5 Interesting Facts About Egypt
Egypt is an amazingly beautiful place that we had the privilege of exploring while writing our book Travels with Gannon & Wyatt: Egypt. Here are five interesting facts that we learned during our adventure that you might not know!
5 Interesting Facts about Egypt
Fact #1: The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and the largest Egyptian pyramids. This incredible structure weighs as much as 16 Empire State buildings!
There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock and the pyramid is built on top, the private chamber of the King and Queen are higher up in the pyramid, and the main part is actually a complex of buildings.This complex includes two mortuary temples in honor of Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu, three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite" pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small tombs surrounding the pyramid where nobles are buried.
Photo credit: Great Pyramid by Nina
Fact #2: The Egyptian alphabet contained more than 700 hieroglyphs!Hieroglyphs are made from two Greek words:
- Hieros meaning holy
- Glyphe which means writing
Essentially, it means holy writing. Isn’t that neat? You can visit this website to see what your name in hieroglyphs!Fact #3: Cleopatra was the last of a series of rulers called the Ptolemies who ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. She was also allegedly, the last true pharaoh of Egypt.The story of Cleopatra is very interesting! The tomb of her and her husband Antony has never been found. You can learn all about Cleopatra’s life here.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Fact #4: The Egyptian flag consists of 3 colors, which are red, white, and black. There’s a gold eagle on the white part of the flag. The black on the flag is representative of oppression, the white on the flag is representative of a bright future, and the red represents the struggle against oppression.Fact #5: Ancient Egyptian women had more rights than most other women in the ancient world. Some examples are that they could own their own property and own their own businesses. Women from more affluent families could become doctors or priestesses, too.These are just a few fun facts about Egypt. Do you have an interesting or favorite fact about Egypt? Share in the comments below!