The Nile River, usually just called the 'Nile', passed through the center of the culture. The northern part was known as Lower Egypt, and the southern part as Upper Egypt - a fact which has lead to some confusion among tourists. The Nile is understood as the longest river in the world, but recent researchers find that there is a chance that the Amazon River located in South America may be a short distance longer.

In fact there are three separate sections, or periods of time that Egyptian past can be divded up into. These are known as the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the Modern Kingdom. Each period has specific facts which are unique to it, and are best learned and studied on their own.

The kingdoms of ancient Egypt were under the leadership of the Pharaoh at the time, and in fact the ancient Egyptian individuals themselves held the strong belief that somehow their gods were responsible for choosing each Pharaoh, thus the people could rest soundly at sun down, knowing that all was under control. In fact, the government of ancient Egypt can be mentioned as the first national government in the world, and people referred to as viziers, who were officials assigned to the Pharaoh, also helped to rule.

The Egyptian culture, like the Sumerian culture, had a language and writing system of their own. A Papyrus plant was used to make paper - thus defining the origin of the word, paper!

Many people find the ancient civilizations, Egyptian in particular, to be profoundly mysterious as a result of the incredible massive monuments, most notably the Great Pyramid at Giza, very near to Cairo, that remain to this day.