Nile river, life of Egypt

Three rivers flowed into the Nile from the south and thus served as its sources: the Blue Nile, the White Nile and the Arbara. Within the southern section between Aswan and Khartoum, land which was called Nubia, the River passes through formations of hard igneous rock, resulting in a series of rapids, or cataracts, which form a natural boundary to the south. Between the first and second cataracts lay Lower Nubia, and between the second and sixth cataracts lay upper Nubia.

Along most of its length through Egypt, the Nile has scoured a deep, wide gorge in the desert plateau. At Aswan North of the first cataract the Nile is deeper and its surface smoother. Downstream from Aswan the Nile flows northerly to Armant before taking a sharp bend, called the Qena. From Armant to Hu, the River extends about 180 kilometers and divides the narrow southern valley from the wider northern valley.

Southern Egypt, thus being upstream, is called Upper Egypt, and northern Egypt, being downstream and the Delta, is called Lower Egypt. In addition to the Valley and the Delta, the Nile also divided Egypt into the Eastern and Western Deserts.

The Delta represented 63 percent of the inhabited area of Egypt, extending about 200 kilometers from south to north and roughly 400 kilometers from east to west. While today the Nile flows through the Delta in only two principal branches, the Damietta and the Rosetta, in ancient times there were three principal channels, known as the water of Pre, the water of Ptah and the water of Amun. In classical orGraeco-Roman times, these were called the Pelusiac, the Sebennytic, and the Canopic branches. There were additionally subsidiary branches or artificially cut channels.

The most dominant features of the Delta as the sandy mounds of clay and silt that appear as islands rising 1-12 meters above the surrounding area. Since these mounds would not be submerged by the inundation, they were ideal sites for Predynastic and Early Dynastic settlements, and indeed evidence of human habitation have been found. Perhaps these mounds rising above the water table inspired the ancient belief of creation as having begun on a mound of earth that emerged from the primordial waters of Nun (Pyramid Text 600).

The River filled all areas of life with symbolism. In religion, for example, the creator sun-god Ra (Re) was believed to be ferried across the sky daily in a boat (compare that to the Greeks and Romans whose non-creator sun-god rode across the sky in a chariot driven by fiery horses, and Hymns to Hapy (Hapi), the deity personifying the Nile, praise his bounty and offerings were left to him, and the creation myths, as mentioned earlier, revolve around the primordial mound rising from the floodwaters surrounding it; in ritual where Nile creatures such as the hippopotamus, whose shape the goddess Tawaret took, or the crocodile, called Sobek, or Heket (Heqet), the frog, deities deemed powerful in the processes of childbirth and fertility, were revered, in writing, where floral signs such as the lotus and papyrus figured prominently, in architecture, where the very structure of temples emulated the mounds of the Nile and its waves, from the bottom to the top of capital columns and the trim on walls, and in travel, where models of boats have been found dating from the fifth millennium BCE.

The god Hapy was earlier mentioned as being the personification of the floods and ensuing fertility. Two Hymns to the Nile, one probably composed in the Middle Kingdom, the second written later in the Ramesside period, praise Hapy and the river for its renewed life for Egypt.

"Hail to you Hapy, Sprung from earth, Come to nourish Egypt…Food provider, bounty maker, Who creates all that is good!…Conqueror of the Two Lands, He fills the stores, Makes bulge the barns, Gives bounty to the poor." (from the Middle Kingdom hymn as translated by Lichtheim)

From the earliest times, the waters of the Nile, swollen by monsoon rains in Ethiopia, flooded over the surrounding valley every year between June and September of the modern calendar. A nilometer was used to measure the height of the Nile in ancient times. It usually consisted of a series of steps against which the increasing height of the Inundation, as well as the general level of the river, could be measured. Records of the maximum height were kept. Surviving nilometers exist connected with the temples at Philae, on the Nubian Egyptian border, Edfu, Esna, Kom Ombo, and Dendera, as well as the best-known nilometer on the island of Elephantine at Aswan.

The ancient Egyptian calendar, made up of twelve months of 30 days each, was divided into three seasons, based upon the cycles of the Nile. The three seasons were: akhet, Inundation, peret, the growing season, and shemu, the drought or harvest season. During the season of the Inundation, layers of fertile soil were annually deposited on the flood-plain. Chemical analysis has shown how fertile the Nile mud is. It contains about 0.1 percent of combined nitrogen, 0.2 percent of phosphorus anhydrides and 0.6 percent of potassium.

Since most of the Egyptian people worked as farmers, when the Nile was at its highest and they could not plant, they were drafted by corvee into labor projects such as building Pyramids, repairing temples and other monuments and working on the king’s tomb.

