The ancient Egyptian civilization is a great one, and you will be hard pressed to find someone to who will think otherwise. Ancient Egypt in modern terminology is situated in Africa, at the northwest area.
The Nile River, in most cases just called the 'Nile', passed through the center of the civilization. The northern part was known as Lower Egypt, and the southern part as Upper Egypt - a fact which has lead to some misunderstanding among tourists. The Nile is understood as the longest river in the world, but some researchers find that there is a chance that the Amazon River situated in South America may be a short distance longer.
Specifically 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 Central 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 rule 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 inhabitants could rest soundly at sun down, feeling that all was well. In fact, the government of ancient Egypt can be mentioned as the first national government in the world, and individuals referred to as viziers, who were officials assigned to the Pharaoh, also helped to rule.
The Egyptian people, like the Sumerian people, had a language and writing system of their own. A Papyrus leaf was used to make paper - thus defining the origin of the word, paper!
Many individuals find the ancient civilizations, Egyptian in particular, to be profoundly mysterious as a result of the spectacular massive monuments, most significantly the Great Pyramid at Giza, very close to Cairo, that are still in view to the present time.
