last Update2011-05-31 15:05:15
Latitude48.436667 (48° 26' 12'' N)
Longitude27.790000 (27° 47' 23'' E)
Grid SquareKN38vk
Geo SourceUser supplied
Bearing318.7° NW (from JJ5IZX)
Distance5180.4 mi (8337.0 km)
Long Path19676.5 mi (31666.2 km)
Sunrise05:59:35 UTC
Sunset14:18:34 UTC
Born1956
QSL InfoVIA QSL MGR - RA4LW, DIRECT ONLY
QSL by Mail?Yes (e.g. Will this ham QSL by Postal Mail?)
QSL by eQSL?No (e.g. Will this ham QSL with eQSL?)
Uses LOTW?No (e.g. Does this ham use ARRL's LOTW ?)
Apply for a new Vanity callsign...


ZD7FT(St Helena Island) on 40m LSB-4!!!

ZD7FT(St Helena Island) on 40m LSB-4!!!


ZD7FT St Helena Island flag St Helena Island 
Peter Constantine
PO. Box 33
Jamestown, St. Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean, STHL 1ZZ
St Helena Island

[+] Mailing label
Lookups:   239003
QSL: DIRECT

20121226 2008UTC 7143.60kHz ZD7FT
Date : 26/Dec/2012 2008UTC 
Freq : 7143.60kHz LSB
Rig  : SDR(PI4THT) 
ANT  : GP

PC Recording

I was first licenced in March 1973.  I came on the air with a Heathkit HW-101 Transceiver and a G5RV antenna.  The HW 101 was later replaced with a Yaesu FT-101B Transceiver, and a home made 3 Band 2 Element Cubical Quad completed the antenna farm.In 1977 other pursuits had to be given priority, and I became inactive.  I sold my station in the same year and I was QRT.  I never imagined at the time, it would be 27 years before I would be back on the air again.
In January 2004 I was able to return to the hobby.  My Station comprised of an Icom-746, and once again a G5RV antenna.  What a joy it was to be back on the air!  Later, a Carolina Windom 80, and a Carolina Windom 80 Special replaced the G5RV.
Having retired in October 2006 after a 44-year career in the Public Service, I now have more time to play radio.  There have also been a number of changes to the station since 2004 as well.
My current station comprises – a 5 Band Heavy Duty Spiderbeam at 10 meters above ground. (I still have my Carolina Windoms).  A Yaesu FT-950, and a Yaesu FT-450.
Since putting up the Spiderbeam, entries in my log have certainly increased from the many pile-ups I have been in.  My favourites bands are 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters.  I also get on 40 meters occasionally.

I do not chase DX.  I have no need to really.  I work whoever comes along.  I simply enjoy giving Hams a chance to put a ZD7 in their logs.  I respond to all requests for QSL Cards providing they are accompanied by 2 US Dollars (or Euro or Sterling notes) and an SAE.   PLEASE! do not send coins or stamps.  AND do not QSL via VE1AIH who was my QSL Manager.  (He is now a Silent Key anyway).  Getting a card back to you could take 3-8 weeks, this is beyond my control, as ZD7 land does not have an air service.  So please be patient.
If you want information about ZD7 Land you can visit the following websites:



73s Peter ZD7FT

Good Morning OM!! !!! Tone of the Zither

Good Morning OM!!   !!!   Tone of the Zither


NHK Radio-1 at 990kHz
ypeBroadcast radio network
and Broadcasttelevision network
CountryJapan
AvailabilityNationwide and Worldwide
Sloganまっすぐ、真剣。("Straightforward, earnest")[1]
AreaShibuyaTokyo
OwnerGovernment of Japan(Public Broadcast)
Launch date22 March 1925 (radio)
1950 (television)
Former namesJapanese Radio Station (1925-26)
Callsign meaningNippon Hōsō Kyōkai
Official websitenhk.or.jp 


20121226 1947UTC 990kHz NHK R1 Kochi
Date : 26/Dec/2012 1947UTC 
Freq : 990kHz AM
Rig  : KENWOOD TS-870S(7000Hz)
ANT  : LOOP(for 20m not enough Gain)
PC recording

Sadness nomadic(遊牧民の悲しみ)




