Nile Valley And Its People, The (1962)

the rains fall on the red Earth of East Africa each year unfailing and regular pools gather into streams streams Cascade down the mountains the world's longest river is Born the ancient n begins since the Pharaohs built the pyramids 5,000 years ago perhaps no River has influenced the course of history for so long as Egypt's River the Nile the ancient Egyptians marveled at its unceasing flow and worshiped it as a God but it was only a 100 years ago that the source of the mighty Nile was discovered in central Africa from Lake Toria the river flows north Ward over raps and Falls until it encounters the first of a series of dams which provide hydroelectric power and regulate the flow of the river for 40 million people people whose lives depend upon these Waters from Lake Victoria the river flows north through Uganda the Republic of Sudan and Egypt finally merging with the Waters of the Mediterranean draining 1/10th of the continent of Africa what is it like this 4,000m Valley of the Nile the Story begins in Uganda in the jungle and Bush the hills and green fields that make up this Rich Little Country in the heart of Africa home of the baganda Boro and many other tribes who live mostly by raising cotton coffee and tea for most of uganda's people life is still primitive but in schools and universities more and more are now learning the skills of the modern world a world which for centuries they knew little of the city of Cala is the capital from Modern government buildings the people of Uganda themselves now administer the Affairs of their newly independent nation of 2 million most of whom are Christians from Uganda the Nile continues on northward entering the Republic of Sudan the Sudan is about a quarter of the size of the United States but with a population of only 10 million people geographically it is divided between the desert of the North and the Savannah lands and swamps of the South the swamp land of the southern Sudan is the home of many kinds of African game though there are several different tribes in the South who live along the Nile the Dinka are perhaps the most important most dink are herdsmen who live by raising cattle as we determine wealth in dollars the Dinka measure theirs in cows other Dinka live much of their lives in Dugout canoes in the swamps by the river fishing is their main occupation the fish are driven down narrow channels and speared though most Dinka still still live as they have for centuries great changes are coming also to the southern saddan many Dinka children now attend school for the first time where they learn to read and write speak English and prepare for a less primitive kind of life in the towns Juba on the Nile is the main town and Market Center of the southern Sudan at Juba the Nile begins to have real importance as a Waterway Stern wheelers provide the principal means of transportation to areas further north not many miles from Juba the stern wheelers encounter a huge area of swamps known as the sud for hundreds of square miles an endless Melancholy sea of Papyrus Reeds stretches as far as the eye Can See the s is probably the largest and most impenetrable swamp in the world the White Nile as the river is called here loses 50% of its water from evapor ation beneath the burning Tropical Sun when the Nile finally bursts through the S it flows through the parched desert lands of the northern Sudan until it reaches carum the capital of the Sudan which lies about halfway between the source of the Nile and the Sea though cartoon's people come from a variety of Sudanese tribes they speak Arabic as their common language and practice the Muslim religion the Sudanese still remember the days when their country was ruled jointly by Britain and Egypt when their presidential Palace was occupied by a British governor general the continued friendship of the Sudan with the Western world has helped give this country security and stability unequaled among other new nations in Africa agriculture is the basis of the Sudanese economy dependent almost completely on the Nile because in much of the country There is almost no rainfall dams spanning the Nile hold back vast quantities of water and from Lakes created by these dams irrigation canals lead off into a network of waterways stretching across millions of Acres of fertile land cotton is the main crop Sudanese cotton among the finest in the world is grown mostly on huge government controlled plantations watered by the White Nile near carum the Waters of the White Nile weak and dissipated Now by seepage and evaporation are replenished by another great river which joins it the Blue Nile which for a few months each year comes down in a torrent from the mountains of Ethiopia bringing with it 70% of all the water that flows north into the land of Egypt 95% of Egypt is arid desert the only habitable part being a narrow strip of fertile land along the banks of the Nile it is on this strip only a few miles wide that Egypt's 24 million people fight out the daily battle for survival the fertility of Egypt a land with almost no rain depends entirely on water drawn from the Nile by a variety of means farming is also the basis of Egypt's economy as in the Sudan cotton is the most important crop sugar is also grown there are Orchards of figs grapes peaches and other fruits many farmers keep pigeons both to eat and as a source of fertilizer CFR is typical of many Egyptian Villages The Peasants live in flat roofed houses built of mud and straw women and girls are seldom seen outside the house farmwork is left entirely to the men and boys a clover-like crop called Bim is grown for fodder as there is little land for grazing along this narrow dense populated strip domestic animals are kept tethered near the house and their feed brought to them since ancient times the task of raising water to irrigate their fields as preoccupied Egyptians and today irrigation is still the key to life dams like those in Uganda and the Sudan restrain the Nile from rushing to waste in the Mediterranean in southern Egypt work progresses on a vast new dam that will ultimately dwarf all others on the Nile the Aswan High Dam built by Russian engineers and machinery and costing $1,200 million the high D will bring under cultivation 2 million Acres of now useless land and provide new farms for 5 million peasants power from The High Dam will meet the increasing demand for electricity among Egypt's expanding Industries blast furnaces worked night and day pouring forth tons of molten Steel which symbolize Egypt's Industrial Revolution typical Industries include chemical factories producing fertilizers for Egyptian Farms textile mills annually turn out miles of cloth from homegrown cotton most industry is centered around Cairo on the Nile Cairo the largest city in Africa the capital of Egypt the Undisputed heart of the Arab world long a British protectorate Egypt gradually gained full Independence and today people are preoccupied with the use of this new Independence the rising power of the Arab nations of Africa and the Middle East the national Revolution sweeping Egypt Beyond Cairo the Nile fans out into a series of channels leading to the Sea this is the Delta of the Nile an extremely fertile region which feeds over half of all the people of Egypt at last the long journey to the sea is nearly over as the riv River empties into the Mediterranean 5,000 years ago one of the first civilizations on Earth grew up along the banks of the Nile in Egypt and for 5,000 years the people of the Nile Valley have depended on this River for their very lives today the river known to the Pharaohs as the Lord of all Rivers remains as it has for 50 centuries the master of their destinies