1 00:00:03,350 --> 00:00:08,800 I'm going on a series of astonishing adventures... 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:09,960 Wow! 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,000 It's absolutely stunning. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,600 ..travelling along three of the mightiest rivers on the planet. 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,160 These rivers have given rise to some of the world's greatest civilizations. 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,840 For centuries, we've worshipped their life-giving waters... 7 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,800 ..and feared their awesome, destructive powers. 8 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,880 Current is a killer! 9 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,360 On these epic journeys, I'll meet some extraordinary characters... 10 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,480 HE SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE 11 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,520 ..and experience the very different cultures, 12 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,480 religions and countries that have 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,840 In this episode, I'll be travelling along the world's longest river, 14 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,000 the Nile. 15 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,720 Two great tributaries form this mighty river, the White Nile 16 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,160 running north from Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile that springs from the 17 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,800 highlands of Ethiopia, where I'll begin my journey from source to sea. 18 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:23,640 The Nile flows through the arid landscapes of Sudan and Egypt. 19 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:25,680 It's a site that makes you bite your lip. 20 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,360 The life-giving river is one of the cradles of humanity. 21 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:33,520 These are some of the greatest treasures of human civilization. 22 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,680 But with populations along the river banks rising, 23 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,360 an ever-greater strain is being placed on the river, 24 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,160 threatening the stability of the entire region. 25 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,600 This is one of the greatest potential flash points in the world. 26 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,680 With the people and countries along the Nile arguing over how 27 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,600 they can use this great river, I want to know who really owns 28 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:56,080 these sacred waters. 29 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,960 My journey began in the central highlands of Ethiopia. 30 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,480 I was heading for what many Ethiopians say is 31 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:13,640 the source of the Blue Nile. 32 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:18,720 Few rivers have captured the imagination quite like the Nile. 33 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,960 For thousands of years, the source of the Nile was a secret 34 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,440 known only to the people who lived beside it. 35 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,880 Explorers sought it out, venturing deep into the heart of Africa. 36 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,320 Many of them never returned. 37 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,560 But here, it's just a stream. 38 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,240 But eventually the Blue Nile will widen - 39 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,400 it will become a river in its own right. 40 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:44,720 It will join up with the White Nile 41 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,960 and together they will form the all-powerful Nile river. 42 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,440 I grant you, though - it's not very impressive at this point. 43 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,240 I think actually here, 44 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:56,720 I might even be able to jump that. 45 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,320 I've jumped the Nile! 46 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,280 HE LAUGHS 47 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,120 Ah! 48 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:05,440 Source is this way. 49 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,640 I've come to this site, Gish Abay, where the waters begin 50 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:14,040 an epic journey north towards the Mediterranean Sea, because millions 51 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,200 believe it is the source of the Nile and a place of divine power. 52 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,760 My goodness! Look at the number of people here. 53 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:28,200 So they're here because this is the holiest spot on the Nile. 54 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:33,440 This is a site that is sacred to both Muslims and Christians, 55 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,920 who believe that this is the source, not just of the Nile, 56 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,360 but of one of the rivers of the Garden of Eden. 57 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:48,400 Most of the 93 million Ethiopians are Christian, 58 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,120 and pilgrims here had travelled from across the country. 59 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,160 This is the source just over here, I think. 60 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,040 Look at the structure around it. 61 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,000 Not what I was expecting. 62 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,760 Why are you here? Why is the source so holy? 63 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,280 Why is it considered such a sacred site? 64 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:15,080 TRANSLATION: In the beginning, God created the river as a heavenly river, not as an earthly one. 65 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,760 It is a gift from God. 66 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,000 Since its creation, it has been a source of holy water 67 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,840 and served the first people in heaven. 68 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,680 Now it turns out that this is... 69 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,760 the other source, the proper source is in a building just over there. 70 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,240 Only priests are allowed to go in there. 71 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,080 It's a little bit underwhelming in some ways, because of course, 72 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,640 this isn't the mighty river as we imagine it to be 73 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:58,680 but this is how it starts. 74 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,560 Every river starts with a trickle. 75 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:11,160 Ah! 76 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,720 The water of the Nile at the source. 77 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,920 It's wet and wonderful. Very memorable, actually. 78 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,680 Feels very special. 