Eln van der Westhuyzen 7A

Main Characteristics of Egyptian Civilization: Religion

Egyptian religions are polytheistic which means that the believe in many gods and goddesses Most of their life they prepared themselves for the afterlife because pharaohs were buried in pyramids and it took 20 years to build a pyramid so they prepared a lot for their life after death that is why they also wanted to be on the gods good side at all times. The main 2 elements of their religions were that they had priests who had great power and wealth in their temples. The other important element which they had, was ceremonies and rituals the most important one being favoring wished of the rising of the Nile River. The Egyptians had many, many temples because they had a temple and a priest for each god where a statue of the god or goddess was placed in the entrance for them to be worshipped. The Egyptians were known for their Gods because they had many just like the Greeks. But the Egyptians gods were different because they were human but with an animal head. They also worshipped natural elements such as the Nile River and some sacred animals: crocodile, cat and beetle.

Leaders
It was very important that the leaders were chosen carefully and with precision because he or she would have to lead Egypt and its people and that is a very important role. The new pharaoh was usually chosen before the pharaohs death usually by law or by the dying pharaohs choice. If the pharaoh chose then it would be the eldest son of his main wife.

Geography

Egypt, at the northeast corner of Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, is bordered on the west by Libya, on the south by the Sudan, and on the east by the Red Sea and Israel. It is nearly one and one-half times the size of Texas. Egypt is divided into two unequal, extremely arid regions by the landscape's dominant feature, the northward-flowing Nile River. The Nile starts 100 mi (161 km) south of the Mediterranean and fans out to a sea front of 155 mi between the cities of Alexandria and Port Said. (This is directly fromhttp://www.infoplease.com/country/egypt.html)

Culture/Education
Education is highly valued in Egypt and for children between the ages of six and fifteen education in Egypt is free and compulsory. There is still quite a high dropout rate unfortunately, due in part to levels of poverty, and adult literacy levels in Egypt are only around 57.7%. The

education system is divided into either the State System or the Azharite Religious System. Schools in the former system and private schools fall under the administration and supervision of the Ministry of Education and schools in the Azharite Religious System are supervised directly by the Egyptian Prime Minister. (This is directly from http://www.all-about-egypt.com/education-inegypt.html)

Economy
Major segments of Egypt's economy are controlled by the government. Most commercial and industrial companies are either state-owned or are run under government supervision. Only agricultural land and urban real estate are relatively free of government control. President Gamal Abdel Nasser instituted a centrally planned socialist economy. (This is directly from http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article200011/Egypt)

Bibliography
Britannica Kids. 2013. 13 October 2013. Education in Egypt. 2006. 13 October 2013. Egypt. 2000. 13 October 2013. How Was the King of Ancient Egypt Decided? 1999. 13 October 2013. ssoroa. Egyptian Religion. 23 April 2011. 13 October 2013.