The Nile: Travelling Downriver Through Egypt's Past and Present (Vintage Departures)
Language: English
Pages: 336
ISBN: 0804168903
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The Nile, like all of Egypt, is both timeless and ever-changing. In these pages, renowned Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson takes us on a journey downriver that is both history and travelogue. We begin at the First Nile Cataract, close to the modern city of Aswan. From there, Wilkinson guides us through the illustrious nation birthed by this great river.
We see Thebes, with its Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Luxor Temple. We visit the fertile Fayum, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and finally, the pulsing city of Cairo, where the Arab Spring erupted on the bridges over the water. Along the way, Wilkinson introduces us to the gods, pharaohs, and emperors who joined their fate to the Nile and gained immortality; and to the adventurers, archaeologists, and historians who have all fallen under its spell. Peerlessly erudite, vividly told, The Nile brings the course of this enduring river into stunning view.
documentation. The Egyptian Tourist Information Centres throughout the world have a booklet for yacht enthusiasts, entitled Egypt for Yachtsmen, giving entry information and maps. Spectator Football Football is the Egyptian national sport, and a national obsession . Important fixtures cause traffic jams as people dash home to watch the match, and the service in certain neighbourhood restaurants is noticeably slower. There is a strong national side, mostly made up of players from the two
independence, but was refused. This only hardened nationalist sentiment, leading to demonstrations in Cairo. Zaghlul and three other nationalists were exiled to Malta, provoking the successful uprising that Egyptians refer to as the Revolution of 1919 . Lord Allenby was appointed to address the situation; he recalled Zaghlul from exile and allowed him to go to Paris with other members of the Wafd, as his followers had come to be called (wafd means “delegation” in Arabic). Zaghlul attended the
way” is fervent, and doing anything “un-Egyptian” is frowned upon. By inclination, habit and training Egyptians are tactful and diplomatic, sometimes to the point of obsequiousness. Forms of address are complex and varied, as befits a highly stratified and religious society. This diversity underlines the cohesiveness of the society rather than its disparateness: Egyptians see all men as equals, but allot to each a specific status and with it a given role. Instant Prestige The ostentatious
Elephantine Island in 1941 in his Architecture for the Poor, he said: “It was a new world for me, a whole village of spacious, lovely, clean and harmonious houses each more beautiful than the next. There was nothing else like it in Egypt.” Fathy believed in adapting traditional materials, designs and techniques to create modern, attractive and economical solutions to housing the poor. Perfect setting Situated 132 metres (400ft) above sea level, 900km (560 miles) south of Cairo, Aswan is
river adopted their own particular favourites from lesser echelons. These creatures were given temples where, soothed by hymn-singing, they slithered or wriggled about with rings in their ears (if they had ears) and jewelled bracelets round their legs (if they had legs). At the end of their pampered lives they were put to rest in a private cemetery. Local loyalties could lead to conflict; war was declared between neighbouring towns and villages over the status of a particular beast. Sacred in