The Nile river

The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world. The river got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which means valley. The Nile floods the lands in Egypt, leaving behind black sediment. That's why the ancient Egyptians named the river Ar, meaning black.

Old of the Nile

Researchers believe that the Nile originated 30 million years ago in the mid-Tertiary Period. Its headstream was probably the Atbara River. The river basin continued to evolve and now has seven major regions:

• Lake Plateau of East Africa
• Al-Jabal
• White Nile
• Blue Nile
• Atbara
• United Nile -north of Khartoum in The Sudan and Egypt
• Nile delta

The Nile River is speculated to be THE longest river in the world, so no wonder you would want to know just how long it really is. The Nile River is 6695 kilometers (or 4184 miles) long with the Amazon river coming in as a close 2nd at nearly 6,400 kilometers (or 4,000 miles) long.

Egypt is the Gift of the Nile

If it were not the flooding of the Nile great Egyptian valley would be a sterile desert .this why Herodotus's statement that Egypt is the gift of the Nile  continues to be as true today as when be said it .in ancient Egyptian document of the XIXth dynasty we find the following Hymn to the Nile -Hail, Oh Nile, glittering river which brings life to the whole of Egypt . mysterious and hidden,you nourish the orchards and give life to the beasts..

You bring forth the barley and the wheat,you spread joy in the temples..

You fill the granaries of the two provinces and you prepare subsist for the poor..

When your fingers are still both the high and the lowly mourn..

but when your banks overflow the earth rejoices and Misraim trembles with joy..

Prosper,Oh Nile, let man live by his herds live by the pastures..

Fulfill the wishes of all, and may your waters roll tirelessly on..

For ever and ever

 Nile-God

The Nile god Hapy, from a statue of Ramesses II in the temple of Luxor  ©The Nile, so fundamental to the country's well-being, did not play a very prominent part in the religious life of Egypt. The Egyptians took their world largely for granted and praised the gods for its good features. There was no name for the Nile, which was simply the 'river' (the word 'Nile' is not ancient Egyptian). The bringer of water and fertility was not the river but its inundation, called 'Hapy', who became a god. Hapy was an image of abundance, but he was not a major god.

Kings and local potentates likened themselves to Hapy in their provision for their subjects, and hymns to Hapy dwell on the inundation's bountiful nature, but they do not relate him to other gods, so that he stands a little apart. He was not depicted as a normal god but as a fat figure bringing water and the products of abundance to the gods. He had no temple, but was worshipped at the start of the inundation with sacrifices and hymns at Gebel el-Silsila, where the hills meet the river, north of Aswan.The major god most closely connected with the Nile was Osiris  ©The major god most closely connected with the Nile was Osiris. In myth Osiris was a king of Egypt who was killed by his brother Seth on the river bank and cast into it in a coffin. His corpse was cut into pieces. Later, his sister and widow Isis succeeded in reassembling his body and reviving it to conceive a posthumous son, Horus.Osiris, however, did not return to this world but became king of the underworld. His death and revival were linked to the land's fertility. In a festival celebrated during the inundation, damp mud figures of Osiris were planted with barley, whose germination stood for the revival both of the god and of the land.

the source of the River Nile

Lake Victoria, Africa's biggest lake, is generally thought of as the source of the River Nile. On the northern edge of the lake, water pours over a waterfall, known as Ripon Falls, into a narrow opening which some people believe is the beginning of the River Nile.

The true source of the River Nile

Ripon Falls may be the starting-point of the river, but the many streams that flow into Lake Victoria could claim to be the true source.

Much of Lake Victoria is surrounded by mountains with streams tumbling down into the lake. The largest tributary of Lake Victoria is the Kagera river. The Kagera and its tributary the Ruvubu, with its headwaters in Burundi, is now considered to be the true source of the Nile. It is from here that the Nile is measured as the world's longest river.

There are two main rivers that flow into the River Nile

 The River Nile is formed from the White Nile, which originates at Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile, which originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. These rivers meet in Sudan and then go on their long journey northwards towards the sea.

The White Nile is a lot bigger than the Blue Nile, but because of losses along the way the it only contributes about 15% to the flow of the combined Nile. The Blue Nile, rising in Ethiopia, contributes about 85% to the flow of the Nile that passes through Egypt to the Mediterranean.

The United Nile is north of Khartoum and has two distinct parts. One part is 830 miles long and flows through a desert region. Irrigation takes place along this stretch. The second part involves Lake Nasser (2,600 sq. miles, the world's second largest man-made lake). Here the water is held back by Egypt's Aswan Dam. It is about 500 miles from the dam to Cairo. As the river runs its course through this area it averages 10 to 14 miles in width, with scarps that rise to heights of 1,500 feet above the river's level. About 200 miles from Cairo the river flows and hugs the eastern edge of the valley's floor. This has resulted in more cultivated land along the left bank of the Nile.

Another stretch of the Nile flows northward below Khartoum. A series of cataracts occur leading towards Lake Nasser. For the 800 miles that the river flows through this portion it changes from gentle sections to a series of rapids. It is the crystalline rocks that have caused five of the famous cataracts in the river making portions of it unnavigable.

Finally, the Nile delta was formed. It is composed of the silt carried by the river from the Ethiopian Plateau. This silt is 50 to 75 feet deep and has created Africa's most fertile soil. A 100 mile plain was formed and extends north and south along the Nile delta. As the land reaches the Mediterranean Sea in the north, lakes and salt marshes occur.

the Ancient Egyptians were live near the River Nile

Most Egyptians lived near the Nile as it provided water, food, transportation and excellent soil for growing food.

the Nile River was important to the Ancient Egyptians

Ancient Egypt could not have existed without the river Nile. Since rainfall is almost non-existent in Egypt, the floods provided the only source of moisture to sustain crops.