79 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,760 I'll remember this moment long after the water has dried. 80 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,720 Now you can kiss. 81 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,360 Making a blessing. Thank you very much indeed. 82 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,960 There was something very authentic about this simple, remote site. 83 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,240 It's not something created for foreign tourists - and was 84 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,840 full of Ethiopians who believe in the healing power of the Nile. 85 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:54,840 Salaam, salaam. Salaam, salaam, salaam, salaam. 86 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:58,080 So you've got a kidney infection 87 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:02,600 and you believe that the waters of the Nile can help to cure you. 88 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,240 But how will you use the waters and what do you think they will do for you? 89 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:12,920 TRANSLATION: I believe in the Holy Bible, and it says that if a person believes 90 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,960 and is baptized by holy water, they will be cured. 91 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,800 The holy spring here is a gift of God. 92 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,440 It has the power of God and has just cured me. 93 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,480 I found it upsetting to hear the sometimes desperate hope 94 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,720 invested in the river - but perhaps their faith is understandable. 95 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,920 Most Ethiopians live in remote rural areas with limited access 96 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:45,240 to health care. 97 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,480 Poverty is rife in Ethiopia. 98 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:53,520 The United Nations ranks it amongst 99 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:55,400 the poorest countries in the world. 100 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,160 For many, the Nile is a source of hope and salvation. 101 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,200 It was humbling to witness the strength of their belief. 102 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,520 Some people might think that worshipping a river or even 103 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,560 just the source of a river sounds a little bit exotic, 104 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,000 shall we say, but this river is a life-giver. 105 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,320 It provides water for 106 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:43,400 and irrigates the fields of tens of millions of people, so to me, 107 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,160 anyway, it makes perfect sense to celebrate it and even worship it. 108 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,080 Salaam, salaam, salaam. 109 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:56,520 We're off along the Nile. 110 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,000 The source is more than 8,000 feet above sea level. 111 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,880 As it trickles and tumbles downhill, the water 112 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:12,560 widens into a river as it's joined by more streams from the highlands. 113 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,600 My goodness. It's grown a bit already. 114 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,400 Since more than a million people died during drought 115 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,280 and famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, 116 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,120 many think of this as a dry country. 117 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:28,280 But during the rainy season, this river will swell tenfold. 118 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:33,280 Ethiopia provides more than 80% of the total flow of the Nile. 119 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:34,840 It's a curious thing. 120 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,120 When you think of the river Nile, generally you think of Egypt, 121 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,400 Pharaohs and pyramids. 122 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,240 But actually, it's Ethiopia that contributes 123 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:44,880 most of the flow to the river. 124 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:49,920 Ethiopia's crucial gift to the Nile has only recently been fully 125 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,120 understood, and it raises a question. 126 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,640 Although we associate the Nile with Egypt, 127 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,880 who do the precious waters of the river actually belong to? 128 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:03,360 I followed the Blue Nile to the far north-west of Ethiopia, 129 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,000 and the vast waters of Lake Tana. 130 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:11,480 This beautiful lake, more like an inland sea, 131 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,920 covers an area of more than 1,000 square miles, 132 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:19,800 and is also considered by some to be the source of the Blue Nile. 133 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,640 The waters here have long provided an abundance of fish 134 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:24,640 and food for the region, supporting 135 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:26,080 a way of life with traditions 136 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:27,280 that have endured 137 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:28,760 for thousands of years. 138 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,320 Fishermen here are among the last people in the world to still 139 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:39,640 use boats made from this plant, papyrus. 140 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,960 It grows all the way along the river Nile and it played an enormous role 141 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,280 in the first civilizations 142 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:50,040 that emerged along the Nile's river banks. 143 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,000 The first books were made from papyrus as well. 144 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,560 Can we ask, what is your name, sir? 145 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:56,920 My name is Girma. 146 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,800 Girma, how long does it take to make a boat out of papyrus? 147 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:02,320 HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE 148 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:04,480 TRANSLATION: About one and a half hours. 149 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:08,400 My family are all engaged in this type of work. 150 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,160 My father is a fisherman. 151 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,360 So in time, I've been able to learn from him. 152 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:17,680 So you see yourself as being a man of the river Nile? 153 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:20,720 The Nile is everything for me. 154 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,880 I've built my life on it and my livelihood depends on it. 155 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:31,920 Girma supplies dozens of these boats to fishermen on the Nile every year. 156 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,920 Foolishly, I agree to give one a try. 157 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:41,680 I gather there are no Nile crocodiles on this part of the lake. 158 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:45,280 Can I just point out that there seems to be some water in it? 159 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,720 Trust me, it will float! 