"Egypt is the gift of the River Nile", said Herodotus, the great Greek historian, on his only visit to Egypt some 200 years ago.

The river Nile has been Egypt's lifeline for millions of years. It gives fertility to the narrow strip of land along its bank after each annual flood. It is now controlled by the High Dam at Aswan. Along its length Pharaohs, nobles and less important mortals have all built monuments and tombs to immortalize themselves. At the end of every year, they are eager to hear good news about the water level in the River Nile. In 1994 the volume of inlet water was considered high. In the High dam Lake(Lake Nasser), still water reached its highest level.

Since time immemorial, Egyptians have associated the River Nile with life, fertility and development. They have gained generosity, sincerity and loyalty from its flow, flood and purity and may be Dictatorship. Every day, its banks witness thousands of love stories, and families meet on its banks as the cheapest recreational park for the public. It provides them with hope and promises them happiness. It had always been a source of inspiration and creativity for all kinds of arts. Many songs are dedicated to the River Nile.

In the time of Alexander the Great, it was extended both Alexandria and Sesostris canals. The latter joins the River Nile and the Red Sea, and was later rebuilt by Amr Ibn El-cAs. Then In 1861, Mohammed Ali constructed barrages to substitute the basin irrigation system with a year-round system. Several waterways, such as El-Mahmoudia, El-Ibrahimia and El-Ismailia, were then dug.

In 1901 a new dam was built in Aswan, which was then elevated many times later until finally, Egyptians built the High Dam in Aswan. The High Dam was seen to symbolize the iron will and great steadfastness of the Egyptian people. It protected them against the Annual River Nile flood, saved the excess water to be used later at different times, and thereby spared them the sufferings of drought. Hundreds of feddans are now continuously irrigated instead of using the basin system, and more than a million feddans are now reclaimed. Moreover, electrical power is generated on daily basis.

NILE is the longest river in the world. It is extended From Lake Victoria in central Africa, flows generally through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, for a distance of 5584 km (3470 miles).

The source of the Nile is one of the upper branches of the Kagera river in Tanzania. The Kagera follows the boundary of Rwanda northward, turns along the boundary of Uganda, and drains into Lake Victoria. On leaving Lake Victoria at the site of the now-submerged Ripon Falls, the Nile rushes for 483 km (300 mi) between high rocky walls and over rapids and cataracts, at first NW and then W, until it enters Lake Albert.

The section between the two lakes is called the Victoria Nile. The river leaves the North end of Lake Albert as the Albert Nile, flows through North Uganda, and at the Sudan border becomes the Bahr al-Jabal(mountain sea). At its junction with the Bahr al-Ghazal(Gazelle sea), the river becomes the Bahr al-Abyad(white sea), or the White Nile. Various tributaries flow through the Bahr al-Ghazal district. At Khartoum the Blue Nile, or El Bahr al-Azrak joins the White Nile.

These are so named because of the color of the water. The Blue Nile, 1529 km (950 miles) long, gathers its volume mainly from Lake Tana, in the Ethiopian Highlands; it is known here as the Abbey.

From Khartoum the Nile flows NE; 322 km (200 miles) below that city, the Atabarah joins it. The black sediment brought down by this river settles in the Nile delta and makes it very fertile. During its course from the confluence of the Atabarah through the Nubian Desert, the river makes two deep bends. Below Khartoum navigation is rendered dangerous by cataracts, the first occurring North of Khartoum and the sixth near Aswan in Egypt.

The Nile enters the Mediterranean Sea by a delta that separates into the Rosetta and Damitta distributors. If you ever visit Egypt and drink water from the Nile even once, you must be sure to come back. Indeed Egyptians, as well as all their guests, believe in that.