Where is the first threshold of the Nile on the map? Rapids of the Nile River: historical background
Aswan is an amazing place where the sand dunes of the Sahara (or rather the Western Desert, which is part of it) come close to the banks of the Nile, which makes the mighty river with flowering islands look like complete surrealism. I observed something similar in Uzbekistan, on the banks of the Amu Darya in the Urgench region, there the river also makes its way through the desert, but the desert itself is not nearly as picturesque as in Egypt and instead of colorful dunes there is a dull steppe with thorns. I read statistics somewhere that only a twentieth of the tourists visiting Luxor, which is only 250 kilometers to the north, reach Aswan. Wild, unfounded injustice! Aswan, with its river, islands and picturesque desert, is beautiful, and the many historical, geographical and hydraulic “interests” are simply off the charts. It is no coincidence that Aswan was the vacation spot of such famous people as the Russian Tsar Nicholas II (yes, the same one who was shot in Yekaterinburg in 1918), Winston Churchill, Princess Noor, Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Carter and the British writer - author of books about Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie. By the way, they all lived in the Old Catatact Hotel in the southern part of Aswan, and the hotel itself was founded by Sir Thomas Cook, the founder of the travel company of the same name, which today is one of the largest in the world and also includes the Thomas Cook airlines of the same name.
And in general, do you know that Aswan is inhabited mainly by Negro Nubians, and not Arabs at all?
We flew to Aswan on Egypt Air from Cairo, and that day was more than eventful: we sailed along the Nile Delta on a ship of the Egyptian river shipping company. This is a walk for the whole day, taking into account a visit to the huge Kunatiri dam and all sorts of interesting places there, about which there are separate reports: and. Then we were in the air for an hour and a half and landed at the Aswan airport, located 25 km south of the city, next to the Aswan Dam.
The decline in tourism in Egypt is a great blessing for the independent tourist! If in 2009 I lived in Aswan in some very modest hotel without air conditioning and hot water for 25 dollars and was happy, now we settled in the four-star "Pyramisa Isis Corniche Resort" for 40-something dollars for a double room with breakfast. And the coolest thing is - right on the banks of the Nile. Actually, the hotel is visible below, light brown roofs on the right -
The first thing, in my opinion, you should do upon arrival in Aswan is to climb onto the roof of one of the buildings on the embankment. Just to look around and take wonderful panoramic photos -
Steamboats at the pier, waiting for tourists and gradually deteriorating and rusting. In the old days, before the start of a series of revolutions, these ships plied between Luxor and Aswan, calling at Edfu and Kom Obmo to see the temples of the era of ancient Egypt. However, ships have not sailed directly for several years now, because in Esna there is a dam halfway along the route, so you can sail either from Aswan to Esna, or from Luxor to Esna. Previously, the water level was higher, but now ships simply cannot pass through the lock. By the way, naive tourists in Hurghada were fooled by this, selling them cruises under the loud names “Cruise from Luxor to Aswan to the treasury of the pharaohs!” In fact, they sailed south from Luxor about 100 kilometers, covered this route in about four hours and moored near the dam in Esna and then took tourists by bus 140 kilometers to Aswan. This is “romance”, in quotes. And here they are -
A view of the five-star "Pyramisa Isis Island Aswan" and it would be good for everyone, but it is located on an island in the middle of the river and you can only get out of there by boat. The boat is free, runs once every half hour from 8 am to 8 pm, but if you want to leave earlier and return later, it’s an ambush, you will have to negotiate with the boatmen and pay money. Actually, my hotel looks directly at its twin brother on the island (the tower and buildings are nearby), this can be clearly seen in the photo below. It was the difficulties with crossing to the hotel that became the reason that we chose the one on land -
And now I’ll turn the camera and show a slightly less picturesque panorama of Aswan, namely residential areas away from the embankment -
You move a few hundred meters away from the Nile and find yourself in ordinary, poor and dusty Egypt. But! I would like to emphasize that Aswan is much, much cleaner and tidier than any other Egyptian city. Still, the predominantly Nubian (black) population has an effect, which is significantly cleaner than the descendants of the Arabian nomads, in the sense of the Arabs.
