Feluccas on the Nile

The Nile is one of the longest rivers in the world, flowing about 6,650 kilometres north from East Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. Its floods and fertile banks made farming possible in the desert and supported ancient Egyptian civilisation for thousands of years; most Egyptians still live along the river and its delta.

At Aswan, in the far south of Egypt, the river reaches the First Cataract, where dark, wind-smoothed granite boulders and islands such as Elephantine break the current. Golden sand dunes of the Western Desert come down to the west bank, while palm groves line the islands and the east bank. Aswan granite was quarried for obelisks, statues and temples across Egypt.

Feluccas, traditional wooden sailing boats with a tall triangular lateen sail on a long sloping yard, have carried people and goods on the Nile for centuries. Today they are used mainly for fishing, ferrying and sightseeing trips, and the white sails crossing the river at Aswan are one of Egypt's best-known views.