Everest is 8848 metres above sea level. It doesnt matter how high it is relative to the ground it rises from.
Of course it matters. It only stands out in human consciousness because it is an absolute; humans are obsessed with "highest", "fastest", "biggest", and we use sea level as a universal datum. Its only "the highest mountain in the world" because it sticks out a tiny bit more from a range of generally high terrain. Its only 200 metres taller than its best mate, K2. I live at sea level and I can see a 900 metre mountain (Skiddaw) from my living room window, 30 km away, and its really not that impressive (though pretty to look at).
Everest is 8 km high and 700 km from the sea. Why would you notice it from space? Your seeming obsession with something that small demonstrates that human brains simply can't relate these tiny dimension to the sheer awesomeness of the size of Earth.
And can I comment on the "map of Africa" thing? Yes, one is a direct dopy of the other; the map is directly copied from the actual shape of Africa. People have been sailing around it for millennia, trekking across it for centuries, and flying over it for decades, so I think we had a pretty good idea what shape it was before we ever saw it from space. And most of the correspondents on this site don't just base their idea of the shape of Earth on "rectangular drawings on school room walls"; we've travelled enough to see them in reality and found that, yes, this map works.