The ancient Egyptians were fascinating people, and thanks to the movies, are often misunderstood. The ancient Egyptians were not in love with death, but with life! They enjoyed their life to the fullest. They worked very hard, but saved time to enjoy family, friends, music, parties, swimming, fishing, hunting, sailing, and especially their children, all of which were very important to the ancient Egyptians.
Geography & Landscape
Without the Nile River, all of Egypt would be desert. Only about an 2.5cm of rain falls throughout Egypt each year. But each summer, the Nile river rises because of rains at its source, far to the south in Ethiopia. When this happens, floods cover the river’s valleys, leaving sediments needed for trees, plants and crops to grow.
Egypt is often divided into two sections – Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. The sections are named this way because the Nile flows from south to north. The river empties into the Mediterranean Sea, on the country’s north coast.
Southern Egypt’s landscape contains low mountains and desert. Northern Egypt has wide valleys near the Nile, and desert to the east and west. North of Cairo (Egypt’s capital city) is the sprawling, triangular Nile River Delta. This fertile land is completely covered with farms.
Egyptians’ love for animals
Animals were very important to the ancient Egyptians. Unlike other ancient cultures, whose gods looked somewhat like people, most ancient Egyptian gods had animal heads. Cats, especially, were held in high esteem. The ancient Egyptians believed that cats had magical powers. They believed cats protected their home and children from danger, and helped their crops to grow. The ancient Egyptians carefully protected their cats. Any person who killed a cat paid for that crime with their life!
Fun Facts about Ancient Egypt
1. Most Ancient Egyptian pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs (rulers of Ancient Egypt) and their families. To date, over 130 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.
2. The afterlife was incredibly important to the Egyptians. They believed that by preserving a dead person’s body – which they did through the process of mummification – their soul would live on in the after-life forever.
3. The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. This incredible structure weighs as much as 16 Empire State buildings!Egyptian men and women wore makeup. It was thought to have healing powers, plus it helped protect their skin from the sun.
4. They used moldy bread to help with infections.
5. They were one of the first civilizations to invent writing. They also used ink to write and paper called papyrus.
6. The Ancient Egyptians were scientists and mathematicians. They had numerous inventions including ways to build buildings, medicine, cosmetics, the calendar, the plow for farming, musical instruments, and even toothpaste.
7. Ancient Egypt plays a major role in the Bible. The Israelites were held captive there as slaves for many years. Moses helped them escape and led them to the Promised Land.
8. The Pharaoh kept his hair covered. It was not to be seen by regular people.
9. Cats were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt.
Courtesy egypt.mrdonn.org, ducksters.com
Published in Young Nation Magazine on January 13, 2018