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Egypt,
home of the ancient Pharaohs, has a vibrant legacy that spans
over 5000 years; present throughout modern Egypt not only in
priceless antiquities but in spirit as well.
A
visit to Egypt today is a visit to the world’s largest living
museum on this planet. The abundance of distinctive temples and
massive monuments gives living proof of the previous
sophisticated cultures celebrated over thousands of years
–leaving a wealth of mystical history, that captivates the
minds of visitors from all over the world.
Nature
blessed Egypt with miles of unimaginable desert beauty,
beautiful deep indigo blue water with hundreds of species of
marine life; paralleled by miles of beautiful beaches and relics
of history that dates back thousands of years.
The
country of Egypt continues to thrive as it has since the
beginning of the 21st century. The people of Egypt
remain committed to world peace and welcome visitors from all
countries. Their hospitality remains warm and timeless as it has
for thousands of years. If you are considering a holiday to this
magnificent country be sure the warm hearted Egyptians welcome
you!
Egyptian
history began some 5000 years ago with the development of a
written alphabet (it's hard to have history without some sort of
written records). Most of the monuments we will visit are over
4000 years old! We're talking about numbers that are hard to
comprehend — the sort of numbers that are used to describe
geological changes rather than human activity. To put it in some
perspective, we are closer to the events that occurred during
the lifetime of Christ than the people living at that time were
to the period of Egyptian pyramid building.
Around
the Third Millennium (3000) BC, a ruler named Menes unified the
two existing parts of Egypt, Upper Egypt (which, just to confuse
us, refers to the southern part of the Nile River Valley), and
Lower Egypt (which of course refers to the northern part of the
Nile). With Menes as their Pharaoh, or king, the Egyptians
enjoyed their first period of stable and orderly government. The
civilization was already quite advanced, as demonstrated by the
complex irrigation projects along the Nile as well as the
elaborate burial chambers called mastabas. However, the Egyptian
civilization reached the height of its wealth, creativity and
power during the five hundred year period commonly called the
Old Kingdom, which lasted from roughly 2700 to 2200 BC.
Characterized by peace, prosperity and the splendor of the
Pharaoh's court, this period also saw the building of most of
the 70 or so pyramids, the biggest of which, the great pyramids
at Giza, were constructed during 27th and 26th centuries BC.
The Delta of the Nile River was just as important in the development of
Ancient Egyptian civilization as the ruins in the south are its
modern claim to fame. However, the wet and coveted fertility of
the Delta did not allow for the preservation that the marginal
sands of the desert did. As ancient cities in the Delta bloomed
and then faded, all the materials used to build them were
recycled, and all the foundations (buildings, and other
structures) were destroyed when the land was returned to the
farmers.
Article
Courtesy
of Egypt Tourist Authority.
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