The Nile flows through Egypt, it is the main source of Egypt’s water supply. The Nile flows all year round and provides life; it fertilises the soil and provides irrigation to its people.
Egypt has played a huge role in the rise of civilisation, and the Nile has influenced the history of humanity, it is one of the few rivers with the potential to sustain us for millennia, not just for a few centuries.
Ancient Egyptians would not have existed without the ability to build its ancient cities, such as the Pyramids and the Great Pyramid of Giza, which would have been almost impossible in a desert.
The flow of the Nile was the only source of water for ancient Egypt and its people. Although the Nile provides an abundance of water, its importance to the people was not taken for granted.
The Nile is not only a source of water, but is important for linking all parts of Egypt and its neighbours. It is the second largest river in Africa, after the Red Nile in South Africa and the third largest in North Africa. The Nile is bordered by the White Nile, which begins in Equatorial East Africa, the Blue Nile begins in Ethiopia and then the Black Nile.
The largest Egyptian city is located in the part of the Nile Valley north of Aswan. The majority of the population live together within the banks of the river on the southern Nile Valley.
Egypt is dominated by a combination of a lack of rainfall and desert conditions, cities thrived in desert oases because people had access to water from the Nile. The fertile oases and rich agriculture offered people a life that would have been possible without the Nile.
The Egyptian empire was short-lived, but it was the first of its kind in the history of the world. Egypt had little rainfall, and the production of grain and other agricultural products such as wheat, barley, and barley was limited to a few small farms.
Egypt’s history cannot be separated from its geography, the historical importance of the Nile has to do with its role as an important source of water for food production, agriculture and civilisation. The Greek historian Herodotus told Egypt the Nile was a gift from god, because the kingdom owed its survival to the resulting deposits of mud from the volcanic topsoil in the Upper Nile Valley. The Nile washed the rich volcanic soil into the land downstream.
The Nile also provided Egypt with a way of trading and being the source of its harvest, it made for light work.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, controlling the source of the Nile became an important colonial goal, not only because Egypt’s control was key to Asian prosperity, but also because Egypt depended on the Nile for food and water.
The Nile, known as the father of life and mother of all people, was the centre of life in ancient Egypt. The saying All Egypt is one Nile is true. The Nile is worshipped as the god of Egypt and was glorified by the ancient Egyptians.
Although it hardly rains in Egypt, the seasonal rainfall causes the Nile to burst its banks, leaving a layer of fertile mud on adjacent fields.
At the time of the Pharaohs, the Egyptians were concerned that an upstream dam would choke the Nile, as a result, they took measures to on all countries in the Nile basin to prevent such activity, this included creating conflict with other countries sharing the Nile water.
As mentioned, the Nile is an important source of water for all countries of the world, especially Egypt, and there is no doubt that it occupies a central place in the life of Egypt and the Egyptians. Egypt is one of the oldest civilisations to have developed agriculture and irrigation.
The Nile crosses about 1600 kilometres in Egypt and flows through the deserts of Egypt and Sudan, then into the Mediterranean. The main river, the White Nile, flows into Khartoum, Sudan, and from there the river flows north through the desert into Egypt. In the north it stretches over the length of Egypt and then flows south to the Red Sea, where it merges with the Blue Nile.
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