Nile Valley

Originating in the equatorial high water mark of Lake Victoria, the Nile winds its way through Uganda and the Sudan, pouring into Lake Nasser and Egypt where its banks are home to all but a few of the country’s millions. By now the river has surely grown accustomed to the company. Ancient Egyptians likened their country to a lotus of which the Nile was the stem, the Delta the flower, and Fayyum the bud. Teeming cities, lonely necropoli, fertile fields, and desert sands all play significant parts in the drama of the river.

Traveling south from Cairo, it sometimes seems that the longest river in the world is flanked by the planet’s longest city. Hardly a meter passes without the appearance a building and a horde. Also lining the route are relics of ancient glory; pyramids,enipies, and roomy burial chambers can be found all along the river’s length.Upstream from Giza, Memphis, Saqqara, and Cairo, the Nile runs through Middle Sypt, where Minya and Mallawi cope with rapid expansion and where the Phaohs of the Middle Kingdom left their mark on Beni Hassan and Tel al-Amarna. Fur- er s°uth comes Assyut, Egypt’s third largest city, followed by the towering at the no less monumental Aswan dams, and finally,’gypt’s southern border, awesome Abu Simbel. From the first Pharaohs to the ern Egyptians, the country’s inhabitants and their conquerors have all left their mark on the mighty river. The dry desert sun preserves their efforts, bearing witness to their successes and failures.