Discover Egypt

Discover
Egypt
Egypt –
The Land of the Nile
Nil
Where is Egypt located?
Egypt is located in the northeast of Africa where the Nile River runs. Today,
the capital of Egypt is Cairo. Egypt is three times larger than Germany and has
80 million inhabitants.
The country ”Kemet“
The old Egyptians called their country ”Kemet“. This means ”Black Land“. Every
year in the summer the Nile brought oods. The river overowed and covered the
land with black, fertile mud. Nothing would grow in places the Nile did not cover in
mud. Today these places are deserts.
Who founded Egypt?
5000 years ago the land was split into two kingdoms called Upper and Lower Egypt. After many years of war,
a king united both kingdoms. The rst Pharaoh to rule all Egypt was Menes. As a symbol of his authority over
both kingdoms he wore a Double-Crown. The Crown was composed of the White Crown of Upper Egypt
and the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.
With the Nile Ship on the Waterway...
White
Crown
(Upper
Egypt)
Red
Crown
(Lower
Egypt)
Double
Crown
(All
Egypt)
The Nile was perfect for traveling through Egypt. The Egyptians built many
ships to transport heavy goods. Almost all ships had a square sail which was
xed on a wooden crossbar at the mast. In Egypt the wind blows in a southerly
direction, along the Nile. With the help of the South wind the Egyptians sailed
upriver. To go North the ships went down-river, carried by the current. The
Pharaoh sailed through Egypt on his own ship.
Did you know?
The Egyptian Hieroglyph for ”driving north“ shows a ship without
a sail or mast. The Hieroglyph for ”driving south“ shows a ship
going under full sail.
The Egyptian Army
The Egyptian army consisted of conscripts, professional soldiers and
foreign mercenaries. They all received their orders from a General.
The General received his orders from the Pharaoh.
Which weapons did
the Egyptians have?
In close combat they used battle axes,
sickel-swords and daggers, but they
also had jousts, slingshots and bows
and arrows. Egyptian soldiers carried
shields. These were made from wood
which was covered with animal skin.
Some soldiers had a coat of body
armor as well. This armor was made
from leather or linen with metal or
leather scales on it.
The guidons were used for
identication. Each unit had
his own guidon.
Guidon
The Pharaoh at War
In addition to the foot soldiers there were
horsemen in the army. The Pharaoh drove a
chariot and he was equipped with a bow and
arrows. The arrows were stored in a quiver on
Khepresh-Crown
the side of the chariot.
The Pharaoh also used the chariot for hunting or travelling. During battles
and especially after victories he wore the so-called ”Khepresh-Crown“.
The crown was decorated with gold and a snake.
The Egyptian
Temples
The richly ornamented temples were
the earthly homes of the gods. Only
high-ranking priests and the Pharaoh
were allowed to enter the temples.
Each temple had its own shrines. The
shrines contained sacricial offerings.
Pyramid shaped stone pillars were
located in front of temples and Pyramids. These stone pillars were called
Obelisks. The gilt spires reected the
sunlight. This created a connection
to Re, the Sun God.
High Priest
Pharaoh with
Double Crown
Obelisk
What did the priests do?
The Obelisk from Luxor has
stood on the Place de la Concorde
in Paris since 1836. It took two
years to move the Obelisk from
Egypt to France.
The priests were responsible for the temples and the offerings to the gods.
They had different ranks. The high priest was in charge of the temple. He wore a
leopard-skin as identication. He was also in charge of the mummication of the
Pharaoh. During the ceremony he wore a mask of Anubis, the God of Death. For
the daily cleaning they burned incense. After that they atomised some holy water.
Anubis Mask
Incense Holder
What does “Pharaoh” mean?
The Pharaoh
How do you recognize a Pharaoh?
The Pharaoh was often dressed in an apron
made from linen which was xed with a belt.
The eye make-up was supposed to protect
the eyes against the sun and eye diseases.
On his head the Pharaoh wore a crown or
the Nemes-headscarf with blue and gold
stripes. It was xed with a golden strip.
On his forehead he wore a cobra. The cobra
was meant to defend the Pharaoh and spit
poison into the enemies‘ eyes. The Pharaoh‘s
chest armor was mostly decoration. It was
made from gold plates with semiprecious
jewels and rhinestones. In his hands the
Pharaoh had a crook and a whip. The whip
was for punishing enemies. The crook resembles a shepherd‘s staff because the Pharaoh
protected his folk like a shepherd his herd.
