Egypt is one of the most fascinating countries in Africa and around the world. Its history goes back more back to the year 3,000 BC, which makes it one of the places where civilization appeared before, only surpassed by Mesopotamia. However, although most of the curiosities of Egypt we will find them in the period of the Egypt of the pharaohs, nowadays it is also one of the most interesting countries to know and where more eye-catching anecdotes we are going to discover.
20 curiosities of Egypt
Egypt is undoubtedly a great country, the greater part of which is desert, in particular the Sahara desert. Of course, it has an extremely fertile area where the Nile River passes. Precisely in these lands the largest national population of its continent is concentrated. In a place with so many inhabitants and origin of the civilization of Ancient Egypt , it is normal that a lot of surprising data are gathered in it. Keep reading to discover fascinating curiosities of Egypt !
1. The pyramids of Egypt: gigantic tombs
Of all the monuments that we can find in the African country, the Egyptian pyramids They are undoubtedly the most visited and the one that most impresses tourists. They are buildings built during the first centuries of the ancient empire and had a funerary function. That is to say, in spite of its great size, its only objective was serve as a monument to the deceased that would stay inside for all eternity.
Originally they were covered with a coating made of limed limestone. This reflected the sun in an impressive way and they say that they shone like a jewel.
2. Constructions of free men
Despite the fact that popular tradition has led us to believe that pyramids were built by slaves , the reality is that they were raised by free men who worked on the job in exchange for a salary .
The definitive proof of this came from the discovery of a necropolis near the Pyramid of Cheops in which they are found buried many of the builders , which proves that they had to be erected by free men, since the slaves could never have paid for a burial in a necropolis however humble it was.
3. The flag of Egypt
The current flag of Egypt was adopted on October 4, 1984 . It is composed of three horizontal stripes with the red, white and black colors .
The color red symbolizes the history of the country, the black the end of the oppression exerted for years by the British colonialism , while the white strip is destined to locate the country's coat of arms, which represents the Saladin's eagle .
4. A bit of Egyptian cuisine
One of the curiosities of Egypt that you can not stop knowing or, rather to savor, is your national dish, called "Ful medames" . It is a traditional dish of Egyptian cuisine whose main ingredient are beans , which are cooked in a copper pot and served with vegetables, lemon, and chopped hard-boiled egg.
5. The capital of Egypt
The capital of Egypt is the city of Cairo, located on the banks of the Nile River and very close to the plateau of Giza, famous for the pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, as well as the imposing sphinx of the same name.
Is about the most populous city in all of Africa and the Arab world , its metropolitan area reaches a population of about 16 million inhabitants, which has earned it the nicknames of "the city of a thousand minarets" or "mother of all cities".
6. The city of Alexandria in Egypt
The second most important city of Egypt after Cairo is Alexandria. It is a city founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC on the shores of the Mediterranean and, among its most famous sights, was the place where both its famous library and the lighthouse of Alexandria stood, which was considered a of the wonders of the ancient world.
7. The Suez Canal
However, despite the great pharaonic works that counted the ancient Egypt, the modern example did not fall short either. A good example of this is the Suez Canal, built between the years 1859 and 1869 , which allowed to link the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.
It has a length of 163 kilometers and separates continents of Africa and Asia, besides being an important source of income for Egypt thanks to the tariffs that vessels must pay to cross it.
8. The waters of life
One of the most important curiosities of Egypt is found in its geography. Egypt is a country completely dominated by the desert except the Nile River , which flows through its entire territory from south to north until it flows into the Mediterranean.
Since the times of the Egyptians of the pharaohs, the life of this country has been concentrated along its banks, since it is about the only fertile area with access to abundant water . This means that all the great cities of Egypt are articulated along their banks, with the exception of those that have access to the coast.
9. The place where God gave the tables of the Law to Moses
According to biblical tradition, when the Jewish people fled from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea they came to the Sinai Peninsula , that it is a small piece of land that separates the African continent from Asia and that, according to religious tradition, was the place where God gave Moses the tables of the Law that would conform the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments .
10. One body for all eternity
One of the curiosities of Egypt most striking of all we find it in its ancient religion , which explains the construction of the pyramids and the presence of mummies. For the ancient Egyptian, after dying , the soul had to overcome a series of tests to reach the beyond. However, besides that, it was necessary for the body to survive, because otherwise the soul would dissolve and there would be nothing left. Because of this belief, the ancient Egyptians mummified the bodies of the deceased, which made the body dry and not rot so that, despite the appearance, the deceased could count on that same body in his life in the most there.
11. The brutal importance of cats in Ancient Egypt
The historian Diodoro Sículo explained that, about the year 60 before Christ, a Roman accidentally killed a cat. A tumult of people gathered around him and, despite his own pharaoh's attempts to convince them to forgive him, they killed the man to avenge the murder.
12. Jamsin or Chamsin: The wind of Egypt
Another of the curiosities of Egypt that you may not have known is that the country is flogged, especially in the month of April, by a local wind they call "jamsin". This wind drags A lot of dust and sand from the desert and it blows at a speed of up to 140 kilometers per hour. Its presence, in addition, implies a rise in temperatures of up to 20 ° C in 2 hours. Brutal!
13. The national animal of Egypt
The national animal of this country, although it might seem that given the love they felt for them in Ancient Egypt would be a cat, it is the steppe eagle.
14. The sacred beetle
In Egypt you will often see beetles on monuments, jewels of another time ... This is because the ancient Egyptians consider them a symbol of the resurrection after death and eternal life.
15. The Statue of Liberty must be Egyptian
Originally, the Statue of Liberty was planned to be built in Egypt, at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal, although it was a little different. They wanted to create a big beacon shaped like a peasant woman from Ancient Egypt, holding a torch. Although many sketches were made, it was never built.
16. Kemet and not Egypt
The ancient Egyptians did not call their country Egypt, but Kemet .
17. Fear of hippos
Formerly, there were hippopotamuses on the Nile. The ancient Egyptians feared them so much, that these animals often represented evil and chaos. They considered them more dangerous than crocodiles!
18. Finish your drink in Egypt
If you visit an Egyptian house, remember to finish drinking all your drink. They have the idea that not doing so brings bad luck to the home, especially to single women who live in it, who may never find a partner as a result of your act.
19. The crows in Egypt
More Egyptian superstitions! The presence of crows is considered a bad omen in Egypt
20. Unspeakable hieroglyphics
The last of our curiosities from Egypt: Although it is possible to read their hieroglyphics, we will never be 100% sure how the ancient Egyptians pronounced the words.
As you can see, Egypt is a country full of contrasts and surprising data, where history and geography have determined the form that the country has taken in many of its most representative and interesting aspects. It is a country open to tourists and where you can find a thousand-year-old culture to discover, a unique gastronomy, and overwhelming natural surroundings. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to visit, do not hesitate and prepare the bags as soon as possible.
Image: Hieroglyph Hippopotamus - Flop Eared Mule