160 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,880 I'm holding you to that! 161 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:52,800 All right, let's give it a go. 162 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,480 OK. 163 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,880 Whoa! I'm up to my ankles in water. 164 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:02,960 Oh, bloody hell! 165 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:03,960 Ahh! 166 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:07,240 Come on, this is impossible. 167 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:13,560 I'm off. 168 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,400 Forward motion seems to provide stability. 169 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:20,440 I'm on a paper boat. 170 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:23,280 I'm on the Nile! 171 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:37,720 Oh, this lake suddenly looks very big! 172 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,520 There's a mystical, timeless quality to Lake Tana. 173 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,160 The lake is home to dozens of island monasteries, 174 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,240 guardians of Ethiopia's unique religious history. 175 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:04,120 Salaam. 176 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,160 This is a land of myth and legend, 177 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,320 said to be home to the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon's mines. 178 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,360 For centuries, tales of treasure on these islands drew explorers 179 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,120 and fortune hunters. 180 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:17,320 Salaam, salaam, salaam. 181 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,960 I had arrived at the 700-year-old monastery of Ura Kidane Mehret. 182 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:28,280 Oh, my goodness. Look at this. 183 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,760 Inside, vivid wall paintings tell the story of Ethiopia's 184 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,200 spectacular heritage. 185 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:39,040 Christianity was declared a state religion here in the fourth century. 186 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:46,680 This isn't a religion that was imposed on Ethiopia by missionaries. 187 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,440 This is home-grown Christianity. 188 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:56,120 Long before it was the religion of the Roman Empire, 189 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:58,160 it was the religion here in Ethiopia. 190 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,920 Ethiopia was the first Christian kingdom in the world. 191 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,080 But it wasn't the only major religion to find an early 192 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:08,720 foothold here. 193 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,760 Before Christianity, Judaism had arrived 194 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,600 and according to legend, this area has been the resting 195 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:18,560 place for one of religion's holiest treasures for almost 3,000 years. 196 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,720 An artefact precious to Jewish people and many Christians 197 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:24,760 and Muslims as well. 198 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:30,040 It's said to be guarded by priests of the Ethiopian church. 199 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,200 There's lots of amazing myths 200 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,280 and legends surrounding the monasteries of Lake Tana, 201 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,480 the greatest of which surely is that one of them 202 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,880 housed the Ark of the Covenant for a while. 203 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,320 So the ark that held the tablets 204 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:52,800 on which were written the Ten Commandments. 205 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:59,280 THEY CHANT 206 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:03,520 The story is that the Queen of Sheba who came from the land that we 207 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,840 now call Ethiopia went to visit King Solomon in Israel. 208 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,720 She'd heard great stories of his wisdom, wanted to meet him. 209 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,080 She turned up there, they got on very well - 210 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,720 so well, in fact, they had a son together. 211 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:16,720 He went home with his mum 212 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,000 but went back to visit his dad when he was a young man. 213 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,560 When he returned home to Ethiopia, among his entourage was 214 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,120 brought the Ark of the Covenant. 215 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:32,000 It was apparently kept safe in a monastery on Lake Tana. 216 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,320 And now, according to many Ethiopians, 217 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:37,840 it's still here in the country. 218 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,040 Outside, the monks were giving thanks for the waters of the Nile. 219 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:52,320 THEY CHANT 220 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:02,200 TRANSLATION: Here in Ethiopia, we feel that water represents life to human beings. 221 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,080 If man doesn't have water, he has to endure drought. 222 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:11,000 The river Nile, making its way around Ethiopia, nourishes the country. 223 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,880 But because it is such a precious limited resource, 224 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,560 the Nile has also long been a cause of conflict. 225 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,880 700 years ago, Ethiopia threatened to divert the Nile because of what 226 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:31,080 it said was Muslim persecution of Christians downriver in Egypt. 227 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,160 Now the two countries are once again locked in a bitter dispute 228 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,000 over ownership and use of the river. 229 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,720 To understand what's happening, I needed to take to the air. 230 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:48,800 Cleared for take off. 231 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,160 'Clear for take-off, Bravo, X-ray, Echo. Thanks very much.' 232 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,360 There it is down beneath us - the Blue Nile. 233 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:09,280 On its way through the Ethiopian highlands, 234 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,120 the Nile carves its way through a canyon, 235 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,800 at times 300-feet deep and more than 250 miles long. 236 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,440 We're in the Nile Gorge. 