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* In Arabic, Egypt is called “Misr”, and Cairo “Al-Qahirah” (the Victorious).
* With a population of 15 million, Cairo is the world’s
second biggest capital (after Mexico City).
* Egypt has the largest population of all Arabic countries.
* Egyptian Arabic is by far the most commonly understood
dialect in the Arabic world. This is mainly due to
the wide distribution of Egyptian films and TV programs.
* Only 2% of Egyptian land is farmable - the rest is
desert.
* In Egypt, no less than three calendars are beeing
handled: the Gregorian, the Islamic and the Coptic.
* Egypt’s Christians, the copts, claim to be the true
descendants of ancient Egyptians, because they didn’t
mix with Arabic newcomers.
* Since Pharaohs’ times, Egypt has been reclaiming
land from the desert. Over the last 150 years, 4000
km of land have been reclaimed in the Delta, on the
lakes and in the desert (Toshka and Salam Canal projects)
.
* When the construction of the High dam risked to
submerge the famous Temple of Ramesses II, the giant
construction was saved by sawing it into over a thousand
transportable pieces, and reassembling them at a
new site 60 meters higher than their original site.
* Bread was consumed in Egypt 5000 years ago.
* Wearing a wedding ring on the fourth finger of the
left hand, dates back to ancient Egypt, where it was
believed that the vein of love ran from this finger
directly to the heart.
* In ancient Egypt, priests plucked every hair from
their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
* During mummification, Ancient Egyptians used to
stick a hooked instrument up a person’s nose, whisk it
around, and remove the brain through the nose, leaving
the skull intact.
* The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only remaining of
the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
* For 4400 years, until the Eiffel Tower was built in
1889, the Great Pyramid was the tallest building in the
world.
* The Giza Pyramids were originally white-coloured,
with the top 10 meters covered with gold.
* The Nile is one of the few rivers in the world to run
from south to north. Upper Egypt is therefore the
South, Lower Egypt the Delta. Upstream is south,
downstream north. |
