Egypt is located in the Northern-Eastern corner of Africa. Consequently, this location falls in South-Western Asia. It borders the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Moreover, Egypt borders the countries of Sudan and Libya. This is only the beginning of exploring the interesting facts about Egypt.
The country is known for its ancient civilization and for being the largest Arabic country. Today, the population well exceeds the 100 million figure and is ranked in the 15th position in the world in terms of number of people.
Below, we will be listing 10 interesting and informative facts about Egypt:
Fact Number 1
Ancient Egypt invented the 365-day calendar which constitutes the 12-month year. This was due to the need of predicting the yearly flooding of The Nile River.
Fact Number 2
The Ancient Egyptians worshiped more than 1,000 different gods and goddesses. However, the most important one was Ra, the Sun God.
Fact Number 3
The shape of the Egyptian pyramids is an inspiration of the sun that depicts its rays. According to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the king’s soul ascended along the sun rays to the Sun God.
Fact Number 4
In France, a glass pyramid stands outside the famous Louvre Museum as a tribute to the ancient Egyptian civilization.
This is truly one of the fascinating and interesting facts about Egypt. Additionally, it shows how this culture managed to shape much of our contemporary world.
Fact Number 5
One of the most famous figures tied to Egypt is Cleopatra VII which was Greek. The Egyptian queen is very famous in history and drama pieces as the lover of Julius Caesar and later the wife of Mark Anthony.
Fact Number 6
Cats were considered sacred. For ancient Egyptians, having a cat in the house would guarantee good luck.
Fact Number 7
The ancient Egyptians mummified both humans and animals. They believed it would allow the dead to pass safely into the afterlife. Organs were stored in Canopic jars. Each jar represented a God.
Fact Number 8
Greater Cairo is the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. It has an estimated population of 22 million.
Fact Number 9
Egypt is home to 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They are: Abu Mena, Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis, Historic Cairo, Memphis and its Necropolis, Nubian monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae, The Saint Cathrine Area, and finally Wadi Al-Hitan or Whale Valley in Arabic.
Fact Number 10
Egyptians were the first to invent the writing through depiction of images known as “Hieroglyphics”. Additionally, they used ink and “papyrus”, a special kind of paper.
Indeed the Pharaohs were the leaders of their era. They lived a very interesting life filled with events carefully scripted on their walls. Therefore, archaeological works are still at the infancy stage of discovering the deeply interesting facts about Egypt.