237 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:26,360 Remote and infested with crocodiles and malaria-ridden mosquitoes, 238 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,000 the Nile has long flowed through this area of Ethiopia untamed 239 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,640 and underused. 240 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,920 Ethiopia hasn't really tapped into the potential 241 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,360 and the power of the river to generate electricity or to 242 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,640 provide water for irrigating crops. 243 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:49,720 That's now starting to change. 244 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,800 On an isolated stretch of the Nile, Ethiopia has recently started 245 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:55,760 building one of the world's largest 246 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,360 and most controversial engineering projects. 247 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:04,520 Beneath us now is what many hope will be the future for Ethiopia. 248 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,800 They call it the Grand Renaissance Dam. 249 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:10,240 Look at this! 250 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,160 The multibillion pound dam will eventually hold an inland 251 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,320 sea behind it. 252 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,480 Water flowing through the dam's giant turbines will then generate 253 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,160 huge amounts of electricity, tripling Ethiopia's current output. 254 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,000 They are taming the Nile, they're controlling the Nile, 255 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,280 they're going to divert it. 256 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,600 But of course it's hugely controversial. 257 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,040 Downstream, more than 85 million Egyptians depend 258 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,280 entirely on the Nile for their survival. 259 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,920 A colonial-era treaty, drawn up by the British, 260 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:50,440 awarded Egypt the rights to 66% of the river's entire flow. 261 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,720 Ethiopia, where the majority of the water in the Nile originates, 262 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:55,320 got none. 263 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,160 We're in a hugely remote part of the planet here, but make no 264 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:04,280 mistake, this is one of the greatest potential flash points in the world. 265 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,040 Can you find a landing pad, Roger? 266 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,200 I think we can find one. 267 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,640 Egypt fears the dam will allow Ethiopia to siphon off water 268 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,480 that belongs, they think, to Egyptians. 269 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,120 They reacted to the idea of this dam with fury, 270 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,000 even talking of sabotage and war. 271 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,840 It's overwhelming to come here and see this. 272 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,480 Semegnew Bekele is the Ethiopian engineer 273 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,080 in charge of the six-year construction project. 274 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:36,000 This is an almost biblical effort to control 275 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:40,360 and harness the power of the mighty Nile. 276 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:43,760 We are not controlling that mighty Nile. 277 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,960 This is a whopping great wall. 278 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,960 We can't control the Nile. We don't have any plan. 279 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:56,480 We are really implementing a strategy that fights poverty 280 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:58,520 without harming anyone. 281 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:00,400 But countries downstream, Sudan 282 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,600 and particularly Egypt, are worried about what might happen here, 283 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,240 about how you will have the power to switch off the Nile. 284 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:10,160 No. Should they be worried? 285 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:16,600 This is an electricity project. Electricity doesn't consume water. 286 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:20,440 We are not using this project for any other consumptive use. 287 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,840 Only generation of electricity and this is known, 288 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:29,760 fact, without really affecting their flow. 289 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,520 Officials here say this dam will help to lift the country 290 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,440 out of poverty. 291 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,800 It's a persuasive argument, but economic development here - 292 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,440 as it does everywhere - comes at a moral and ethical cost. 293 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,800 Behind the dam, a vast tract of wilderness will be submerged 294 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:47,880 under a huge reservoir. 295 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:52,320 And local tribes will be displaced from their traditional lands. 296 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:54,760 I can see the benefits of development, 297 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,920 but I still found myself torn. 298 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,040 I find it quite emotional, actually, 299 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,280 to see communities like this down here. 300 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,760 Their whole way of life is going to change. 301 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:09,800 Less than a fifth of the people here 302 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,640 have access to electricity. 303 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,280 By damming the Nile, Ethiopia could become Africa's biggest 304 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,920 supplier, providing much-needed power for homes, schools, 305 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:19,480 factories and hospitals. 306 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,200 Ethiopia's not alone in wanting a greater share of this 307 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,440 life-changing river. 308 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:33,160 I followed the Blue Nile north to the flat arid landscape of Sudan. 309 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:43,480 Here, temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius. 310 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,800 Yet even in this parched country, 311 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,200 a remarkable transformation is taking place along the river. 