Pharaoh means “big house, big palace”. The Egyptian king lived there. Only high ofcials
and priests were allowed to see and speak with the king, but it was forbidden to use his name.
Because of this, they called him “Pharaoh” after the palace in which he lived. The Pharaoh was
considered to be the representative of the god Horus. The most famous hieroglyph represents
the left eye of God Horus. This sign was said to have great protective power.
Cobra
Nemes-Headscarf
Eye Make-up
Whip
Pharaoh Beard
Chest Armor
Crook
Linen Apron
The beard of the Pharaoh was
not genuine! It was made from
ribbons and strapped on the
Pharaoh´s chin. It symbolized
the divineness of the Pharaoh.
What’s a Sphinx?
A Sphinx is a mighty stone statue. She has the body of
a lion and a human’s head. The Sphinx of Giza was more
than 70 metres long and 20 metres tall. Many researchers
think she was built out of a single boulder approximately
4,500 years ago.
With her stature and strength she
should keep away enemies and tomb
raiders. Even today she guards the
entrance to the pyramides.
The Sphinx was the Pyramid’s
watchdog. She was supposed
to protect them against tomb
raiders and evil powers.
The Pyramids
What were Pyramids made for?
Most of the Pyramids were built as Pharaohs
Tombs. The construction began during the
Pharaoh´s life time.
The Cheops-Pyramid
was the highest Pyramid.
It measured 146 meters
and was considered to
be one of the
Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World.
The pyramid was considered a ladder to heaven, so the Pharaoh could ascend to
the gods after his death. The Pyramids are located on the western bank of the Nile.
Here, so the Egyptians believed, was the entrance to the netherworld
because the sun goes down in the west. The largest Pyramid is the
Cheops Pyramid. It is 146 m. tall and considered to be made from
more than 2 million stone blocks.
What are these signs?
In many temples and graves you can nd signs.
These signs are called hieroglyphics. They were
engraved into the stone or painted on the walls.
The Egyptian script consists of small pictures.
The signs stand for a letter or whole word.
The Burial
Chambers
What were the Burial Chambers for?
What is a Mummy?
In the Burial chamber of the Pyramid was the sarcophagus. In this magnicently painted casket was the mummied body of the Pharaoh. Before the
Pharaoh was mummied, the most important organs were extracted. They
were stored in four different Canopic jars. Only the heart stayed in the body.
The Egyptians believed the heart to be site of the personality. The dead
were buried with treasures. These were equipment for life after death.
Most of the Pyramids were built like a maze. They had traps and
secret passages to keep tomb raiders away from the treasure.
A Mummy is a body which was wrapped to preserve
it and to prevent decay. A Mummy can result naturally
from dehydrating in the desert, freezing in glacier ice
or conservation in a swamp. Humans made mummies
by fumigation or dehydration and embalmment.
As a protection against evil mummies had
amulets or other jewelry.
Lung, liver, stomach and the guts of the dead were
conserved and buried in jars, too. The organs were
protected by the four sons of the God Horus.
The lids of the jars show their heads.
Mummy
What are Grave Treasures?
The Egyptians put lots of items in the graves of the deceased. These items were equipment
for life after death. The Pharaoh was buried with treasures, such as chariots, lamps, food, pots
and valuable jewelry made of solid gold.
ATTENTION
ATTENTION,, Grave Robbers!
The graves with valuable treasures attracted
many Grave Robbers. The treasure hunt was not
without danger, as they had to venture deep into the
Pyramid. Some of them lost their way and never came
back out again. After successful raids they sold
the grave treasure.
The Mysterious world of the Egyptians
from
two secret
shrines
4245 Egyptian Soldiers
4243 Pharaoh’s Temple
floats
Can be upgraded
with underwater
motor.
battering
ram hinges
shoots
glows in
the dark
mummy
hideout
4242 Sphinx with Mummy
4241 Royal Ship of Egypt
4248 Robber
with Horse
2
1
2
3
collapsible
stairs
trapdoor
with slide
scorpion trap
4
4244 Egyptian Chariot
3
1
6
4
5
6
5
secret treasure
chamber
detachable roof
secret chamber
4246 Tomb with Treasure
to open
4247 Two Robbers with Camels
4240 Pyramid
rotary secret
chamber
secret chute