Five questions about Egypt – Quick Quiz answers

By Kay McMahon, 31 October 2012

We asked you five questions all about Egypt. Here are the answers!

1. In Egyptian cuisine, what are ful medames?
   Fava beans, cooked and mashed and served with a light Chianti olive oil, chopped parsley, garlic, onion and lemon juice. Very popular for breakfast, apparently.
2. How long did the British rule Egypt? 50, 70, 90, or 110 years?
   70 years. Technically owing allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan but in practice largely independent, Egypt’s rulers undertook several ambitious but ultimately ruinous modernisation projects in the late 1800s which left them increasingly indebted to Britain and France. When Egyptian army officers led an army revolt in 1882, British forces put the revolt down and established a de facto protectorate that effectively lasted until 1952, although Britain unilaterally declared Egypt an independent kingdom in 1922.
3. On which date each year do most Christians in Egypt celebrate Christmas Day?
   7 January. The overwhelming majority of Egyptian Christians (known as Copts) belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, reputed to have been founded by St Mark just a few years after Jesus’s crucifixion.
4. The Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramids are sited where in Egypt?
   Giza. Popular imagination has the Pyramids and the Sphinx rising mysteriously out of the desert sands, but modern photographs are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain that perception, as the megalopolis of Cairo spreads ever outwards.
5. What is Egyptian blue?
   It’s a pigment. But not just any pigment; it’s believed to be the first synthetic pigment, made of calcium copper silicate (CaO.CuO.4SiO₂). The Romans called it caeruleum, hence our phrase “cerulean blue” to describe that particular shade.

How did you get on? Why not let us know?