312 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,080 Blessed with a longer stretch of the Nile than any other country, 313 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,320 Sudan is using its waters to turn its desert green. 314 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:05,040 This is Al Waha, Arabic for "the oasis". 315 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,880 It's a 22,000 acre state-of-the-art farm, that uses more than 316 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,160 eight million gallons of water from the Nile every day. 317 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,040 It's a model that manager Ali Alshiekh thinks could be 318 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,240 replicated along the length of the river. 319 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,920 Look at this. Two, four, six, whopping great pipes. 320 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:26,560 So you've got those... 321 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,480 Those are basically in the Nile 322 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,840 and you're sucking the water out of the Nile. 323 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,360 Out of the Nile to the farm, to the main canal. 324 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:35,720 Into this massive canal here. The main canal. 325 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,360 We have to keep this monster full. 326 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,360 This monster? All the time. All the time. 327 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:42,720 Is it a hungry beast? 328 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:46,480 It is never, never satisfied. It has to be full. 329 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,840 The world is hungry. It is thirsty. 330 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:51,520 The world is hungry, yes. Yeah. 331 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:53,200 People need food 332 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,680 and that food has got to be produced in the most efficient way possible. 333 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,160 Yeah. Yeah. 334 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,280 We should...just coming behind us here, we've got 335 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,480 a bloke on the back of a donkey and a herd of goats coming past. 336 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,360 Yeah. Yeah. This is the more traditional image 337 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:11,560 of farming in Sudan, I think, isn't it? 338 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:13,720 Yeah. And it's quite a contrast... Yeah. 339 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:15,760 ..with what you're doing here, 340 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,400 which is scientific, and it's on a massive scale. 341 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,360 But the time will come when all these guys will join us. 342 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,320 Give us a sense of the scale of your farm here. 343 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:35,440 The centre pivot that we see there. You said that's 440 metres long. 344 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,640 So nearly half a kilometre long. 345 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,760 So each of these circles is about a kilometre wide. 346 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,200 So this is equivalent to 100 football pitch. 347 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,160 And how many of these crop circles, almost, have you got? 348 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:52,320 We have 102 here. 349 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:53,880 My goodness! 350 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,960 I have 10,000 football to care about. 351 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:00,720 THEY LAUGH 352 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,720 In this field, Ali is growing alfalfa, a crop used to feed animals. 353 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,800 Most is exported to Sudan's Islamic neighbours in the Gulf States, 354 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,120 where their remaining water supplies are disappearing fast. 355 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,880 Ali also uses the crop for the farm's own herd of milking cows who 356 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,960 shelter from the searing Sudanese sun in giant purpose-built sheds. 357 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,480 You've got what look like dozens of Friesian cows. 358 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,120 Yeah. 359 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:37,040 We could be in Lincolnshire or Dorset in the UK. 360 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,800 There are 2,500 dairy cows here, cared for by Dr Mohamed. 361 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:45,720 Dr Mohammed? Oh, hello. 362 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,560 Assalam alaikum. Assalam alaikum. 363 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,320 He uses the latest technology to keep this European 364 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,400 breed at home in Africa. 365 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:59,520 In summer, the temperature can reach more than 48 degrees Celsius. 366 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,360 We are using these big cooling fans. 367 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:04,920 We are using these misters. 368 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:09,040 All these together reduce the temperature by 20 degrees Celsius 369 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:10,520 from outside. 370 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:14,960 The cows produce up to three times as much milk as Sudan's native breed, 371 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,880 thanks to the waters of the Nile. 372 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,280 Can we go in? Yes. 373 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:25,960 But as populations along the Nile continue to rise 374 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,160 and farming here intensifies, 375 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,840 an ever greater strain will be placed on the river. 376 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,280 How many have you got now? 377 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,120 We've got now 2,500 cows. 378 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:41,360 Our plan here in two years is to expand to 10,000 cows. 379 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,640 I feel a bit conflicted about what I'm seeing here 380 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,840 because although I'm sure they're farming with best of intentions, 381 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,520 they are using a lot of water from the Nile, 382 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,560 and although they say that the amount they're using is sustainable, 383 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,400 what would happen if there were 100 farms like this, 384 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,840 a thousand farms like this, 385 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,000 sucking water out of the river? 386 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,840 There wouldn't be a lot left to flow on down 387 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:06,880 through the rest of Sudan and into Egypt. 388 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:11,640 Who does the Nile belong to? 389 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,840 It comes back to that question. 