About 10 km south of Aswan there is a pier from which boats depart to the island of Philae, where beautiful temple era of the pharaohs. I will not retell the history of this place, all the information is on Google, but I will add that before the construction of the Aswan Dam there were no islands here. The expanse of water you see is not the Nile at all, but a reservoir sandwiched between two dams. The water level rose, flooded large areas, and thus the temples ended up on “islands.” We'll talk about this in more detail a little further.
A visit to the island of Philae with its temples costs 60 pounds ($1 = 7.15) for tourists, which is 30 times higher than the price for Egyptians, who pay only 2 pounds. But you can bypass these draconian rules only by using an ISIC student card, which will give you a 50% discount and then you will overpay “only” 15 times. But that is not all! You buy a ticket and go to the pier, where you find out that you have to pay separately for a boat to the island. The swim does not take long, 10 minutes at most, but this is where full-fledged money scams await you.
Citizens who read Arabic will read at the checkout that renting a boat for 10 passengers costs 60 pounds, that is, 6 pounds round trip per person. On the way back, the same boat will take you back. Of course, the boatmen are trying to deceive tourists. These cunning guys come to you and offer to sail for only 50, 30, 20 dollars, citing prices in dollars. Simply put, prices are 50-100 times more expensive. We immediately explained that we were sailing for 6 pounds in both directions, they furiously argued that there were no such prices; and after poking at the price tag they said that this price is for Egyptians, and supposedly higher for tourists. Nonsense! After half an hour of arguing, no decision was reached. They refused to put us on a shared boat for £6 per person (with Egyptian groups arriving, boarding and leaving), and we refused to pay them the inflated price. I soon realized that there was nothing more to talk about with them and that I should move on to action. We waited for the next group and quickly jumped into the boat with this group. The boatmen rushed in a crowd to yell at us, saying, get out of there, otherwise the boat won’t float. No problem, we answered, we can easily sit on the boat, since you don’t want to sail to Philae Island because of us. And then other tourists (Egyptians) rebelled and they were on our side. After a short squabble, the boatmen caved in and we set sail -
We sail to the island of Philae -
As I already said, you can find a lot of information about the temple on the Internet. I will just add that the return journey to Aswan was also not easy, because contrary to all the rules, angry boatmen suddenly demanded money for returning towards Aswan. A new, albeit brief, altercation ensued, during which, for lack of a choice, we nevertheless overpaid them a little. In theory, a round trip costs 6 pounds, but we gave them 10. I know, these are ridiculous pennies, at an exchange rate of 7.15 pounds to the dollar. But it’s a matter of principle, and there was no desire to continue the showdown over the equivalent of about 10-12 rubles.
Meanwhile, in absolute numbers, the scale of the deception is really off the charts, because at a price of 6 pounds, initially demanding 50 dollars (420 pounds) is not even fucked up, but a bitch. I believe that most tourists, after bargaining, sail away for 50-60 pounds, which is ten times more expensive than the official price, and at the same time they think that they have reduced the price to normal. I can imagine what idiots the Egyptians associated with the tourism industry think we are.
A little further south, shortly after Philae Island and 25 kilometers south of the center of Aswan, the famous Aswan Dam is located, built with the help of the USSR and put into operation on November 15, 1971. Moreover, gala event occurred with the participation of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and the Soviet "Persek" Podgorny. The dam is 3,600 meters long and 111 meters high and is the largest of any dam in Africa. By the way, the most high The dam in Africa is located in the tiny kingdom of Lesotho, about which I have a separate report "".
And there are actually two Aswan dams, do you know? The first dam was built by the British back in 1902, it is still functioning today, but it is just a dam, without a hydroelectric power station. You can see the English dam halfway to Aswan, and in addition, its photo will be further in this article. The Soviet dam is here -
12 generators generate about 2 GW of electricity, which provides almost a quarter of Egypt's electricity needs. And earlier, when the dam was just launched, it provided up to half of all electricity -
The monument in the form of a flower symbolizes Soviet-Egyptian friendship; this is a hefty structure built right next to the dam -
You can go upstairs by elevator, but the ticket costs 40 pounds per person (not counting the 30 pounds already paid for the fact of visiting the Aswan Dam) and we were greedy -
Nowadays, Egyptians no longer feel particularly delighted when reminded that, in fact, the Russians built this dam for you. Polite Egyptians will nod, saying, yes, they know. And those who are not polite will just say that we don’t need your dam and have brought nothing but troubles. And they will be right! The point is this:
1. Firstly, the carelessly constructed Aswan Dam led to a sharp rise in water levels higher up the Nile and the formation of a huge lake, later called “Lake Nasser”. This lake flooded fifty Nubian villages, leaving at least 100 thousand Egyptians without housing, agricultural land and livelihoods.
