If you’re planning to travel to Egypt in the next few months, you’re not alone. The country is an extremely attractive tourist destination, thanks to its multi-thousand year history.
However, it’s best not to go with preconceived notions. In this post, we take a look at some facts that you probably never knew about this interesting African country.
All Egyptian Leaders Have Either Been Arrested Or Died (Except One)
Throughout most of Egyptian history, rulers governed until their deaths. Then, following emancipation in 1954, Egypt had a president based primarily on the European model. Unfortunately, all these rules up until 2015 were either assassinated, forcibly removed or terminally ill.
The Egyptians Invented Toothpaste
If you think that toothpaste is a modern invention, think again. It turns out that the Egyptians were using it before the birth of Christ.
They didn’t make it out of modern ingredients, of course. Instead, they used a combination of pumice, burnt egg shells, ashes and ox hooves. Archeologists have found the mixture close to mummified bodies, presumably so that the owner could have fresh breath in the afterlife.
The mixture would have originally been used to clear debris from between the teeth and remove the top layer of plaque. Some people would also wear the mixture at night to prevent oral hygiene issues from developing.
They Hated Hippos
Egypt tours 2022 will sometimes take you up the Nile River. Along the way, you’ll bump into hippos – giant herbivores that live in the water and along its banks.
Hippos are distrusted today. But in ancient times, the Egyptians hated them. They were so dangerous and responsible for the deaths of many of their fellow countrymen. There are even suggestions in the scientific community that King Tut met a grisly end at the hands of one of these beasts.
Mummification Wasn’t Started In Egypt
If you think that mummification is an Egyptian invention, think again. Like so many technologies, it has a long and storied history.
According to legend, the process of mummification began in South America around 2,000 years before the advent of Egyptian civilization. Egyptians appear to have learned the technology from the Americans and then adapted it in their own way. That would imply that there was some sort of communication between the two cultures, though how this was possible is, as yet, unknown.
The Majority Of Egypt Is Desert
Egypt is essentially another Saharan country – mostly desert. What makes it different is the presence of the Nile – a river that gathers its water from the tropics to the south and floods seasonally.
If you head away from the Nile, you immediately enter the desert. There’s nothing here: not even fences, just miles of sand. It’s quite a strange experience to think that a whole country is dependent on just one river.
Ancient Egyptian Women Were Among The Freest In History
The women of ancient Egypt had similar status to men. They could own property, carry out business transactions, and even initiate divorce. For the ancient world, Egypt was an egalitarian society.
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