What can we state about Egypt? It’s a land of misconceptions and legends, ancient civilizations, and The Pyramids of Giza. Egypt is an amazing nation to go to with a few of the most remarkable historic put on the world. There is a lot more to Egypt than simply the pyramids and you’ll see why as we go through these most intriguing realities about Egypt!
As one of the world’s earliest civilizations, Egypt is a fascinating location. If you’re preparing to go to the Middle East, these Egypt realities will assist you comprehend the history of the ancient Egyptians and the background of a few of the nation’s most popular tourist attractions
Fascinating Realities About Egypt
Mentioning being among the earliest civilizations, a great deal of the very best realities about Egypt relate to ancient Egypt. Much of its leading traveler destinations were developed by the ancient Egyptians and a lot of the custom-mades and follow the ancient Egyptian customs that were followed by the Pharaohs and their faith of Islam.
1. Egypt is house to the Only Staying Ancient Marvel on the planet
The only staying monolith of the 7 ancient marvels of the world is still standing in Egypt. Just the Terrific Pyramid of Giza, in El Giza, Egypt has stood the test of time. The Pyramids of Giza lie in the capital city of Cairo and are as breathtaking as they constantly have actually been. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the biggest of all the pyramids and it was developed to house the Pharoah Khufu in the 4th century. Today is called the pyramid of Cheops.
You can not miss out on checking out the pyramids when you take a trip to Cairo, they can be seen from all over the city. The Pyramid of Khufu is huge standing at a height of 146.7 meters (481 feet) Learn more: 7 Marvels of the World– the New, The Natural, and the Ancient
2. No, the Pyramids Were Not Constructed By Servants
Mentioning the pyramids, I constantly believed that they were developed by servants. It wasn’t up until checking out Cairo that I discovered that the pyramids remained in truth developed by correct workers. Historical discoveries showed that there were purpose-built towns to house the employees and they were fed and dealt with well. The important things you find out when you take a trip, it fills our little heads with lots of enjoyable realities!
Check out a cool Egyptian Pyramid we checked out– The Red Pyramid of Egypt– Experience it Inside and Out
3. Ancient Egyptians and the Afterlife
Some enjoyable realities about the Pyramids are that they were developed to house the rulers of ancient Egypt and transport them and their households into the afterlife. The pyramids were made as burial places for the Pharaohs and their households.
Ancient Egyptians thought that they needed to follow stringent guidelines to have a great afterlife. They likewise thought that it depended on the living to assist them get to the afterlife. Terrific care was taken in the mummification procedure due to the fact that the ancient Egyptians thought that the body required to be maintained to be born-again and be transported to the afterlife. They even mummified animals.
4. Lots Of Gods of Ancient Egypt
It was difficult browsing life as an ancient Egyptian, they had lots of Gods to please. They worshipped numerous Gods and Goddesses and needed to continuously work to make them all delighted to keep their life in balance and to guarantee their location in the afterlife. For many years Gods fell in and out of style simply as our celebs do today. A few of the most long-lasting Gods were Isis, Osiris, and Ra– The Sun God.
5. Egypt is house to 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Do you understand that Egypt is likewise house to 7 of the UNESCO World Heritage websites? That’s right, Egypt has a lot to provide! The 7 websites are Abu Mena, Historic Cairo, Abu Simbel, Saint Catherine, Wadi Al-Hitan, (aka Whale Valley in the western desert of Egypt) and Memphis and its Necropolis, and Ancient Thebes. Have you been to any of them?
We have actually been to all however 2. We have yet to go to Abu Mena or Whale Valley.
Memphis and its Necropolis remain in truth the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur so opportunities are if you have actually been to Egypt, you have actually seen this UNESCO Website. Ancient Thebes is where you’ll discover Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbel is on Lake Nasser, Historic Cairo is an apparent location and Saint Catherine lies at the foot of mountains where Moses got the 10 Rules.
6. Mount Sinai and the 10 Rules
Mount Sinai is the mountain that Moses reached get the 10 rules. Found in the Sinai Peninsula, this mountain is spiritual in both Christian and Islamic religious beliefs. It is a crucial expedition website and stands at 2,285 meters ( 7,497 feet) high. It is here you’ll discover the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Saint Catherine Abbey that we pointed out above. Learn more: Incredible Archaeological Sites Worldwide– That We have actually Seen
7. Ancient Egyptians Loved Board Games
We in fact have a lot in typical with the ancient Egyptians and among the more enjoyable realities about ancient Egyptians is that they too enjoyed parlor game. It wasn’t simply the rich that played parlor game either, even the citizens delighted in a great parlor game.
The most popular parlor game were Senet and Mehen. Senet was a video game that included tossing sticks and was so popular that even Pharaohs were buried with the video game to keep them inhabited in the afterlife. These parlor game go back 5000 years. What is your preferred parlor game?