Every year, heavy summer rain in the Ethiopian highlands, sent a torrent of water that overflowed the banks of the Nile. When the floods went down it left thick rich mud (black silt) which was excellent soil to plant seeds in after it had been ploughed.

The ancient Egyptians could grow crops only in the mud left behind when the Nile flooded. So they all had fields all along the River Nile.

Ancient Egyptian Farming

The pharaoh got the rich peasants to do the farm work on the rich lands

Most villagers were farmers. Farmers lived in towns too, along with craftworkers, traders and other workers and their families.

What crops did the Egyptian Farmers grow?

Egyptians grew crops such as wheat, barley, vegetables, figs, melons, pomegranates and vines. They also grew flax which was made into linen.

The most important crop was grain. The ancient Egyptians used grain to make bread, porridge and beer. Grain was the first crop they grew after (flooding season). Once the grain was harvested, they grew vegetables such as onions, leeks, cabbages, beans, cucumbers and lettuce.

Farmers planted fruit trees and vines along paths, to give shade as well as fruit.

Where did the farmers grow their crops?

The Egyptians grew their crops along the banks of the River Nile on the rich black soil, or kemet which was left behind after the yearly floods. The fertile soil was ideal to grow healthy crops.

How many seasons were there in Ancient Egypt?

Egyptian farmers divided their year into three seasons, based on the cycles of the Nile River:

Akhet - the inundation (June-September): The Flooding Season. 
No farming was done at this time, as all the fields were flooded. Instead, many farmers worked for the pharaoh (king), building pyramids or temples. Some of the time was spent mending their tools and looking after animals.

Peret (October-February): The Growing Season. 
In October the floodwaters receded, leaving behind a layer of rich, black soil. This fertile soil was then ploughed and seeded.

Shemu (March-May): The Harvesting Season. 
The fully grown crops had to be cut down (harvested) and removed before the Nile flooded again. It was also the time to repair the canals ready for the next flood.

What were the two main farming?

The main farming seasons were the:

• growing season
• harvest season.

In the growing season all the crops were planted. The harvest season was the time when crops were cut and gathered.

How was the corn harvested?

Reapers cut the ripe corn with wooden sickles edged with sharp flints. Women and children followed behind the reapers to collect any fallen ears of corn. Cattle were used to trampled over the cut corn to remove the grain from the ears. Then the grain was tossed into the air so the breeze blew the light useless chaff.

What was the flooding season in Ancient Egypt?

Every June, the Nile flooded. This was known as the flooding season. During this time the farmers would mend tools or make new ones. People would go fishing for food or extra money.

What farming tools did they have in Ancient Egypt?

Ancient Egyptians had simple farming tools such as winnowing scoops, hoes, rakes, flint-bladed sickles and ploughs.

away.

They had both hand ploughs and ones pulled by oxen. The ploughs were used to turn the soil.

Another piece of equipment used by farmers was the Shaduf. See further down the page.

The majority of the tools were made entirely out of wood, or a combination of wood and stone, however, some copper tools have also been found, indiscating that they had some metal tools too.

How did the Egyptian Farmers water their crops?

 Once the floods receded and the fields dried, the plants would wither and die. The mud that the Nile left behind needed lots of watering in the hot sun. The ancient Egyptians tried to trap as much flood water as possible, so they did not have to constantly get water from the river.

They built mud-brick reservoirs to trap and hold the water. They also had a network of irrigation canals that filled with water during the flood and were refilled from the reservoirs.

How did they lift water from canals on to the land?

To lift the water from the canal they used a shaduf. A shaduf is a large pole balanced on a crossbeam, a rope and bucket on one end and a heavy counter weight at the other. By pulling the rope it lowered the bucket into the canal. The farmer then raised the bucket of water by pulling down on the weight. He then swung the pole around and emptied the bucket onto the field.

What animals did the Egyptian farmers have?

Animals were very important to Egyptian farmers. Animals helped them with jobs like trampling in the seeds, pulling the plough, eating unwanted grain or wheat and providing the Egyptians with food and drink. They kept animals such as cattle, goats, pigs, ducks, cows, and geese.
Where the Nile flows

 

The River Nile flows in the Mediterranean see at the Ras El-bar city head of the mainland province of Damietta, where it is noted that the waters of the Nile River and the Mediterranean do not mix, a miracle of history in addition to wonderful natural scenery, a convergence of both.

Of course water received from the Nile to  Mediterranean Sea  a few because Egyptians are dealing with the waters of the Nile as a mechanism appropriate to their needs and that the Nile water is life or death for them throughout history and we can say that whether Egypt was the Nile.

…………………………………………….

The Nile river

Hail, Oh Nile, glittering river which brings life to the whole of Egypt. mysterious and hidden,you nourish the orchards and give life to the beasts..

You bring forth the barley and the wheat,you spread joy in the temples..

You fill the granaries of the two provinces and you prepare subsist for the poor..

When your fingers are still both the high and the lowly mourn..

but when your banks overflow the earth rejoices and Misraim trembles with joy..

Prosper,Oh Nile, let man live by his herds live by the pastures..

Fulfill the wishes of all, and may your waters roll tirelessly on..

For ever and ever……….