2. Secondly, every year the Nile brought hundreds of thousands of tons of fertile silt from central Africa, thanks to which the Nile Delta actually blossomed and was called the “granary” of Egypt. Now the silt and sand brought by the river accumulate in Lake Nasser and do not reach the densely populated areas of the country. Because of this, desertification and erosion of fertile soils from Aswan to Alexandria began.
3. Accumulating silt and sand must be constantly raked out, otherwise the dam will not withstand the load. Imagine what it means to shovel hundreds of thousands of tons of sand and silt every year. The accumulating silt leads to swamping of Lake Nasser and rampant malaria there, which affects the local population.
4. Over the past ten years, several dams and hydroelectric power stations have been built on the Nile in Sudan and Ethiopia, from which barely half of the previous flow reaches Egypt. They write that if 40 years ago only 12 turbines worked, now three turbines can cope with the flow, and electricity generation has become less.
In a word, the Aswan Dam became too “expensive” a gift for Egypt and today they are already talking about it openly.
The road back to Aswan -
And this is the old, “English” Aswan Dam, which, according to the Egyptians, would be quite sufficient. It regulated the release of water and prevented floods without causing damage environment and did not interfere with the silt and sand moving downstream -
Islands on the Nile -
On the way we stopped at some Nubian village. There, tourists are shown several crocodiles caught in the Nile (upstream, of course, since a crocodile cannot pass through the Aswan Dam and its turbines, except in the form of minced meat) -
Interesting dwellings of the Nubians -
And mind you, it’s poor, but absolutely clean -
Nubians love to paint their houses -
I was amused by the cross on the kissing kids, it’s worthless, debauchery -
But we will return to Aswan, I will tell you scary story called "Death in the Desert". Agatha Christie, while living in Aswan, wrote the novel “Death on the Nile,” but here you will die in the desert. Thriller:)
River Nile flowing through Egypt and Sudan, it passes through twenty rapids (cataracts), six of which are large. The first is in the Aswan region (Egypt), the rest are in Sudan.
The river is formed from two sources: the Blue and White Nile, the sources of which begin in Sudan.
The abundance of rain in the equatorial zone of the upper Nile fills Lake Tana with water, and from a mountain height of almost 2700 meters the Blue Nile rushes north along the rapids.
From the swamps on the western side, the White Nile collects rainwater and silt and flows into the Blue Nile.
On the first threshold (counting from the north) two dams were built: the upper simple dam was created at the beginning of the 20th century to partially contain water during floods, the second was made not only to regulate the water level in the Nile River, but also the generation of electric current by generators.
In front of the city of Wadi Haita there is a second threshold formed by the flow of water Nila in a 40-meter canyon with a length of only twenty kilometers to the first rapids in the area of the city of Aswan, the river flows through a rocky, lifeless desert.
Subsequently, the dam was built to hold back the Nile water from 20 to 35 meters. Culverts are built into the base of the dam.
The construction of the Aswan hydroelectric power station ended in 1970; the height of the dam was 110 meters, length 3600 meters, width 980 meters.
Due to the siltation of Lake Nasser, there is a gradual rise in water, the excess of which was decided to be diverted to western regions, and the Toshka Canal was built. As a result, several freshwater lakes formed in the western region of the Sahara Desert.
The third threshold is replete with piles of stones and stone placers at a distance of almost 200 kilometers and is located in the area of the village of Tombos (modern Sudan), the fourth threshold is located in the Dar-el-Manazir desert, flooded during the construction of the Meroe dam in beginning of XXI century.
