Land of Punt / copper / pomengranates

(1.) The mysterious Land of Punt is apparently modern-day Somalia and Ethiopa - you should learn this in almost any library book you are reading on Ancient Egypt. You will not find it on a modern map though - it is an ancient term for a land that the Egyptians considered "far away and mysterious" - that's why it was such a big deal when Queen Hatshepsut's trading expedition brought back all those "exotic" goods. You should find it labeled on a map of ancient Egypt in your ancient Egypt library books, but not in any modern sources. This is a great learning adventure for your kids - to locate a mysterious land of long ago that is no longer there.

(2.) I looked in my sources about Egypt, but since I am literally peeking out of the middle of a GIANT stack of books on Jamestown, the Pilgrims, and American Colonial Days - I don't have the sources on ancient Egypt that I want at my fingertips right now. But, apparently, ancient Egyptians both exported and imported copper (just like the USA both imports and exports
cars). If you had to choose, it would seem to me that they probably exported more copper than they imported. It is hard to know, too - sometimes the name is misleading - for example, perhaps they were talking about raw copper vs. finished copper and copper products, etc. There must have been adequate information in my notes regarding it being both - otherwise I would not have included it as both an export and an import, but if someone can prove me wrong and REALLY back that up with TONS of evidence - I will change it. This is another GREAT learning adventure - discuss which products the USA imports AND exports - there are a lot of examples!

(3.) The pomegranate seeds are the things that people usually eat. I think the white part that surrounds them is used to make juice, but We have never actually eaten it. It is a fruit that you would normally pick out the seeds in order to eat them instead of peeling it and then eating like an orange with the white part and everything. Julie - can you confirm this or let us know what the real story is on this? (Julie lived in Greece for a while and is a "pomegranate expert" - she also has 6 kids - four of which are kindergarten-age QUADRUPLETS!)

Dorian