Travel/Voyager/سافر/यात्रा करना: "Egypt was the gift of the Nile" Herodotus-Greek historian

The Nile River is the reason why the mighty ancient Egyptians produced one of the most complex, prodigious, interesting, and prolific civilizations in the world. The river provided silt, farming, water, travel, and trade opportunities for over five millennia. It's still providing these very same things for the Egyptians today.

Quick Nile Facts

The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It is about 6,650 km (4,130 miles) long. I'm not getting into the Amazon argument. The Nile is generally considered the longest river.
The Nile flows from the mountains in the south to the Mediterranean in the north.
Before the building of the Aswan Low & High Dams, the river flooded yearly bringing fertile soil to the farmers of ancient Egypt.

Before we left to the cruise we visited Giza (pyramids), Sakkaara (Step Pyramid), and Memphis (ancient capital). We flew from Cairo to Luxor/Thebes, which was the launching point for our cruise. We sailed on the Abercrombie & Kent Sun Boat IV. After seeing the sights we sailed to Qena, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and then Aswan. We then flew on a chartered plane to Abul Simbel for the grand temple of Ramses II. We then flew straight from Abul Simbel back to Cairo.

Life on the river is beautiful. It almost seems unspoiled. Farming is still a large part of rural Egypt, farming like their ancestors with donkeys and canals. Except now, the farmer rides his donkey wearing his galabeyya (traditional outfit of Egypt) while talking on his cell phone. Gotta love juxtaposition of ancient and modern. Though pollution and litter are obvious problems of the Nile, especially in the large cities, further south it's beautiful and serene.