:07:01
and heads north
:07:02
through Uganda-and
the Blue Nile
:07:04
which descends from the
highlands of Ethiopia.
:07:07
They meet in the
desert of Sudan,
:07:09
forming the main trunk
of the Nile.
:07:12
By the time it drains
into the Mediterranean Sea
:07:15
its waters have j ourneyed
more than 4,000 miles.
:07:44
To the outside world
:07:46
the source of the great river
:07:47
was an enduring mystery.
:07:50
But to the ancient Egyptians,
:07:51
the source was clear:
:07:53
the Nile flowed
from the realm of the gods.
:07:57
But what has the Nile
:07:58
to do with mummies and curses?
:08:00
Everything.
:08:01
There would be no mummies,
:08:03
no ancient Egypt-in fact,
:08:05
no Egypt at all without her.
:08:10
You see,
:08:11
Egypt without the Nile
is a desert...
:08:13
suitable for
camels and scorpions,
:08:15
but not great civilizations.
:08:18
It's only here along the
flood plain of the Nile
:08:22
that the desert's heat
is softened...
:08:24
and arid sand is turned
to rich farmland.
:08:29
Nourished and irrigated
by the Nile,
:08:31
Egypt became the longest
:08:33
Iived of all the
great early civilizations.
:08:39
In ancient times,
:08:40
so much water raced down
:08:42
from the lush valleys
of Central Africa
:08:44
that the Nile overflowed
its banks in seasonal floods.
:08:53
Mineral-rich silt was carried
:08:55
toward the desert of Egypt
from lands upstream,
:08:58
where wildlife flourished.