We all have this prejudice, this little voice that whispers us when we choose the destination for our next journey – “Don’t go to Africa, It has those terrible illnesses and the situation there is dangerous for tourists”. And let’s be honest, it may be true in some unfortunate countries of this Southern continent but we can’t measure everyone with the same gauge. Egypt is unlike any African country or, for that matter, unlike any country you’ve ever visited. We all know about Rome being the cradle of modern European civilization. And only a lazy person hasn’t heard about Caesar, gladiators and the Colosseum. Millions of tourists flood the streets of this city to see ancient ruins and temples. But guess what? Egypt is even older and its civilization may have been MORE advanced than the Roman one. So, without further ado, here are 5 facts that will make you go for Egypt Tours right away!
1. The Egyptian Civilization Is The Oldest In The Mediterranean Sea
Yes, this is true. The Egyptians have established themselves much earlier than the Romans. And to be more interesting, they were not just simple villages along the river with tribal traditions and no formal government. No, when the Europeans were fighting each other for olives and honey in the forests, the Egyptians had invented tons of cool things, had a whole pantheon of gods and religious rites, had laws, and both male and female governors. And we know a lot about ancient Egyptians because of their unique and genius writing technologies.
Despite Egypt being considered a resort country with great seas and picturesque corals, this country can mystify you with its ancient history and advanced culture. I am convinced that anyone can find something to fascinate him here whether it is a camel ride into the desert, a trip to the ancient pyramids, preserved almost perfectly, a 5 star Nile cruise along the longest river in Africa, or a trip underwater to see the sunken ships of the Ost-Indian Company.
2. They Have Invented A Lot Of Things We Use Today
Egyptians had a dire climate for farming. But they managed to survive by inventing one of the basic agricultural instruments – irrigation. And even today in Egypt, you can witness the complex mechanisms that had allowed them to bring the waters of Nile far inland. Another great invention that distinguishes them from other ancient cultures is their unique way to write.
Hieroglyphs were used to depict everything. Religious motives, everyday life, court customs, and many other things have been saved and are known because of the advanced writing system they’d used. You can find a lot of the hieroglyphs in their ancient ruins and the competent guides can even teach you some basic rules. Some of their writings are still mysteriously unknown and are not deciphered, who knows, maybe you could be the person who could shine a light on those ancient riddles.
Ah, and the last but not least, the Egyptians have invented the first paper. It was made of bamboo and was called the papyrus. It is one of the reasons a lot of information is still available to us. If you take any of the Egypt Tours, the guides are sure to lead you into a calligraphy shop where you can purchase a papyrus inscribed with an Egyptian god, or a pyramid or anything you want.
3. They Have The Best Ancient Buildings That Have Survived
Egyptians are actually the first people who started using blocks of stone to make their structures. Their choice was correct and they’d built to last. No other civilization has such perfectly saved buildings.
One of the 7 Wonders of the world and possibly the only one to stay with us is the pyramid complex in Giza. Egyptian pharaohs were very rich and were thought of as semi-gods. Egyptians believed that a person could take the things from his grave to heaven. So, pharaohs built enormous and fascinating graves. The Pyramids.
They took a lot of riches with them and even some of their servants. Well, not the pharaohs themselves but the servants who’d brought their dead bodies inside. After that, everything was sealed. Many years later, explorers found those pyramids and opened them to find tons of jewels and objects that allowed them an insight into the life of the ancient Egyptians.
Nowadays there are a lot of tours to see the pyramids and other monuments dedicated to the pharaohs. For example, the large statue of a lion with a human head – the Sphinx still makes the scientists argue about the intent of the architect. There are tours to the Giza pyramids as well. You can ride on the camels and look into some of the ancient graves.
4. Egypt Is The Cradle Of Christianity
It is not known to all but the great prophet Moses and his people lived in Egypt and it was in Egypt that he had received the revelation and the 10 scriptures from God. Those serve as a basis for the whole Christianity right now. Jesus was of the people who left Egypt with Moses and so without Egypt we wouldn’t have Christianity.
Nowadays, you can climb the mountain of Sinai, where God revealed himself to Moses and see for yourself the beautiful sunrise he had once seen thousands of years ago. The picture is breathtaking, I assure you and if you are afraid you can’t climb that high, there are always people who can offer you a camel ride most of the way to the top.
5. Mummies!
I am sure that everyone has heard of Mummies. From horror movies or from adventure books and we have a whole trilogy of Hollywood movies to thank for the widespread knowledge. Mummies are those dried-up corpses covered in bandages that always seem to rise from their coffins and try to take over the world. Well, actually, mummies are the bodies of pharaohs, mummified so that their bodies are well preserved and can be used in the afterlife.
Mummification itself was actually a highly important and complex process for the Egyptians of that time. Only the richest and the noblest people could afford it. I will not spoil you the specifics of the process so that you can witness it firsthand in Egypt. If you are on a tour, the guide will surely walk you through the whole process and what each organ placed in a jar means to those people. Some tours actually include mockup mummification so that you can know more about this occult process.