The Sennar Dam near the city of Khartoum in Sudan holds a volume of water of one billion cubic meters. The first dam in Aswan, built by the British in 1902, could hold exactly the same amount. Below the city of Khartoum there is a sixth threshold, here the Nile is squeezed into a narrow gorge (shabluk trench) tens of meters wide and 15 kilometers long. After the sixth cataract, the water of the Nile River rushes through the Nubian Desert to the fifth cataract in ancient Egypt. The fifth rapid, 12 kilometers long, is located at the confluence of the Atbar River, the last tributary of the Nile. The largest rapid is the fifth, its length reaches almost 100 kilometers between rocks and gorges.
In ancient times, all the rapids were practically impassable; bypass canals had to be built to transport marble and stone, blanks of statues and columns from the Aswan region. Many transportations along the Nile were not completed; the weak hulls of ships and boats could not withstand the long-term loads of multi-ton stone structures and ended up at the bottom of the Nile River at a depth of 5-7 meters.
It was impossible to lift the valuable cargo; as a result of modern dives, a large number of artifacts were discovered in the Nile bed.
In an interesting way, the Nile flows almost parallel to the Red Sea and flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
The Red Sea and the Persian Gulf are cracks in the ground from the movement of continental plates, besides, once upon a time fresh rivers from the subtropics, Nubian and Dar-el Manazir (Nubia) deserts flowed into the bed of the already deep Nile, washing sand and soil to a basaltic base .
With such an abundance of sand, siltation of the Nile bottom occurs only in the delta. Over millions of years, all the silt covered the swampy plain with many channels and fertile lands.
Similar deltas are formed by the Volga, Selenga, and Amazon rivers.
In the Nile Delta, additional dams and canals were made to redistribute the flow of water for irrigation and to raise water, protecting it from the salty waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
During floods, irrigation occurs due to the free flow of water to the fields through canals. Water is raised to irrigate fields shaduf - special pumps.
Libya - Egypt, 1982-2014
Threshold coordinates:
- 1st threshold passes within the boundaries of Aswan ( ). The original position of the 1st cataract was chosen for the construction of the Aswan High Dam.
- 2nd threshold was located in the north of Sudan, on the border of Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia; in our time, in its place is the Nasser Reservoir, formed as a result of the construction of the Aswan Dam ( )
- 3rd threshold located near the town of Tombos (English)Russian, Nubia ( )
- 4th threshold(the most difficult to pass in ancient times) was located in the Dar al-Manazir desert (English)Russian. Flooded by construction of the Meroe Dam (English)Russian at the end of 2008. ( )
- 5th threshold located in the area where the Wadi Al-Khumar flows into the Nile ( )
- 6th threshold located in the area of the city of Abu Dom ( ). Here the river flow is hampered by the rocks of the Gebel-Rauviyana ridge, which divert the flow to the east. The river reaches the rifts, passing through the 15-kilometer Shabluka canyon (with ar.- “gutter”).
Geology
The second, third and fourth rapids are located on the territory of the Nubian Rise - a hilly area where the Nile bends strongly, repeatedly changing the direction of its flow. Here the river flows through the crystalline basement rocks of the Sahara-Arabian Plate. The region is characterized seismic activity.
Illustrations
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An excerpt characterizing the Rapids of the Nile
– But you really made me happy! – I sincerely objected. - It's just because of them...– Will you come again soon? I miss you... It’s so uninteresting to walk alone... It’s good for grandma - she’s alive and can go wherever she wants, even to see you....
I felt wildly sorry for this wonderful, kindest girl...
“And you come whenever you want, only when I’m alone, then no one can disturb us,” I sincerely suggested. “And I’ll come to you soon, as soon as the holidays are over.” Just wait.
Stella smiled joyfully, and once again “decorated” the room with crazy flowers and butterflies, she disappeared... And without her, I immediately felt empty, as if she had taken with her a piece of the joy that filled this wonderful evening... I looked at my grandmother, looking for support, but she was talking very enthusiastically about something with her guest and did not pay any attention to me. Everything seemed to fall into place again, and everything was fine again, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Stella, about how lonely she is, and how unfair our Fate is sometimes for some reason... So, I promised myself as soon as possible to return to my faithful girlfriend, I again completely “returned” to my “living” friends, and only dad, who had been watching me very carefully the whole evening, looked at me with surprised eyes, as if trying hard to understand where and what was so serious He once “missed the mark” with me so offensively...
