The ancient Egyptians enjoyed many natural barriers.
There were deserts to the east and west of the Nile River, and mountains
to the south. This isolated the ancient Egyptians and allowed them to
develop a truly distinctive culture.
The Nile is the world's longest river. It is over
4000 miles long! It is shaped like the lotus flower so often seen in
ancient Egyptian art. Each spring, water would run off the mountains and
the Nile would flood. As the flood waters receded, black rich fertile soil
was left behind. The ancient Egyptian called this rich soil The Gift of
the Nile.
Fertile soil for crops was not the Nile's only gift.
The Nile gave the ancient Egyptians many gifts. Thanks to the Nile, these
ancient people had fresh water for drinking and bathing. The Nile
supported transportation and trade. It provided materials for building,
for making cloth for clothes, and even for making paper - made from the
wild papyrus weed, that grew along the shores of the Nile.
Because of the annual flooding of the Nile, the
ancient Egyptians enjoyed a high standard of living compared to other
ancient civilizations. Without the Nile, Egypt would be a desert.
