Egypt

There is a country in North Africa that has more history than almost anyone, with the exception of Italy and Greece. Egypt is one of the first places thought to have a nomadic pack settle. Around 8000 BC there are cave drawings supporting the fact that people had been there. The peak of the Egyptian Empire was from 1570 BC-1070 BC. In the year 31 BC Egypt was conquered be the Romans, marking the end of the rule of the pharos. Despite being conquered Egypt maintained an educated and wealthy society. Egypt still has one of the best economies in the Middle East today. The capitol city of Cairo has nearly 15 million people residing within its boundaries. This could be a difficult place to travel because of the language barrier; the official language of Egypt is Arabic.

Egypt is a travel for many history buffs. The most often visited site is the Giza Pyramids, which are located on the outskirts of Cairo. The most astonishing fact about these pyramids is that they were constructed by man power near the year of 2560 BC. The tallest of these pyramids was nearly 50 stories at its peak; but over time it has eroded and is a little shorter. For 3800 years these pyramids were the tallest man built structures on the face of the earth. The pyramids were the burial tombs for Egyptian royalty. But after the complex was completed the graves of ancient rulers were robbed and emptied. These Pyramids are the only item left of the Ten Wonders of the Ancient World.

In 1925 the world’s greatest statue, The Great Sphinx, was uncovered in the Egyptian desert; right next to the Giza pyramids. This statue is 240 feet long and 66 feet tall and looks as if it rose straight out of the sand. There is a great debate among Egyptologist on the exact time of the Sphinx’s construction. The general consensus is that the statue’s face is supposed to represent Pharaoh Khafra. For a long time just the Sphinx’s head was above ground due to small excavations happening over a period of time. Supposedly the reason the Sphinx is missing a nose is because Napoleon Bonaparte shot it off with a cannon. The Sphinx underwent restoration in order to make it look better.

The most famous of the mummy’s tombs that were discovered was King Tutankhamen’s, which was uncovered in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings was the burial ground of the most powerful and popular kings of Egypt’s golden age. King Tut was made pharaoh at age nine and ruled for ten years until his death at age 19. King Tut’s tomb was the most intact and untouched tomb to ever be uncovered. CT scans have been performed and Tut is thought to have died from gangrene shortly after breaking his leg. King Tut can be seen in an underground tomb in Luxor, Egypt.

As you can tell, history is the main element that would draw visitors to Egypt. Because it is definantly not the weather or the landscape. So, if you ever get the chance to visit Egypt I highly encourage you too if you like history.