2021 Travel the World - Week 4

I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world. 

This week's country is...

Egypt

The formal name of Egypt is the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Egypt is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula.

It is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip (Palestine) and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia, and across the Mediterranean lie Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, although none share a land border with Egypt.

Egypt is the 30th largest country in the world by area. Slightly three times larger than New Mexico, Egypt’s area is 386,560 square miles.

Modern Egypt dates back to 1922, when it gained independence from the British Empire as a monarchy. 

Cairo, the capital city, is the largest city in Africa and the Middle East.

Egypt is known primarily for its deserts, pyramids, and the Nile River. Approximately 90% of Egypt's land is desert.

Since there are very few forests and grasslands in Egypt, wildlife is sparse.

The ancient Egyptians were the first people to have a year consisting of 365 days divided into 12 months. They also invented clocks.

Ancient Egyptians needed to predict when the Nile would flood, which led to the development of the world’s first calendar.

For the ancient Egyptians, the Nile was mysterious. Unlike most other rivers, it flows south to north, it floods in the summer, and no one knew where the water came from. 

Ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile River flooded each year due to the goddess Isis crying. Her tears were said to cause the floods, therefore each year ancient Egyptians celebrated the floods in a festival known as the Night of the Tear Drop.

Ancient Egyptians kept such good flood records on the Nile that scientists today use their data to better understand rainfall patterns.

Egypt's Nile River is the world’s longest river, running 4,135 miles.

Approximately 95% of Egyptians live along the Nile River.

Egypt is home to one of the world’s largest dam, Aswan high dam, built to contain the raging waters of the world’s longest river, the Nile.

To stay cool and avoid lice, both men and women in ancient Egypt shaved their heads and often wore wigs. In fact, because wigs indicated social status, they became one of the most important fashion accessories in ancient Egypt. Rich people wore wigs made from human hair, while poor people wore wigs made from wool or vegetable fiber.

The most popular sport in Egypt is football.

It is common for Egyptians to make an offer once to be polite. If refused and the offer is made again, then the offer is sincere.

Egypt is known for its pyramids. They were built as tombs for the pharaohs and their royal families to link them to Ra the sun god. More than 130 pyramids have been discovered.

If the Great Pyramid were chopped into 12-inch cubes, there would be enough cubes to circle the moon almost three times.

The Great Pyramid was built by paid laborers, not by slaves, as some people believe. Many of the builders died during its construction and were buried in the tombs near the sacred pyramid.

On average, only an inch of rain falls in Egypt per year.

Egypt has 3,451 hours of sunshine each year.

There are five million Facebook users in Egypt, more than any other Middle Eastern country.

Tourism comprises 12% of the work force in Egypt.

Visitors to religious buildings are always expected to remove their shoes before entering.

Approximately 30% of Egypt's workforce works in agriculture.

Built between 2558-2532 BC, the great Sphinx of Giza is the world’s largest monolith statue.

The mystery behind the sphinx’ missing nose and beard has fueled a series of theories and myths. An AD 1378 myth has a Sufi Muslim cleric hanged for vandalism after he destroyed the Sphinx’ nose in a fit of fury over the peasant offerings to the Sphinx.

The Egyptians first writing system called hieroglyphs was by 3,300 BC. Over 700 Egyptian hieroglyphs have been recorded.

Because hieroglyphs have no vowels, we will never know for sure how the ancients pronounced their words.

The oldest dress in the world comes from Egypt. It is 5,000 years old.

In ancient Egypt, every big city supported one favorite god, similar to people who support football teams today.

The literacy rate for Egyptian men is 83% and 59.4% for women.

In ancient Egypt, both men and women wore eye make-up called kohl, which was made from ground-up raw material mixed with oil. They believed it had magical healing powers that could restore poor eyesight and fight eye infections.

Scholars believe that ancient Egyptians were the first to sew wounds closed some 4,000 years ago. Egyptian doctors would often store their surgical needles in a case made from a hollowed-out bird bone.

Hippos were considered bad omens and were associated with the evil god Seth. They were more dangerous than crocodiles and they often capsized boats traveling the Nile.

Ancient Egyptians were the first to make toothpaste. They made the toothpaste from ashes and ox hooves powder mixed with burnt eggshells and pumice.

The country’s major exports include oil, food products, cotton, and aluminum.

Ancient Egyptians believed that cats were sacred. Keeping cats in the home was thought to bring good luck to the household.

My inspiration for this week's card is based on this fact about Egypt... The ancient Egyptians may have been the first people to keep cattle.

The sun die (Catherine Pooler Sunburst) was a bit too big for my space; not a problem. After diecutting it, I placed a slightly smaller circle die on top of the sun and made it the size I needed for my card.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Stampin' UP! Over the Moon stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Cougar 110# White and SU Misty Moonlight CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies/Punch: Catherine Pooler Sunburst Die, Rubbernecker Nested Rectangle Stitch die, Stampin' UP! Banner Punch, and Stampin' UP! Circle Die

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Enamel Dots and Stampin' UP! Ribbon