The sitar (English pronunciation: /ˈsɪtɑr/) is a plucked stringed instrument used mainly in Indian classical music, which is believed to have been derived from the ancient Indian instrument Veena and modified by a Mughal court musician to conform with the tastes of his Persian patrons and named after a Persian instrument called the setar (meaning "three strings"). Since then, it underwent many changes, and the modern sitar evolved in 18th century India. It derives its resonance from sympathetic strings, a long hollow neck and a gourd resonating chamber.
Used widely throughout the Indian subcontinent, the sitar became known in the western world through the work of Ravi Shankar beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s after The Kinks' top 10 single "See My Friends" featured a low tuned drone guitar which was widely mistaken to be the instrument.[1] The sitar saw further use in popular music after The Beatles featured the sitar in their compositions, namely "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and "Within You Without You". Their use of the instrument came as a result ofGeorge Harrison's taking lessons on how to play it from Shankar and Shambhu Das.[2] Shortly after, Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones used a sitar in "Paint It, Black" and a brief fad began for using the instrument in pop songs.

Types of zither

While the term zither organologically refers to a broad family of musical instruments, in modern usage it most commonly refers to one of three specific instruments: the concert zither and the Alpine zither (which are often considered variants of the same intstument), and the fretless or "guitar" zither. Like many other stringed instruments, acoustic and electric forms exist; in the acoustic version, the strings are stretched across the length of the soundbox, and neither version has a neck.

Concert zither, with a fretted fingerboard
The concert zither may have from 29 to 35 strings, with 34 or 35 being most typical. These are arranged as follows: 5 fretted melody strings, placed above a guitar-like fretboard; 12 unfretted "accompaniment" strings; followed by 12 unfretted "bass" strings; a varying number of "contrabass" strings, with 5 or 6 being the most common number.
The Alpine zither has 42 strings, and differs from the concert zither primarily in having more contrabasses, which require the addition of a harplike post at the top of the instrument to support the tuners for these additional strings. Alpine zither strings are set in the same arrangement as the concert zither, except there are 13 contrabass strings instead of 5 or 6.
Both of these zithers are tuned in a similar manner, with the accompaniment and bass strings each providing a full set of 12 chromatic pitches arranged in a cycle of fifths. Contrabass strings are arranged in a descending chromatic scale. There are two popular tunings for the fretted melody strings: Munich and Vienna. See the Zither Tuning Chart, below, for details of the pitches and octaves employed.

A Fretless Guitar Zither

Autoharp
The fretless zither may have from 12 to 50 (or more) strings, depending on design. There are no frets or fingerboard, and all strings are played "open," in the manner of a harp. Strings on the left are arranged in groups of three or four, which form various chords; strings to the right are single melody strings. Tuning can vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from model to model, but the tuning is usually indicated on the instrument itself, in the form a painted chart or paper chart glued under the strings.
A popular contemporary form of the fretless zither is the autoharp, on which all of the strings are placed singly, and a series of buttons activate dampers which silence all but the strings in the particular chord named on the button. (The autoharp is played in a different manner from the other zithers discussed here, and for playing purposes is best considered as a separate instrument in its own right.)


3B9/OH1LEG(Rodriguez Island) on 40m RTTY!!!

3B9/OH1LEG(Rodriguez Island) on 40m RTTY!!!



OH1LEG Finland flag Finland 
Juha Kesalainen
Koukkarinkatu 6 D 57
Turku 20610
Finland

[+] Mailing label
Lookups:   9237 Ham Member
Email: Use mouse to view.. QSL: PLEASE NO QSL TNX

20121226 1852UTC 7043.5kHz 3B9/OH1LEG

Date : 26/Dec/2012 1852UTC 
Freq : 7043.5kHz RTTY(2250Hz)
Rig  : SDR(PI4THT)
ANT  : GP
PC recording

3B9/OH1LEG QRV 18.12.2012-7.1.2013 Rodrigues isl.QTH Baie du nord www.lerefuge.mu holiday style operation 160-10M SSB,RTTY,PSK31 QSL direct via home call.




