Transcript Egypt - WordPress.com

 Egypt, at the northeast corner of Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, is bordered on the west by
Libya, on the south by the Sudan, and on the east by the Red Sea and Israel. Egypt has one of
the longest histories of any modern country, arising in the tenth millennium BC as one of the
world's first nation states. Considered a cradle of civilization, Ancient Egypt experienced some
of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and
central government in history.
 Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of
Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a
significant focus of archaeological study and popular interest worldwide. Although
Christianised during the common era, it was subsequently Islamised due to the Islamic
conquests of the 7th century. With over 89 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous
country in North Africa and the Arab World. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and
middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the
Middle East and the Muslim world. The official language of the Republic is Modern Standard
Arabic. Arabic was adopted by the Egyptians after the Arab invasion of Egypt. The spoken
languages are: Egyptian Arabic, Sa'idi Arabic, Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic, Sudanese
Arabic, etc... Additionally, Greek, Armenian and Italian are the main languages of immigrants.
The main foreign languages taught in schools are English, French, German and Italian.
 The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.
There are sources citing both 118 and 138 as the number of identified Egyptian
pyramids. Most were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the
Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at
Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest
structures ever built. The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the
only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence. 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.
 The Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear to
revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the narrow shafts that extends
from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly
towards the center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been designed
to serve as a means to magically launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode
of the gods.. All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the site
of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.
 The Great Sphinx of Giza commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a
reclining or couchant sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head) that
stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx
is generally believed to represent the face of the Pharaoh Khafra. It is the largest monolith
statue in the world. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed
to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh
Khafra. Though there have been conflicting evidence and viewpoints over the years, the view
held by modern Egyptology at large remains that the Great Sphinx was built in approximately
2500 BC for the pharaoh Khafra, the builder of the Second Pyramid at Giza.
 In 1798, when Napoleon came to Egypt the Sphinx was buried in sand up to its neck. Between
1816 and 1858, a series of adventurers and antiquarians, including Giovanni Caviglia, Auguste
Mariette and Gaston Maspero, attempted to clear the sand from around the body of the
Sphinx but were each forced to abandon the project due to the enormous amount of sand.
Finally, between 1925 and 1936, the French engineer Emil Baraize was successful in clearing
the sand to reveal the base of the Sphinx.
 The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is
the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El
Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to
remain largely intact. The Great Pyramid of Giza was the largest pyramid ever built. It is made
of over 2.5 million stone blocks weighing around 2.5 tons each. The pyramid was constructed
over a 14 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Originally standing 480.6 ft tall, the
Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Built for
the Pharaoh Khufu as a tomb, inside would have been necessities needed for the afterlife,
including his sarcophagus.
 Originally, the entire casing was finished in a polished limestone. The burial chamber is
located in the center of the pyramid. It can be reached by a series of passages including a 30ft
high gallery. Many of the passages were filled with traps to stop possible graverobbers. Khufu
left behind him three wives, who were interred in three smaller pyramids, and fathered
fifteen daughters and nine sons.
 Tutankhamun (or Tutankhamun) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, during the
period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. He is colloquially referred to as King
Tut. His original name is Tutankhaten. When he became king, he married his half-sister. They
had two daughters, both stillborn. King Tutankhamun ruled Egypt as pharaoh for 10 years
until his death at age 19, around 1324 B.C. He was barely known to the modern world until
1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter chiseled through a doorway and entered the
boy pharaoh’s tomb, which had remained sealed for more than 3,200 years. The tomb’s vast
hoard of artifacts and treasure, intended to accompany the king into the afterlife, revealed an
incredible amount about royal life in ancient Egypt, and quickly made King Tut the world’s
most famous pharaoh.
 King Tut was tall but physically frail, with a crippling bone disease in his clubbed left
foot. DNA tests published in 2010 revealed that Tutankhamen’s parents were brother and
sister and that his wife, was also his half-sister. Their only two daughters were stillborn.
Because Tutankhamen’s remains revealed a hole in the back of the skull, some historians had
concluded that the young king was assassinated, but recent tests suggest that the hole was
made during mummification. CT scans in 1995 showed that the king had an infected broken
left leg, while DNA from his mummy revealed evidence of multiple malaria infections, all of
which may have contributed to his early death. After he died, King Tut was mummified
according to Egyptian religious tradition, which held that royal bodies should be preserved
and provisioned for the afterlife. Embalmers removed his organs and wrapped him in resinsoaked bandages, a 24-pound solid gold portrait mask was placed over his head and
shoulders and he was laid in a series of nested containers.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_pyramids
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1390843/Pyramid-finally-reveals-hidden-
secrets-robot-captures-images-ancient-markings.html
 http://www.reformation.org/secrets-of-the-great-pyramid-revealed.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun
 http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/tutankhamen
 http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/tutankhamun-tomb.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza
 https://sacredsites.com/africa/egypt/great_sphinx_facts.html