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| Page Views: 2,852 Last Visit to Middle East: April, 2005 | Some Amazing Moments On / Along The Nile : EGYPT by coceng - last update: Aug 3, 2005 |
| View From The Top Of Cairo Tower, Cairo...At Night |
The Nile is the longest(*) river in the world for a distance of 4187 miles or about 6695 km.
The mouth is from The Mediterranean & flows through 3 countries :
Egypt
Sudan
Uganda
Some arguable facts even mention that The Nile flows through 9 countries, which ends in Ethiopea.
While the Nile River is often associated with Egypt, it actually touches Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan, as well as Egypt.
The word Nile was from The Greek who called it as Neilos which means 'valley'.
When The Nile floods Egyptian lands along its shores, it leaves behind a black sediment.
For this reason The Ancient Egyptian called The Nile 'Ar', means black.
The Nile allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations in this part of the world !
In Cairo, in the time that we live now, The Egyptian Government try to make The Nile in Cairo a fun place to glide through.
Boats & fellucas plowing the river; Restaurants floating on the water.
Walking along its corniche, we see people (alone or with their loved ones...) looking over The Nile for some kind of inspirations...
If money is permitting you, do take a cruise from cairo to Aswan or Luxor.
It could take days but if you want to feel how the ancient people feel like being on The Nile, this way of transportation is the best. In a way, Nile Cruises also stop at some points where the ancient temples can be visited from yuor cruise ships right to the entrance of these temples.
Otherwise, take the train as the photos below suggests.
* : It is still debatable whether The Nile is longer than The Amazon river... |
| The Nile From The Train... |
|  | The Nile can be seen clearly on the train journey from Cairo to Aswan, then Aswan to Luxor.
We pass by some fertile valley where the locals do their everyday chores, mostly in the plantation fields...
At least in Egypt, The Nile has been the source of livelihood since ancient times !
In a way, the floodings of The Nile (which is sandwiched between the desert on the east & west of the river) give the lands its fertility for the local people.
fertile lands can be seen if we take the routes along The Nile, particularly on the train to Aswan or Luxor. |
| View In Aswan, During Mid Day... |
| | In Aswan, the activities on The Nile is brisk.
Fellucas ride & boats glide through The Nile. Always remember that the fellucas rely on the wind to move, so if there's no wind the fellucas would be a slow ride.
There would be occasions where some engine boats would pull the fellucas to the shores.
Some fellucas could even be paddled which is a good experience if you need some exercises ! |
| The Ancient Nilometer On Elephantine Island... |
| | The Nilometer is a way to measure the increase of the water levels on The Nile since ancient time.
These measurements would be kept as records thorugh the ancient times...
In fact, there are many designs of The Nilometers.
The ones carved on the huge rocks are the most common or maybe the earliest ones.
There would be Nilometers, designed as steps from the surface of the water until the upper ground. |
| Felluca Ride During Sunset...Aswan |
| | Sunset on The Nile is beautiful !
fellucas are plentiful for this reason alone.
Just make sure you bring enough insect repellent to chase away the mosquitoes or other insects from your body. |
| Sunset On The Nile, Luxor... |
| | Another snapshot of the Nile on the sunset...; Most people would love the sights but careful with the mosquitoes !
Bring some repellents...
The Nile would be glowing gold occasionally during sunset; Just simply stunning ! |
| The Nile At Night, Luxor... |
| | The Nile at night is serene...
Lights reflect on the water; Fellucas docked on line along its shores.
Can we swim in The Nile ?
We could although I didn't see anybody doing it !
The water is not clean so I was told. |
| The Nile Overlooking Theban Valley... |
| | The Nile is also next to one of the ancient sites like Theban Necropolis in Luxor.
The Theban Necropolis site is situated on the mountains that you could see on the left photo.
In Theban Necropolis, we could find dry valleys containing beautifully-carved ancient tombs & some temples.
Not to mention The Collossi Of Memnon on the way to reach these valleys. |
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 Comments for coceng about Middle East | | | | |
JohnniOmani Sat Sep 22, 2007 02:13 UTC
Nice page but head to Oman and Yemen for off the beaten track ''true'' Arabia. Jordan/Egypt are touristy but these two will knock your socks off ;) Cheers from the Bahamas Jz | magor65 Thu Nov 24, 2005 12:07 UTC
Fantastic pictures, interesting tips; by the way - when are you going to complete them? Looking forward to it | Mairo21 Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:05 UTC
GORGEOUS! that is the first word that comes to mind , to describe the picture you took of the sunset on the nile. | freya_heaven Thu Jul 7, 2005 10:07 UTC
Great start Arnaud! Beautiful photos. I'll be back when your finished (~_~) |
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