Special Sub-Topic: Once upon a time in Egypt Click Here To Play: Once upon a time in Egypt

Next to the river Nile, in the desert, there are tall buildings, shaped like triangles. What are they called?

Pyramids. Pyramids stand on the western bank of the Nile. They are made from huge blocks of stone. Although the theory is that kings were buried in them, no evidence of burials have been found, perhaps due to thieves.

Children sometimes had a household pet with fur and claws. This type of animal was also worshipped in Egyptian temples. What was it?

A cat. Cats were considered sacred to the goddess Bastet. When a cat died, all the people in the family mourned and gave the cat a proper burial.

A king ruled the country. What was the title he used?

Pharaoh. The Egyptian words 'per aa' that meant 'great house' were used as a title for the king. Tutankhamun was one of Egypt's pharaohs.

Gold was very valuable in Egypt. Many things were made of gold. What country was most of the gold mined in?

Nubia. Nubia was the name for the country south of Egypt. In the modern world it is called Sudan.

What did the Egyptians use to write on?

Papyrus. Papyrus was made from reeds that grew along the Nile. The reeds were cut into strips and pasted together to make a type of parchment (paper).

The heart was considered the most important organ in the body by the ancient Egyptians. What organ was mostly ignored when the dead were buried?

Brain. Ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the organ that thought and felt. The Egyptians did not think the brain was of any use, and so once it was removed from the body, it was often just left on the floor.

Most ancient Egyptians drank this beverage made of grain and dates. What was it?

Beer. Beer was drunk by everybody while wine was only available to the rich. The dates were used to sweeten the beer because the Egyptians did not have sugar.

A huge carved statue still stands guard over the tombs outside Cairo. What is it called?

Sphinx. Sphinx is a Greek term. The statue is carved from the bedrock close to the Giza pyramids. It has a human head and the body of a lion.

Every year something came to Egypt that made the people happy and allowed them to produce food. What was it?

Flood. When it rained in central Africa, the water flowed into the Nile and overflowed the banks in Egypt. The silt made the fields fertile so that farmers could plant crops.

When Egyptians died, the body was wrapped in linen and buried. What was the body then called?

Mummy. Mummy is an Arab word for the body that was dried out by natron and wrapped in linen. The Egyptians believed in a life after death and wanted to preserve their bodies for this.