30 CURIOSITIES OF EGYPT THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW

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Few countries are so exciting and are as attractive to travelers as Egypt, largely thanks to its history, wrapped in countless mysteries. In this post we will tell you 30 curiosities of Egypt that maybe you didn't know

1. The Great Pyramid of Giza It is the only one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World That still stands. There are many mysteries around this immense construction, especially about how more than 2 million blocks of stone could be placed at that time (each of more than 2 tons). Extra curiosity: the 3 pyramids of Giza are aligned with the Orion belt.

2. But the pyramids of Giza are not the only ones: around the country there are about 120 pyramids. Although Egypt is not the country with the most pyramids in the world, this honor has its neighbor in southern Sudan, where there are more than 250 pyramids.

3. Of course, the most monumental is that of Cheops that became the largest building in the world for about 4,000 years! He lost that record in the fourteenth century when in England they built the bell tower of Lincoln Cathedral.

4. And not only that, it is also considered the heaviest building nowadays!

5. Tutankhamen He reigned for a few years and did nothing remarkable, sowhy is he so known? Because of the discovery of his grave and his treasure, which remained far from the looters. Today it can be seen in the Cairo Museum. Extra curiosity: it is not known exactly the reason for his death, but everything indicates that he suffered a rather spectacular accident and was embalmed without a ribcage. There are theories that say he could have killed a hippo!

6. It seems that pyramids were not built by slaves but for free men. Tombs of these workers were found near the pyramids, and a slave did not have the money to pay a grave. Slaves were used almost exclusively as domestic service.

7. It is clear that the pyramids and temples of Egypt are the works that get all the attention in Egypt. But we must remember that between 1859 and 1869 a mega construction took place that forever changed international markets: we talked about Suez Canal, which unites the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

8. They had a calendar which had 3 different seasons: sowing, flooding and harvesting.

9. For many centuries the pharaoh was seen as a god on earth, and the people's respect for their highest figure was almost devotion. However, that did not stop a group of workers from Ramses III to organize the first strike in history. They had not received their grain payment and decided to sit in front of the temple they were building, until Pharaoh himself agreed to pay them.

10. Do you know what the word means "Pharaoh"? In ancient Egypt it meant "big home”And refers to the fact that the body of Pharaoh was the means by which the soul of a God manifested itself.

11. And the hieroglyphs? Egyptian writing has a Greek name hieroglúphos, Hierós- means sacred and -glygen, engraving (that is sacred engravings).

12. It was many years and many different theories that were needed to be able to decipher the hieroglyphs. The basic problem is that it was considered a pictographic writing (each symbol corresponds to an idea), but after analyzing the Rosetta Stone, the Frenchman Jean-François Champollion warned that many of these symbols were phonetic characters.

13. In Egypt he didn't go hungryMoreover, it seems that many of the mummies analyzed had overweight problems.

14. Of course, the Egyptians were very flirtatious and did not hesitate to use large amounts of makeup (men and women alike). The kohlFor example, it was a mixture of minerals and water that they used to paint their eyes. It was also very common use of perfumes, which were prepared with oils, spices such as cinnamon and resins such as myrrh.

15. Thanks to archaeological findings, it was discovered that the ancient Egyptians were the prosthesis precursors. Wooden arms and fingers were found.

16. The Egyptians they surrounded themselves with pets, especially dogs, cats and monkeys. After the death of the master, they spent a period of mourning (eyebrows and hair were cut as a demonstration of grief). Sometimes the family mummed the pets so that the deceased could enjoy them in the life of the afterlife.

17. The mourning, in ancient Egypt, was represented by the color white. The black was a symbol of luck since, when the Nile River went down with that dark color, it meant that it was covered with silt after a flood, and therefore would leave the land fertile!

18. If you look, you'll see some common features in the statues of Ancient Egypt. They are related to the moment they were made: if the character was still alive, the straight beard was sculpted down and with the left foot forward (the one on the side where the heart is located and therefore synonymous with life). If he was already dead, put the tip of the beard out and feet aligned.

19. Egyptian civilization was very advanced on equality: Although men were seen as somewhat superior, women enjoyed the same rights as they (they could work, manage money, buy and sell property, remarry once divorced ...).

20. One of the symbols you will see most in Egypt is the beetle What does this mean exactly? It is an animal that represents the resurrection and eternal life.

21. Another one of thosesymbols Egyptians, of the most sacred, is the cross cross (also known as Anj). It represented eternal life, power over life and death.

22. The religion of the Egyptian people was polytheistic. Although throughout history there was the occasional pharaoh who wanted to impose other beliefs. It is the case of Akhenaten, who during his term forced to believe only in the God Aton.

23. The Egyptian flag has 3 lines horizontal with these colors:

Red: symbolizes the spilled blood in all the wars and revolutions of the country.
White: where the eagle of Saladin is engraved, a symbol of Arab identity and independence.
Black: remember the period of British monarchy and colonialism.

24. The Gods were represented with animal head and body of man / woman. For example, Sobek, the God of the Nile, had a crocodile head and Horus, the Sun God, a hawk's head.

25. The Egyptians who could afford it bought the so-called “Book of the Dead”That they took to their graves. It was a very expensive book, so only a few enjoyed this privilege, but for them it was very well spent money. It was said that he had printed formulas that allowed the dead to reach life beyond.

26. Many neither could they afford to be mummified: It was a very expensive process, but the heat and dry air helped everyone who was buried in graves in the desert. We can say that they were mummified naturally (and without releasing a single coin).

27. Did you know that there was a Leonardo da Vinci Egyptian? It was Imhotep that went down in history for being the first engineer, the first architect, the first geometer and even the first doctor in history. Come on, it was a crack. He was the builder of the stepped pyramid of Zoser, the first of all.

28. It is very common to see old statues of pharaohs that carry something in their hands (usually a cane or a scroll). For many years all kinds of theories about its meaning emerged, but in the end it seems to be a simple architectural trick: if empty, the hand would be much more fragile and over time it would break very easily.

29. Cleopatra VII was not Egyptian: It was part of the dynasty of the Ptolemies, successors of Ptolemy I, which was Greek. Not only was a woman endowed with an unusual beauty and intelligence, it was also the last pharaoh of egypt: behind her, the country became part of the Roman Empire.

30. There are a few Egyptian inventions that we use in our day to day: the key and the locks, the makeup, the toothbrush, the combs, the scissors and even the wigs (although that not all we use and less daily :-p).

You could write hundreds and hundreds of curiosities about Egypt and its ancient civilization, for now these are the ones that have surprised us the most. Do you know any more curiosity about Egypt?