When the guests had already begun to go home, the “seeing” boy suddenly began to cry... When I asked him what happened, he pouted and said offendedly:
- Where are the nine?.. And the bowl? And there are no grandmothers...
Mom just smiled tensely in response, and quickly took her second son, who did not want to say goodbye to us, and went home...
I was very upset and very happy at the same time!.. This was the first time I met another baby who had a similar gift... And I promised myself not to calm down until I managed to convince this “unfair” and unhappy mother how her baby was truly a huge miracle... He, like each of us, should have had the right to free choice, and his mother had no right to take this away from him... In any case, until he himself will begin to understand something.
I looked up and saw dad, who was standing leaning on the door frame, and all this time he was watching me with great interest. Dad came up and, affectionately hugging me by the shoulders, said quietly:
- Well, let's go, you can tell me why you fought so ardently here...
And immediately my soul felt very light and calm. Finally, he will find out everything and I will never have to hide anything from him again! He was my best friend, who, unfortunately, did not even know half the truth about what my life really was... It was dishonest and it was unfair... And I only now realized how strange it all was this is the time to hide my “second” life from dad just because it seemed to mom that dad wouldn’t understand... I had to give him such a chance even earlier and now I was very glad that I could do it at least now...
Subject: "Five Rapids of the Nile"
(game - a journey through "Ancient Egypt" for a test lesson)
Goals: - consolidate the material studied on the topic “Ancient Egypt”;
check the level of assimilation of the studied material;
promote the development of cognitive interest in the subject.
promote the formation of support skills and mutual assistance.
Type: general repetition lesson.
Form: lesson is a game..
Equipment: map "Ancient Egypt",
Game tasks on separate sheets of paper, rolled into a scroll,
Game chip-ship (4 pcs.), chips-shells (4 pcs.).
Description of the game.
Game participants young scribes traveling along the Nile on behalf of the pharaoh.
Traveling along the Nile is full of dangers and obstacles. On their way, players must overcome five Nile rapids.
This is only possible when completing tasks that are “waiting” on the thresholds. Done correctly - continue on your way. If you made mistakes, seek help from the presenter and find the correct answer. But, each mistake is marked with a shell chip that is attached to your boat. Upon arrival in Memphis final goal travel - you will need to clear the ship of them (complete additional tasks). Only after this can you go to report to the pharaoh. A scribe who successfully completes the tasks of the pharaoh receives the honorary title “Honored Scribe of Ancient Egypt” (score “5”) or “Senior Scribe of Ancient Egypt” (score “4”), a student who receives a score of “3” receives evidence that his knowledge corresponds to the title "Scribe".
If one of the students finds it difficult to answer a question, another participant can answer instead. At will, the responder can help a friend overcome the threshold or keep a point for himself to clear the ship of shells at the last stage of the game.
Travel route:
from the sources of the Nile to the city of Memphis, with stops at all rapids.
GAME DESCRIPTION.
The scribe receives an assignment from the pharaoh.
" We, the Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, command the scribe to make a voyage from the sources of the Nile to our capital Memphis. And present us with a report on the state of affairs in the country: how they live, what the people of Egypt do, how they increase our wealth.”
From the sources of the Nile to the first cataract
(task to start the journey)
a) - show how the borders of Egypt changed, describe them (In the 3rd millennium BC and in the middle
2 millennium BC)
b) - Show the directions of the campaigns of Pharaoh Thutmose III , tell us for what purpose he committed
These trips.
c) - show on the map of Giza. What is this city famous for?
d) - show on the map the capitals of Northern Egypt, Southern Egypt, United Egypt.
II. Torn papyrus (5th threshold)
the Egyptians were engaged in agriculture, they were very successful thanks to natural conditions, such as ... (text break). But there are many factors that interfere with these tasks... (text break).
the armies of the pharaohs were conquered in Africa - rich in gold ... (break of text), in Asia - rich in deposits of copper ore .... (break of text) peninsula and countries: .... (break of text), .... (break of text), .... (break text).
