Copy a directory with tar.

This will copy all files and symlinks.
$ ( cd /to/directory/to/copy && tar cf - . ) | (cd /copy/to/directory && tar xBf -)

This will copy to a remote machine that is enabled with ssh.
$ ( cd /to/directory/to/copy && tar cf - . ) | ssh user@remote_machine “(cd /directory/to/copy/to && tar xvpf - )”