1. By: Naguib Mahfouz

2.  The Ancient Egyptian name, ‘Egypt’, is Kemet which means “black land” because of the fertile black soil of the Nile.  Egypt is transcontinental.  Egypt has one of the most developed and diversified economies in the Middle East.  79 million people live in Egypt. The vast majority of them live near the Nile.

3.  The New Kingdom (1550-1070BC) began with the 18 th dynasty. Some of the most well known pharaohs ruled then. Hatshepsut, Thutmose the third, Akhenaten, and king Tut.  The term ‘pharaoh’ started being used for the king during the New Kingdom.  Pharaoh means “Great House”

4.  Nemes is a royal headdress worn by pharaohs. It was a piece of cloth that covered the crown, wig, and went down on the shoulders and back.  A Shendyt was an apron that went around the kings waist.

5.  Most people wore shirts, tunics, sashes, and kilts made of wool or animal skin.  Women usually wore dresses with straps and men wore a short loincloth kilt.  They went barefoot most of the time, but if they did wear shoes they were made of leather and were like flipflops.

6.  Girls usually married around the age of 12.  The mother cooked, cleaned, and watched the children.  To Egyptians, children were a great blessing.  If their families had enough money, they would send their son to school. Their daughters could be taught at home. Some even become doctors.  If you had a lot of children people would think you had a greater income.

7.  If a woman was convicted of a crime and was to be executed, the government couldn’t kill her if she was pregnant. If she wasn’t, they’d kill her anyway.

8.  Since most people lived near the Nile and it was difficult to raise livestock, they ate fish.  Because of the fertile soil Egyptians grew a lot of wheat.  Bread and beer was what they usually ate with their meals.  Vegetables, figs, and dates were very popular.  Grapes were well liked for those who could afford it.

9.  http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWe bsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key =action.display.home&language_id=1 http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWe bsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key =action.display.home&language_id=1  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt  http://www.ancient-egypt- online.com/ancient-egyptian-food.html http://www.ancient-egypt- online.com/ancient-egyptian-food.html