390 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,520 Who has rights to the water of the Nile? 391 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,360 And it's something that the countries along the Nile 392 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:20,760 haven't really decided 393 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,480 and haven't been able to come to agreement on. 394 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,760 We're coming to a crucial point on the river. 395 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:38,440 I was nearing the end of the Blue Nile. 396 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:42,720 Wow. 397 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:51,120 This is the confluence of the Nile. 398 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:53,880 I'm on the Blue Nile. 399 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,040 Down there, that's the White Nile, 400 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,160 joining this river 401 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:03,200 and together forming the mighty, one, the legendary Nile. 402 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:11,320 This is an absolutely key geographical spot on the continent. 403 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,200 It's a key spot on planet Earth actually. 404 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:19,480 The meeting of these two great rivers to form an even greater one. 405 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:28,320 This has been described as the longest kiss in history, 406 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:30,640 which is rather beautiful, don't you think? 407 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:44,280 That is an absolutely incredible sight. 408 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:46,080 I find it rather mesmerising. 409 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:50,240 As the meeting point of the two Niles, 410 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,520 Sudan has always been a historical crossroads. 411 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,440 Cultures have met and mingled here. 412 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,520 There are still more than 100 languages spoken in Sudan. 413 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:02,160 It's something of a cliche 414 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,600 but inevitably there's an element of truth about it - 415 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:09,880 that way to the south is broadly Christian Africa, 416 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,320 and to the north is mainly Islamic. 417 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:21,880 Rising up alongside the confluence is Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. 418 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,720 I'd arrived in the city on a Friday. 419 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,920 Islamic mystics known as Sufis were gathering on the edge 420 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:31,600 of the city to perform a weekly sunset ritual. 421 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:36,480 It harks back to the earliest days of Islam on the Nile. 422 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,920 These are the whirling dervishes of Sudan. 423 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,560 Journalist Isma'il Kushkush was at hand to help me 424 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:50,680 understand this magical yet fairly chaotic spectacle. 425 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,320 What are they doing? 426 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:07,120 Purifying the heart. 427 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:10,400 Does that mean effectively cleansing the body of evil? 428 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,880 As the Sufis spin to the rhythmic chants of the crowd, 429 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,280 they enter a kind of trance. 430 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,280 Their meditative state is intensified 431 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,640 by the overwhelming fragrance of frankincense. 432 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,480 That's a beautiful, beautiful smell. 433 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:45,840 Shokran. 434 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:51,240 Islam dictates almost every aspect of daily life in Sudan. 435 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:56,840 Under Sharia Law, everything from crime, politics and economics 436 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,800 to sex, hygiene and diet is governed by the Koran. 437 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,800 It feels to me, like, in quite a conservative culture, 438 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,320 this is a chance for some people to let off steam, almost. 439 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,840 This is actually typical and normal Sudanese culture. 440 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,200 This is the essence of Sudan. 441 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,760 The international reputation of Sudan has been hammered 442 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,760 by the genocide and crisis in the Darfur region, 443 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,920 and 20 years of civil war between the north and the south of the country. 444 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,160 The Sudanese government has also been accused 445 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,280 of supporting terrorism, committing human rights violations 446 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:36,240 and denying religious freedom. 447 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,160 Sudan is a country that has its fair share of problems 448 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:43,000 and many of those problems are well known to the globe. 449 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,240 There is not one form of practising Islam. 450 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,280 There are groups that could be described 451 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:51,920 as a little more liberal, centrist and conservative. 452 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,320 This is a way of practising Islam that is a little more liberal. 453 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:08,240 I think before coming here, I had quite a negative view of Sudan. 454 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,640 I thought of it as a very conservative country 455 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:13,720 that was quite unfriendly, 456 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:16,840 but this was a magnificently welcoming service and ceremony. 457 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:21,000 It felt holy and sacred but it felt very inclusive as well, 458 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:22,640 and I loved it, I loved being here. 459 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:34,720 The following day I was back on the road, heading across the desert. 460 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,480 This is a part of Sudan beyond the reach of the river, 461 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:41,560 where little can survive. 462 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,480 I was travelling to a region that was once home 463 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:49,040 to the ancient Nile civilization now known as Nubia. 464 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,880 It developed along the river 5,000 years ago, 465 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,760 and stretched from Northern Sudan into Southern Egypt. 466 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,520 Archaeologists like Tim Kendall are shedding new light 467 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,600 on a largely forgotten civilization. 