EGYPT NILE CRUISES

First of all, it is very nice to unpack once and have your hotel travel with you, rather than the hectic routine that accompanies the stop and go itineraries of air and land tours. But besides the more relaxed mode of travel, there are other significant advantages. Nile cruises often visit a wider variety of antiquities along the banks of the River. But equally important, they also allow the tourist to gain a prospective of rural Egypt, where people live much the same way they did even thousands of years ago, in mudbrick homes, tending their fields with wooden plows and moving produce via donkey. It is a wonderful experience to sit on a shaded deck of a floating hotel, sipping an iced beverage while watching 5,000 years of culture slowly drift by.

The usual cruise is aboard a Nile cruiser, often referred to as a floating hotel. Indeed, the better boats have most of the accommodations of a land based hotel, including small swimming pools, hot tubs, exercise rooms, discos, good restaurants, stores and even small libraries. Depending on what one is willing to pay, rooms may be very utilitarian and small, or larger than some land based hotel rooms. Some boats even have suites available. Boats will always have private baths, air conditioning, and TVs, and it is common for there to be movies each night. Floating hotels also offer various entertainment. Many of the boats have dance areas with a disco or even live entertainment, and most offer a variety of nightly shows. These might include cocktail parties, Nubian shows, belly dancers and whirling dervish, plays and even "costume" parties where guests don traditional apparel. Like land hotels, meals onboard most Nile cruisers are usually buffet style and include hot and cold food along with a variety of international and local cuisine. Most boats have good modern water filtration, which is fine for showering, but it is still recommended to drink bottled water, which the boat will have aboard.

The ultimate time for a Nile cruise is between October and mid April, when the weather is fairly cool, making a visit to Upper Egypt quite pleasant. However, most cruise boats operate all year.

Finally, pricing, as with land hotels will also have a large range, based on both the boat and the accommodations. Expect decent boats to range in price between about $55.00 USD to almost $300.00 USD per person per night in a double room, with seasonal increases of between 25% to 50% during Christmas and Easter.

Rakaposhi mountain

Rakaposhi is one of the fascinating peaks that dominates the Gilgit valley and adds special color to its otherwise rugged beauty. Rakaposhi, is one of the most magnificent peak found in the world today. It is situated near the town of Gilgit and with a height of 7,788m/25,551ft it is easily climbable from all sides. The peak dominates the horizon and is constantly visible from the Karakoram Highway. It looks so beautiful that the first-ever glance at it inspires charm and lures an onlooker to be in its abode. Accessing the peak is quite easy, which only adds to its attraction. 

The peak is surrounded by famous glaciers/valleys like Barpu, Biro, Bagrot and Pisan. In 1892, a large expedition of W.M. Conway, a British traveler and mountaineer explored the Barpu valley. The party also explored the nearby Bagrot valley. For visiting the valley, Conway had to travel from Srinagar to Gilgit over Burzil pass. This was then, the only identified and permissible route for entry to the area. It was in the summer of 1938, that M. Vivian, probably a Dutch national and R. Campbell, a British national carried out, for the first time, a reconnaissance of the mountain. They entered if from Jaglot nullah and inspected its south and north ridges. In mid July they reached the north-western peak of the mountain (about 6,858m/22,500ft) through the north ridge. They were of the opinion that although it was long, the route could take a strong party to the top. In 1946, R.C.F. Schomberg, a British national, visited Gilgit and Bagrot nullah. He describes in minutest details the topography etc. of the area.

Rakaposhi was first climbed in 1958 by Mike Banks and Tom Patey, members of a British-Pakistani expedition, via the Southwest Spur/Ridge route. Both of them suffered minor frostbite during the ascent. Another climber slipped and fell on the descent and died during the night.

Rakaposhi is notable for its exceptional rise over local terrain. On the north, it rises 5,800 metres (19,029 ft) in only an 11.5 km (7.1 mi) horizontal distance from the Hunza River. There are magnificent views of Rakaposhi from the Karakoram Highway on the route through Hunza. A tourist spot in the town of Ghulmat (located in the Nagar Valley) called "Zero Point of Rakaposhi" is the closest convenient view point of the mountain.

In 1954, six climbers and five scientists of a German-Austrian expedition, and two Pakistanis, Captain Shah Khan and Daud Beg, examined Bagrot and Dainyor valleys for possible approach to Rakaposhi. Like Conway, they found that the approach was completely blocked by a sheer ice-wall. They were of the opinion that the peak could not be climbed through these valleys. Reconnaissance from Jaglot also proved futile. Also in 1954, members of Cambridge University Karakoram expedition went to Rakaposhi. Two members of the expedition, George Band and Dr. Alfred Tissieres, climbed a smafi peak (6,005m/19,700ft) on the north-west ridge before abandoning it as a possible route. The party then tried the south-west spur which connects with the south-west ridge at the Monk's Head. Base camp was set-up at Kunti glacier. The party went up to 6,340m/20,800ft but bad weather and shortage of time forced it to return to the base camp. Major-General M. Hayauddin of the Pakistan Army also accompanied this expedition.

