What is this "Egyptian Coffee"?
This is actually the Turkish method for making coffee, or a variant of it. Coffee grounds, cold water and sugar are brought just to a boil several times before being poured into small cups. For this method one typically uses the finest possible grind of coffee.

The sand is used to control heat. The pots (called cezve) on top of the sand keep warm, and when you want them to boil you push them down through the sand to make direct contact with the hot plate underneath.