468 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:12,200 When people think of a culture along the Nile in ancient times, 469 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,760 I think they just think of ancient Egypt, but we're in Sudan. 470 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:20,520 Right. There was a major ancient civilization here. 471 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,400 Urban, literate, powerful kings 472 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,920 that controlled a vast empire in the 8th century, 473 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,880 bigger than any empire that had ever been on the Nile before. 474 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:36,120 And here we are standing in front of pyramids of these kings, 475 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:40,000 2,000 kilometres south of the pyramids of Egypt. 476 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,120 This is Nuri, a royal cemetery containing pyramids 477 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:51,000 for 20 kings and 54 queens of the Nubian kingdom known as Kush. 478 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,120 We climbed the ruined side of the pyramid belonging to Taharqa, 479 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:01,040 the greatest of all Kushite Pharaohs, who not only ruled Sudan 480 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,160 but the whole of Egypt as well. 481 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:12,120 What an epic view. 482 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:15,120 This is spectacular. 483 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:16,680 Yeah. 484 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,080 This is what some historians recently 485 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:25,600 and writers have called the Black Pharaohs. 486 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:31,440 This is a culture and a civilization distinct and different 487 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:36,080 at some times in its history to the civilization 488 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:37,880 further down the Nile in Egypt. 489 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:41,360 But they were closely related, they shared the same religion, 490 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,000 they honoured the same gods. 491 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,640 The Kushites believed that the Egyptian Gods were here 492 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,720 in the Kushite form, in the Nubian form. 493 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:54,760 Because there's this overwhelming focus on the civilization 494 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:59,640 of ancient Egypt, it wouldn't be unnatural for modern Egyptians 495 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,480 to think, "We've been here for thousands of years, 496 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,360 "this is our culture, this our land, 497 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:08,360 "this is our river as well," 498 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:13,480 but the fact we are standing on a pyramid here in northern Sudan, 499 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:17,800 built by people whose descendents may still live around us now. 500 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:21,200 I have a feeling that that gives them an historical, 501 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:25,240 more legitimate claim to the land and the water and the space. 502 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:29,000 It does, you know, but there's a funny thing I noticed in Cairo 503 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,920 and that is that on the facade of the Cairo Museum, 504 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:37,480 the only dynasty that isn't named is the 25th dynasty. 505 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:41,480 And that was... The dynasty of Kush which ruled them. 506 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,920 The dynasty of the Nubian kings from here. 507 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:45,760 They deliberately cut it out. 508 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,960 Some archaeologists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries 509 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:56,160 refused to accept that a black African civilization could have achieved what it did. 510 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,360 They said the people here must have been lighter skinned, 511 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:03,800 maybe Libyans, maybe even... early Europeans. 512 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:06,880 It's racism. 513 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,200 There are actually more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt. 514 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,440 Ignorance of Nubian culture has in some ways 515 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,720 denied the black Africans who live here now, and Sudan generally, 516 00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:26,160 an historical claim to this land, and even to the Nile itself. 517 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,680 Not far from the royal pyramids is Jebel Barkal, 518 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:35,480 a lone 300-foot high rock, 519 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:39,160 once considered the most sacred site in Nubia, 520 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:41,400 partly because of its proximity to the Nile. 521 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:44,560 For thousands of years, 522 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,320 Nubians and Egyptians climbed the mountain at sunset, 523 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:50,760 believing it to be the birthplace of Amun, 524 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,200 the father of their gods and the creator of life. 525 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,120 Assalam alaikum. MAN: Assalam alaikum. 526 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:06,760 Religions often developed out of a desire to explain 527 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,640 and understand the powerful forces of nature and creation. 528 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,960 And the keys to life here were the sun and the Nile. 529 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,200 Oh, my goodness... 530 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:22,440 HE EXHALES DEEPLY Ah... 531 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,080 This is a... 532 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:27,800 HE LAUGHS 533 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:29,680 It's a sight that makes you bite your lip. 534 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:35,040 Has there ever been a clearer representation 535 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,800 of the POWER of a river? 536 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:40,880 On the far side, desert. 537 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:42,840 Out here, desert. 538 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,400 And along the river...life! 539 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,080 It feels like... 540 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:57,600 ..the imagination and beliefs of our forefathers is... 541 00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:59,400 is invested in the rock. 542 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:03,760 It feels holy, it feels magical, mystical. 543 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:06,920 Special. 544 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,920 Ancient Nubians and Egyptians worshipped the same gods. 545 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:15,800 But for thousands of years, 546 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,320 their relationship was marred by conflict... 