Tuesday, March 28

Here are some Egyptian facts I know that you can't live without.

1. One-time ruler of Egypt, Mohammed Ali, once created two infantry regiments made up entirely of one-eyed soldiers.
2. As early as the 14th century, Egyptians used urine tests to diagnose pregnancy.
3. You can be imprisoned for not voting in Fiji, Chile and Egypt - at least in theory.
4. In ancient Egypt, killing a cat was a crime punishable by death.
5. Only about 4% of Egypt can be used for agriculture.
6. The only one of the Seven Wonders that still survives is The Great Pyramid of Giza.
7. The real name of Egypt is actually Misr. It was the Greeks who named it Egypt after it's fall.
8. The longest river in the world is the Nile. (4000 miles)
9. The Egyptians where the inventors of the calendar. Every year the Nile flooded its banks for three months so the Egyptians set their calendars after it.
10. The Egyptian desert has not always been desert: in some areas, marine fossils can be found. (We can back this one up. One of the few times we were really out in the desert, you could see tons of sea shells)
11. The last tomb to be discovered was in February of 2006.
12. For over two thousand years, Egypt was controlled by foreigners. Nasser was the first native Egyptian leader. (Actually, Nasser is only seen as the first leader of the modern day Republic of Egypt. The first president after the revolution was Naguib, but nobody liked him much.)
13. Upper Egypt is down south.
14. There are about 90-something pyramids in Egypt.