If the Egyptians were so clever, how come Lower Egypt is in the north and upper Egypt is in the south?

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Just Me

hope all the answers above showed what a dumb and stupid person u r !!

sminthian1980

Because they were going by which way the river goes, not North and South.

Ismaily Rules

Because Egypt had an earth-quake which rolled it upside down.
That's why if I jump from the window, I will fly into space without stopping.

mk1

the nile river flowed from south to north and they thought that where it started was the top and where it ended was at the bottom

Dr. Mazzy

dumb question obvious answer lol :D

Jellicoe

The concept of north being at the top of the map is a relatively recent one.

laughter_every_day

first, the histrical divisions existed before the custom of printing maps wih north at the top. Second, the term refers to the flow of the nile, with the mediteranean being downstream and the source being upstream.

moridin187

Uh, because it's not a matter of north and south, it's a matter of relative land elevation.

mad_oak

Its based on the direction the Nile flows. If you are from the U.S., you are just used to most of our major rivers flowing North to South, hence your confusion.

mesho f

because south land altitude is more than north land altitude.
it is a geographical issue

shoestring_louise

Because the Nile runs from South to North, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea.

http://www.mbarron.net/Nile/fctfl_nf.html

ReDWiNe

Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north on modern maps, the terminology derives from the flow of the Nile from the highlands of East Africa (upstream) to the Mediterranean Sea (downstream).

Best of Luck

demha

I guess that you by now know that the Egyptians were, are, will be clever, not just were. SO, before the N and the S were put as directions, Egyptians used the Nile as guidance, where it begins is the upper and where it ends is the lower.

Balsam

Lower and upper Egypt is reffering to the level of the ground.

Mr T

if you notice it is in english , It was us clever sods who named it because we came in from England through from the mediteranian, we could not afford to come in from the sudan like the ancients did, and in their days it was not called upper and lower, not even in roman times . look what we did to Laundiniam, you don't know, uh!! cant spell that lets call it London.

Alex N

Not sure but the Nile flows the opposite way to normal rivers - it flows inland rather than out to the Mediterranean. So that may be why upper and lower are the wrong way round

sabrina

becuase going up river south i.e. against the current is upper egypt up river.
and going down river with the current North is down river lower.

they did not think of the world in terms of north and south, to them the nile was everything.... still is really

renoir

Clever question ! But it wasn't the Egyptians who named it. I believe, but I am not certain, that thet were named after the lower and upper Nile which was charted by Burton and Speke on behalf of the Royal Society in the Victorian era. As I said I am just guessing and I expect someone will correct me if I'm wrong -but keep thinking.

ahmos

FALLING ! HELP !

Butt

Your not Egyptian.No explanation needed.

Sahar

there are no "if"s, ancient egyptians were clever. if you fail to see that, you are beyond saving :) i think they between all people knew directions ... :)

arethusa_lad

I agree, OK they built the pyramids but look at the shape, they are only heaps with a fancy name............

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