In 1958, a British-Pakistan forces expedition tried its luck on Rakaposhi. It was led by Captain Michael E.B. Banks and included veteran Captain Shah Khan of Gilgit Scouts (who later became a Group Captain in the Pakistan Air Force) and Captain Raja Muhammad Aslam of the Punjab Regiment (Pakistan Army). Group Captain Shah Khan, a member of the royal family of Hunza, had always dreamt of climbing Rakaposhi. 

Fortunately, his son, Major Sher Khan of Pakistan Army accomplished this feat. (Major Sher Khan, an ace-climber in the footsteps of his father, was awarded the President of Pakistan Medal for Pride of Performance for his exploits on K2 and other big Pakistani mountains). The party attempted the peak through the Monk's Head. Due to severe cold, it used additional "down-filled-clothing and 136 vapour-barrier boots". The leader, Captain Bank, and Lieutenant T.W. Paiey of the Royal Navy, climbed the peak. Banks had frost-bitten feet while Patey had frost-bitten hands. The party did not use oxygen. Just nearby is Rakaposhi (East) peak with a height of 7,290m/23,917ft. 

Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that all the walls measure 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi).This is made up of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 mi) sections of actual wall, 359.7 km (223.5 mi) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

History

In 221 BC, the Emperor Qin absorbed the other six states and set up the first unified kingdom in Chinese history. In order to strengthen his newly born authority and defend the Huns in the north, he ordered connecting the walls once built by the other states as well as adding some sections of his own. Thus was formed the long Qin's Great Wall which started from the east of today's Liaoning Province and ended at Lintao, Gansu Province.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns became more powerful. The Han court started to build more walls on a larger scale in order to consolidate the frontier. In the west, the wall along the Hexi corridor, Yumenguan Pass, and Yangguan Pass was built. In the north, Yanmenguan Pass and Niangziguan Pass in Shanxi were set up. Many more sections of the wall extended to Yinshan Mountain and half of the ancient Silk Road was along the Han's wall.

The Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties all built their own sections but on a smaller scale than the walls in the Han Dynasty. The powerful Tang Dynasty saw peace between the northern tribes and central China most of the time, so few Great Wall sections were built in this period.

The Ming Dynasty is the peak of wall building in Chinese history. The Ming suffered a lot by disturbances from minority tribes such as the Dadan, Tufan and Nuzhen. The Ming court from its first emperor to the last ceaselessly built walls in the north. The main line started from Jiuliancheng near the Yalu River in the east to the Jiayuguan Pass in the west and measured over 4,600 miles. Besides adding many more miles of its own, the Ming emperors ordered enlargement of the walls of previous dynasties into double-line or multi-line walls. For example, out of Yanmenguan Pass were added three big stone walls and 23 small stone walls. Eleven Garrisons were distributed along the main line of the wall. The countless walls, fortresses, and watch towers made the country strongly fortified. In the early Qing Dynasty, some sections of the walls were repaired and several sections were extended. This great engineering work stopped in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. 

Visible from MOON also!!!!

The wall is visible from the mon also, believe it or not!! The earliest known reference to this myth appears in a letter written in 1754 by the English antiquary William Stukeley. Stukeley wrote about Hadrian's Wall that, "This mighty wall of four score miles in length is only exceeded by the Chinese wall, which makes a considerable figure upon the terrestrial globe, and may be discerned at the moon."

The Great Wall is a maximum 9.1m (30 ft) wide and is about the same color as the soil surrounding it. Based on the optics of resolving power (distance versus the width of the iris: a few millimetres for the human eye, metres for large telescopes) an object of reasonable contrast to its surroundings some 70 miles in diameter (1 arc-minute) would be visible to the unaided eye from the moon, whose average distance from Earth is 384,393 km (238,857 miles). The Great Wall is of course not a disc but more like a thread—it can be seen from much further than would be possible if it were simply a 30 foot disc. Still, the apparent width of the Great Wall from the moon is the same as that of a human hair viewed from 2 miles away. To see the wall from the moon would require spatial resolution 17,000 times better than normal (20/20) vision. Not surprisingly, no lunar astronaut has ever claimed seeing the Great Wall from the moon.

Incidentially, if one could have seen the Great Wall from the moon, one ought to be able to see most of the roads in the world as well, given that they in total length far surpasses that of the great wall, and commonly are even wider. This is again not the case.

Travelling time

Summer is the best time for travelling the great wall. Summer comes, the booming flowers and colored leaves cover the mountains. The Great Wall snakes its way like a silver necklace. What a nice sight!

When fall comes, the mountains are blanketed by colors, creating an amazing view and the weather during this time is pleasant. This season could be the best season to visit.

The mountains and the wall itself are covered with snow in winter, offering an awesome snowy scene. The weather in this time of the year will be frozenly cold and tourists are fewer. It is the best time to get the whole view of the wall.