U Egyptian warriors spearheads, hatchets and blades were made from......(text break). This is the name of an alloy of two metals: ...... (break of text), ...... (break of text).
The Egyptians believed in different gods. The Sun God was highly respected... (text break). The Egyptians also believed that after death they continued to live in ..... (text break).
III . Life and activities of the Egyptians (4th threshold)
The glorious waters of the Nile carry your ship to the 4th cataract. Here the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt are waiting for you with a request: tell us about our life and activities.
What were the main occupations of the ancient Egyptians?
What crops did they grow?
Why did the Egyptians build canals?
What did the Egyptians eat?
IV. In the country of big Hapi. (3 threshold)
To overcome the 3rd threshold, you need to solve the chain word
Device for lifting water.
Ruler in ancient Egypt.
A subordinate of the pharaoh, forcing slaves to work on the construction of pyramids, dams and digging canals.
Water drainage structure.
Large water herbaceous plant, the leaves of which were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt.
Evil god of the desert.
Egyptian pharaoh who waged a long war in Asia (around 1500 BC)
A master who creates three-dimensional images from clay, bone, wood, and metal.
Sun God in Ancient Egypt.
The art of counting.
A scientist who studies the movement of celestial bodies.
Capital of united Egypt (circa 3000 BC).
A huge statue of a lion with a human head, carved into the rock.
Wind blowing from the desert.
Sign of ancient Egyptian writing.
16. New capital of Egypt (from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC)
V. Who could say that? (2nd threshold)
To overcome the 2nd threshold you need to answer questions. Remember the stories about the gods. Who could say such words about themselves? For what reason?
Out of envy, my brother nailed me into a coffin and lowered me into the waters of the Nile. But my faithful wife looked for me and found me. I have been resurrected, but I no longer want to return to people, I remain in the kingdom of the dead. Let my son rule in my kingdom. __________________________________________________________________
I hid him, I hid him out of fear, so that he would not be killed. I called the inhabitants of the swamps. For them to help me. One wise woman told me: “Do not be discouraged and do not be afraid! Your child is inaccessible to his enemy: the thickets are impenetrable, death does not enter through them!” _______________________
Envy and anger torment me. The one I envy is handsome, kind, and commands thousands of people. They all curse and hate me. To seize power in the country, I will do anything, even murder. ________________________________________________________________________
My name is Amamat, which means “Devourer.” Those of you who have not done evil and have not been the cause of others’ tears do not need to be afraid of my sharp teeth. But woe to envious people, liars and thieves! Sooner or later we will meet them._____________________________________________
Text with errors. (1 threshold)
The player is offered a “papyrus” with errors that need to be found (underlined) and corrected.
Ancient Egypt.
A long time ago, about 7 thousand years ago, the state of Egypt was formed in the valley of the Euphrates River.
It is located in coastal Australia. The main occupation of the ancient Egyptians was hunting kangaroos. They also built pyramids for their sheikhs. The rulers of Egypt very often staged military raids on neighboring peoples. This enriched the pharaoh and his warrior-priests.
The Sinai Peninsula, famous for its purebred cattle, was captured, and Nubia, a supplier of iron ore. At this time, the borders of Egypt were reduced, it extended from the first cataract to the Nile Delta.
The Egyptians believed in different gods. The god Set, the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, enjoyed great respect; the sun god Anubis was revered. The dead were buried in beautiful coffins called "chests". Everyone, both rich and poor, was buried in the desert sands along the banks of the Nile.
Ship cleaning tasks:
Who found it easier to master literacy: a boy in ancient Egypt or a Russian schoolchild? Explain why you think so?
What and with what did the students of Egyptian schools write?
An ancient Egyptian text says: “Woe to the farmer! He is tied up, his wife and children are tied up.” What is it about?
Now it's time for the scribe to go to the Pharaoh's palace.
The player completes the last task: reports to the pharaoh on his achievements
Ancient Egyptians.
Summarizing:Depending on the knowledge demonstrated, players are given a certificate of rank.