Friday, April 27, 2012

River Nile - River of Life


                                                                  Sunset at the Nile

      This was taken in December 2009, at Luxor along the river Nile. You can see the felucca's (sailing boats) berthed by the riverside and a cruiseship moving Southwards. The picture is quite beautiful and many thousands of years ago, the Egyptians lived (like today) along the River Nile, thus creating many gods and beliefs for their existence.



Statues of Amenhotep III by the Nile 



The reason for this belief was that in the very old days (5000 years before Christ was born), there was no technology like irrigation, and water retention tanks and the like. So in summer, the Nile would oevrflow its banks after the rainy winter and spring, and the land would be full of minerals from the river and hence be fertile for growing crops and feeding their farm animals. So life in Egypt and lower Africa depended very much on the river Nile to give it fertility and hence Life. They would pray to their pagan gods for good weather the following season, and give animal sacrifices etc. Such were the practices of the day then.

Simple Concrete and Mud Houses flanking the Nile



    The Nile is still a great source of minerals and nowadays, Tourism. Many cruise ships ply the Nile taking tourists from the world over to places like Luxor, Kom Ombo, Philae, Aswan, and up north to Cairo and even Alexandria. It is certainly a river of great importance and prominence.





Cruise ship run by Movenpick group of companies (Switzerland) 


    I call it the River of Life.

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