Egypt

Location

Egypt is North East Africa between Palestine, Israel, Libya and Sudan.

Capital

Cairo

Etiquette & Customs

When visiting a person’s home they bring gifts, they take off their shoes before entering the house, and they are highly respective of their elders.

Language

In Egypt the first written language was hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics were called sacred engraved letters. They are the Egyptian alphabet. It is made up of 24 unilateral signs. The Egyptian hieroglyphs don’t indicate vowels.
Egyptian Arabic is used today and replaced the Coptic form of language.

Music

The instruments used in Egyptian music are Harps, lyres, lutes, cymbals, drums, tambourines,flutes, clarinets, oboes, and trumpets. In their history Egyptians believed that the God Thoth invented music.

Religion

Today most people who live in Egypt have a Muslim or Christian religion.

Fashion

In ancient Egyptian times their wardrobe consisted of a vast array of colors along with precious gems and jewels. The fashions of the Ancient Egyptians were made for not only beauty but also comfort to keep cool in the hot desert. Wigs were common among both genders worn by the wealthy people of society. The wigs were made from real human and horse hair. Men, women and children wore sandals made from leather or papyrus. The Egyptians used makeup most of all the ancient people. They wore galena or malachite not just to enhance beauty, but because they believed it kept dust and dirt from getting into their eyes. Findings suggest that they wore makeup that contained various minerals to boost their immune system.

Cuisine

Egyptian cuisine has mainly a plant based diet. Traditionally meet is less common because it is more expensive. Egyptian bread is known as Aish and also means life in their language.

Interesting Facts

Papyrus is a plant that was used in Egypt for paper that they wrote their hieroglyphics on.
The Nile River Is a major north-flowing river in Northeastern Africa. It is known as the longest river in the world. It is 4,258 miles long. It is an international river and its drainage basin covers eleven countries Tanzia, Ugnada, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. It is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.
Egypt has coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the east.
Pyramids were where they buried the pharaohs and queens.
The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape of a pyramid is thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance. Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to solar luminescence

A sarcophagusOne of the most important objects purchased, whether for royalty or other elites, for a tomb was the coffin. It’s purpose from the earliest times was the protection of the body, preserving it from deterioration or mutilation. During Predynastic times, the Egyptians shrouded corpses in mats or furs and enclosed them in pots, baskets or clay coffins. In some areas a wooden scaffold was constructed around the body, and this might be considered the precursor to actual coffins.

A sarcophagus was also usually provided to hold the coffin in the tomb. The Greek etymology of “sarcophagus” is “flesh eater”. However, this is not really the Egyptian interpretation. In their ancient language, the sarcophagus might be called neb ankh (possessor of life).