8 Facts about People & Culture in Egypt

Egypt has some of the most interesting histories out of all the other countries in the world. The ancient traditions and truths about the people in Egypt are astonishing and you really need to know a few of them before visiting the country. Egypt leaves a lasting impression due to its brilliant culture and facts about people and pyramids. Let us take a closer look at some of the interesting things about the people of Egypt and some unknown facts about them.

Egyptian People

1. Did you know that Cleopatra was not Egyptian?

King Tut is famously and very commonly associated with Cleopatra due to their love affair and deep history of control, seduction and power. Cleopatra was born in Alexandria but she was actually a Greek and belong to a long line of Greek Macedonians, who were the decedents from Ptolemy.

2. The ancient people of Egypt loved Board games

This just might sound weird but Egyptians love relaxing after a long day and they do it with a board game. The people in Egypt often relax along the Nile River with friends and family, they like to be involved playing Mehen, Dogs and Jackals, and the most popular among them is the Senet. You will be surprised because this board game tradition dates back to 3500 BC, and still practiced as a mode of entertainment and fun. The board game was played on a boarding home painted with 30 squares, and they were played with rolling dice and sticks.

3. Egyptians have the first peace treaties in the world

This is not known by many people that Egyptians were the first to get the peace treaty in place. It all started when over two centuries the Egyptians fought the Hittite Empire, which is now known as modern-day Syria. The conflict lasted for very long and Battle of Kadesh was fought and the conflict got worse between Hittite King Hattusili III and pharaoh Ramses II, after which they both came to the negotiation of signing a peace treaty.

4. The women in Egypt enjoyed great rights and freedoms

Egyptian Women

This is another fact about the people in Egypt that are not known by many people. The Egyptian women were considered inferior to men in most parts of the world but in reality, they enjoyed a great deal of power in the country. The women in Egypt didn’t work outside their home but even if they did, they always received equal pay and respect. They served as jury members, judge, they bought and sold properties and so on. Unlike the women of ancient Greece, who were literally the property of their husbands, Egyptian women could divorce men and remarry.

5. The Egyptian pharaoh was overweight

When you look at the depiction of a pharaoh in pictures, you often see them with ripped body structure and very handsome, but that wasn’t the case for real. The Egyptian diet was high on beer, sugar, bread, and wine which include a very high amount of sugar and calories and the examination of mummies proved that they were most overweight with some royal waistline. The examination also concluded that they often suffered from diabetes. There are many examples of kings and queens of Egypt from the 15th century, the sarcophagus depicts them in slender and beautiful structure, while they are believed to be obese and balding.

6. Egyptian workers often arranged strikes

The stories contradict some of the facts because even though the people considered the pharaoh as their living god, the working class was never afraid to protest for better wages and working conditions. The concept is put to light from the 12th century when the worker of the royal necropolis at Deir el-Medina was denied of their payments, they arranged the very first strike. Some of the incidents are also recorded from other centuries.

7. Doctors in Egypt study a special stream

Other facts about the people in Egypt also state a lot of information about the doctors in Egypt. You might have read facts about physicians in the ancient time and they being master in all kinds of healing, but the study shows something else. The early form of medical specialization in the 450 BC shows that each physician was a healer and they specialized on different healing, single individual focused on one healing, some for teeth, some for eyes, and so on.

8. Egyptian men and women wore makeup

This one you are going to love, regardless of their sexuality, men and women both wear makeup. The Egyptians had no exceptions for men or women when it came to makeup. They prepared cosmetics by grinding ores malachite and galena that was prepared into kohl and used as an applicator for the eyes. The applicator for makeup was usually made with ivory, wood, or bones. They heavily used henna to color their hair and nails and applied perfume made from myrrh, oil and cinnamon.

Some of these facts about the people in Egypt might be astonishing but they are very much true. People in Egypt practiced these things from the beginning of their era, you would be surprised but a lot of it stands as a specialty of Egypt.