8. Cleopatra was not Egyptian
Another intriguing truth about Egypt is that Cleopatra, among the most well-known figures from ancient Egypt, is in fact Greek, not Egyptian. While she was born in Alexandria she had no Egyptian blood and was rather a descendant of the Ptolemaic Dynasty which were a line of Greek Macedonians. The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled ancient Egypt from 323 to 30 BC. The name Cleopatra is in fact Greek for “Famous in Her Dad” or “Her Dad’s Popularity”
9. 95 Percent of Egyptians Live Along the River Nile
Did you understand that the longest river worldwide lies in Egypt. The Nile River cuts through Egypt and about 95 percent of the population of Egypt lives along the Nile River. With much of the nation being inhabited by desert, this truth about Egypt isn’t all that unexpected. 90 percent of Egypt is comprised of desert and the River Nile divides that desert.
The ancient Egyptians divided Egypt into 2 lands, the desert, and the Nile Valley. Contrary to what you would believe, upper Egypt lies in the South and Lower Egypt is north. That is due to the fact that the Nile streams north towards the Mediterranean Sea.
10. Deserts of Egypt
There are 3 deserts in Egypt, the Western Desert,( aka the Libyan Desert) the Eastern Desert, (aka the Arabian Desert), and the Great Sand Sea which is a part of the Sahara Desert.
The deserts of Egypt have their own communities including numerous Sanctuary, mountains, dune and oil tanks. Our preferred desert in Egypt was the White Desert in main Egypt. Check out everything about the White Desert here.
11. King Tut and menstruation of the Mummy
King Tut is most likely the most well-known of all the ancient Egyptians, however really little was understood about the young boy king who passed away at the young age of 19 up until British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the burial place in 1922. King Tuts Burial place is the tiniest of the burial places in the Valley of the Kings however it was filled with fantastic wealth.
It was thought that Hieroglyphs on the wall of King Tut’s burial place had menstruation of death. I’m pleased I didn’t understand about this curse prior to going into King Tut’s burial place throughout our go to or I might not have actually entered this simple burial place. Learn more: Incredible Places to See in Egypt
12. Alexandria was called after Alexander the Great
Not remarkably, the city of Alexandria was called after the conqueror of Egypt in 331 BC. Among the ancient marvels of the World, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was here. Learn more about the marvels of the world at: 7 Marvels of the World– the New, The Natural, and the Ancient
13. Egypt Borders 2 Seas
Egypt lies in a tactical place in between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The Suez Canal links the 2 seas enabling ships to quickly cruise in between Asia and Europe. Egypt has actually been an extremely tactical place for centuries.
14. Among the World’s Largest Dams is Found in Egypt
Egypt is house to among the world’s biggest dams. The Aswan High Dam is the world’s biggest embankment dam, covering throughout The Nile separating Egypt from Sudan and developing Lake Nassar. Lake Nassar is among the world’s biggest tanks.
While this appears like a terrific accomplishment, when we cycled from Egypt to Sudan, we saw the destruction that this dam triggered. At one time, Sudan was rich and green along the Nile and even travelers from the UK would trip in Wadi Halfa in Sudan. Today, it is a dried-up mess thanks to the damming of Lake Nassar. Take a look at: We Cycled the Continent of Africa
15. Felines are Spiritual
It holds true, felines were thought about spiritual animals in ancient Egypt. And from what I might see from our sees to Egypt they are still looked after and revered. Our guesthouse in Cairo had lots of felines hanging out on its roof balcony that we delighted in snuggling with. Felines were believed to bring best of luck and they were so revered that when a feline passed away, the pharaohs had them mummified. As a feline enthusiast, I can relate.
16. The Twelve Month Calendar was Developed in Egypt
You most likely do not understand this, however the calendar that we utilize today was developed by ancient Egyptians. Yes, women and gentlemen, the very first calendar understood to humankind was developed in Egypt. In truth, it is the year 6264 in the Egyptian calendar.
The ancient Egyptians utilized the 12-month calendar like we do today. Nevertheless, every month was constantly 1 month which indicated that their years were just 360 days in overall triggering the years to fall out of sync with the seasons. So to offset the wasted time, they held a 5 day celebration at the end of each year.
17. Comprise and Ancient Egyptians
Ancient Egyptians thought that comprise had recovery powers that secured them from the sun and for that reason both males and females used makeup. The shiner paint that we have actually familiarized so well from ancient Egyptian representations was made from red and they likewise used green comprise that was made from copper.
18. Quick Enjoyable Egypt Information
The capital city of Egypt is Cairo and it is the biggest city in Egypt. Cairo is likewise the biggest city in the Middle East and the Arab World.
The main language of Egypt is Arabic however do not fret, lots of people likewise speak English and if you understand French, it will go a long method in Egypt also.
The main name of Egypt is The Arab Republic of Egypt
The population of Egypt is 102.3 million since 2020.
The very first people in Egypt go back to 8000 years however the ancient civilization that we have actually familiarized was developed around 3000 BC.
Throughout the centuries, Egypt has actually been under the control of the Roman Empire, Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom, Muslim Forces, and even the English.
Do you understand that the hieroglyphs, an ancient language as soon as utilized by the Egyptians, has about 700 signs? Can you think of discovering this language? Why not provide it a shot when you go? Perhaps you’ll have the ability to check out some ancient signs on some burial places.
And these are some enjoyable realities about Egypt. Did we miss out on any? Have you been to Egypt, what is your preferred location to go to in Egypt?