Egypt

Egypt is magical. There is something incomprehensibly beautiful about a country that is essentially a complete desert, save a tiny strip of green that borders it's pulmonary artery- the Nile. I have spent time on water ways around the world, the Colorado River, the Temps, the Ganges... but no river stole my heart like the Nile. I understand why this is one of the places where civilization thrived early and agriculture flourished. Flowing north from the monsoon season of Ethiopia, through drought stricken Sudan, and past the high dam at Aswan, the Nile brings life to the Egyptian Desert. The banks of the river rise high above the water, the rich brown soil profiles a testament to the famed silt deposits that have underpinned Egyptian success. I've never experienced water that smelled so alive, so full of potential energy as the water that flowed below the Aswan dam. Huge fish danced above the water top, camels and donkeys grazed the banks, and great egrets flew out of the pathway of our boat. It makes great sense that so many artists have attempted to immortalize the power and lure of the Nile. Juxtaposed with the desert, augmented by the tombs, and complemented by the pyramids, the Nile explains the unexplainable about Egypt. Ancient. Modern. Alive. Vital. Present. and Beautiful.