Sailing is the art of controlling the motion of a sailing vessel. By adjusting the rigging and rudder, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to change the direction and speed of a boat. Mastery of the skill requires experience in a multitude of wind and sea conditions, as well as extensive knowledge concerning sailboats. Today most people enjoy sailing as a recreational activity. Recreational sailing can be further divided into racing, cruising and "daysailing" or dinghy sailing.

Throughout history sailing has been instrumental in the development of civilization. The earliest representation of a ship under sail appears on an Egyptian vase from about 3500 BC. Advances in sailing technology from the 15th century onward enabled European explorers in Canada to make longer voyages into regions with extreme weather and climatic conditions

However, anthropologically, the majority of indigenous Egyptians trace their ancestry back to the Semetic tribe of Ham. Their physical appearance and cultural traditions are distinct from all other Middle Eastern peoples.The third main racial grouping in Egypt is comprised of the Nubian peoples who lived for thousands of years in their own land along the Nile, called Nuba, which overlapped from Upper Egypt into northern Sudan. Most of Nuba was flooded in the time of Gamal Abdel Nasser with the construction of the Aswan high dam and the creation of the artificial Lake Nasser. The Nubians were resettled by the government but much of their ancient culture and stunning architectural tradition has been lost. For millenia wave upon wave of conquerors has passed through Egypt, leaving traces in their descendants. Romans, Greeks and, more recently the Turks, Circassians (Mamluks) and even French and English have intermarried with the Egyptians, adding further to the cosmopolitan melting pot. For half a century the rural population has shifted to the main urban centres in search of employment. Until today nearly half the population reside in overcrowded cities. To remedy this, the Egyptian government has inaugurated a series of incentives to try and lure many Egyptians away from Cairo and Alexandria.

The Dubai tourism boom is fueling these lofty numbers and are expected to increase their 5 million annual visitors to 15 million by 2012. Most of this boom is being driven by the city run airline Emirates. Emirates has 80 direct flights to destinations around the world and is expecting to add another 20 destinations over the next few years.

The tourism boom spearheaded by Emirates has been strategically driven by acting initially as the stopover point for Europeans and Asian connecting through their respective continents. Dubai hotel apartment have also reached the highest occupancy rate in 2006.