Rodrigues (Frenchîles Rodrigues), named after the Portuguese explorer Dom Diogo Rodrigues, is a semi-autonomous island part of the Republic of Mauritius located in the Indian Ocean, about 650 kilometres (400 mi) east of Mauritius.[3] It is part of the Mascarene Islands which include Mauritius, Cargados Carajos shoals and the French island Réunion, other nearby island countries and territories include TromelinAgalégaComoros,Mayotte and the Seychelles to the far north-west. The area of Rodrigues is 108 km2.[3] It is of volcanic origin surrounded by coral reef, and just off its coast lie some tiny uninhabited islands and islets. The island used to be the tenth district of Mauritius before it gained autonomous status in 2001 and is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.
As of 2011, the island's population was about 37,922. Its inhabitants are Mauritian citizens.[2] English is the official language of the island,[1] though people also speak FrenchIndian languages and some oriental languages are also spoken, the lingua franca is Rodriguan Creole.[4] The main religion is Roman Catholicismwith small minorities of other religions. Most of the inhabitants are of mixed African and French descent. Its economy is based mainly on fishingfarminghandicraft and a developing tourism sector.[

SU9VB(Egypt) on 40m LSB-2!!!

SU9VB(Egypt) on 40m LSB-2!!!

SU9VB Egypt flag Egypt 
Vladimir M. Bykov
p.o, box 2040
Izhevsk 426033
Russia

[+] Mailing label


20121226 1832UTC 7065kHz SU9VB

Date : 26/Dec/2012 1832UTC 
Freq : 7065kHz LSB
Rig  : SDR(PI4THT)
ANT  : GP
PC recording

Important!
1. Re: LoTW
I have currently indefinitely totally discontinued uploading any newer latest QSOs until the system is slightly more
manageable and more user logical and friendly.
2. QSLs
Best use Pay Pal as I may not be there in Russia at the time when your cards come in. When with PayPal, no need for your QSLs, a list of QSOs and your current address is all I need. Use the same e-mail address as shown on this page.Если Вы говорите по-русски, эти предложения распространяются и на Вас. Особенно если Киев - Ваш столичный город. Не посылайте мне QSL и конверты, делайте все дистанционно и электронно.
All direct QSLs received after January 1, 2013 and having IRCs enclosed will be treated as buro requests and will be answered via your buro. Do not send IRCs after that date unless you are happy with the buro.
We are in the 21st century, is not that time to stop shifting papers (being that USD cash or IRCs) across borders? I do not need any cards anyway, although I will be happy to QSL if required.
3 . Legal frequency bands in Egypt:
1810-1850, 3500-3800, 7000-7100, 10100-10150, 14000-14350, 18068-18168, 21000-21450, 24890-24990, 28000-29450
30 and 80 meters are not allowed for everyday use in Egypt - emergency communications only (natural disasters etc or getting ready for them) + The Government may reconsider this later but have not done it yet. 6 meters and all VHF are totally NOT allowed;
4. No guest operations are allowed in Egypt: anyone using someone else's call-sign or station is violating the law and making all his QSOs not valid. The host also risks losing his license.



Egypt Listeni/ˈɪpt/ (Arabicمصر‎ Miṣr officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: About this sound جمهورية مصر العربية), is a transcontinental country country situated mainly within North Africa, with its Sinai Peninsulaforming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East, and the 15th most populated in the world. The great majority of its over 82 million people[4] live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large regions of the SaharaDesert, which constitute most of Egypt's territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater CairoAlexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Egypt has one of the longest histories of any modern state, having been continuously inhabited since the 10th millennium BCE.[10] Its monuments, such as the Giza pyramid complex and its Great Sphinx, were constructed by its ancient civilization, which was one of the most advanced of its time. Its ancient ruins, such as those ofMemphisThebesKarnak, and the Valley of the Kings outside Luxor, are a significant focus of archaeological study and popular interest. Egypt's rich cultural legacy, as well as the attraction of its Red Sea Riviera, has made tourism a vital part of the economy, employing about 12% of the country's workforce.
The economy of Egypt is one of the most diversified in the Middle East, with sectors such as tourism, agriculture, industry and services at almost equal production levels. Egypt is considered to be a middle power,[11] with significant cultural, political, and military influence in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Muslim world.