547 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,520 ..and the repercussions of that history are still being felt 548 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:25,320 along the Nile today. 549 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:31,920 In the heart of what was once Nubia, 550 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:34,720 the river now flows into an enormous lake, 551 00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:39,240 stretching 350 miles from northern Sudan into southern Egypt. 552 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,080 HE CHUCKLES 553 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:44,520 Lake Nasser! 554 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:47,960 The world's longest reservoir. 555 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,240 And it's all down to this incredible structure that I'm standing on, 556 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:55,480 this whopping great dam. 557 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:57,720 I'd arrived in Egypt. 558 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:02,400 The Upper Aswan Dam was built in the 1960s to generate electricity, 559 00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:05,400 provide a reservoir of water for farms 560 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:07,480 and control flooding along the Nile - 561 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:10,800 the result of the rainy season in Ethiopia. 562 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,840 Before the dam, heavy floods could decimate crops, 563 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:15,840 often resulting in famine. 564 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:20,240 The dam gave Egypt control over the levels of the Nile downstream, 565 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:23,720 but at a heavy price for many Nubian communities. 566 00:37:23,720 --> 00:37:26,160 Down there... 567 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:30,040 are the remains of Nubian settlements, dozens of them. 568 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:32,640 They were home to more than 100,000 people. 569 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,560 And their homes and fields 570 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:37,720 were swallowed by the rising waters of the lake. 571 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:43,600 An entire way of life... their civilization, their culture - 572 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:45,640 they'd been here for thousands of years - 573 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:48,680 swallowed and submerged. 574 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:56,200 The Egyptian authorities relocated many Nubians 575 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:57,920 to new settlements in the desert, 576 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,080 far from the fertile land of the Nile. 577 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,600 In the Nubian communities that survived the arrival of the dam, 578 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:08,400 I found Nubians trying to use their culture and traditions 579 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:11,640 to carve out a living in Egypt's flagging tourist industry. 580 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,080 They've got a crocodile on the side of their house. 581 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:19,360 Assalam alaikum. 582 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:24,440 Why do people have crocodiles outside their homes? 583 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,520 TRANSLATION: Those who kill them hang them like this. 584 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:29,720 Because tourists used to come and look at them. 585 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,400 As a community, are you scared of the crocodiles? 586 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,000 Do they pose a threat to you? 587 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,880 I have one in my house. A live crocodile. 588 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:42,120 Sorry, did you just say you have a live crocodile? 589 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:44,520 I do. Can we see it? 590 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:46,200 Yes. Please, come in. 591 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:49,800 Oh, dear. 592 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:58,760 Why have you got a crocodile... in your house? 593 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:01,840 Because tourists used to visit me. 594 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,640 They would sit down and look at the crocodile. 595 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:10,360 In many houses there are crocodiles, that's normal. 596 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,400 This croc doesn't look entirely happy in there. 597 00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:18,680 Do... Do you ever get it out? Does it get to walk around? 598 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:22,280 No, I don't take it out. 599 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:25,360 If I took it out, it would go away, it would go to the Nile. 600 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:28,520 Yeah, perhaps not surprisingly. 601 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:34,120 When it grows... Did you see the one outside the house, the dead one? 602 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:36,760 When it grows like this, we will kill it, stuff it 603 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:39,000 and hang it on the door. 604 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:40,200 Right. 605 00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:44,080 Doesn't have a great future then, does it? 606 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:48,960 It was disappointing to see one of the Nile's oldest inhabitants 607 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:50,160 treated like this. 608 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:53,800 Crocodiles were once worshipped by locals here - 609 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:56,080 in the form of the god Sobek. 610 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:58,680 But now this community is struggling 611 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,720 and people are trying to make ends meet any way they can. 612 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:10,280 The Nubians have lived along the Nile for as long as almost anyone. 613 00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:14,960 They still have their faith, their traditions, 614 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:19,000 their connection to the river, but times have changed and so have they. 615 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,560 What they really want here now is a few more tourists. 616 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:27,720 There have been centuries of tension along the Nile 617 00:40:27,720 --> 00:40:29,360 between Arabs and Nubians. 618 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,720 25 people were recently killed near here and many more were injured, 619 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:39,280 during clashes between Arab and Nubian families. 620 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:42,600 Many Nubians still feel ostracized from Egyptian life. 621 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:52,400 Back on the Nile, I went to visit an ancient temple 622 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:56,000 that nearly suffered the same fate as nearby Nubian settlements 623 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,240 and was almost submerged by the rising waters of the river. 624 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,880 When the Nile was dammed and the lake began to rise... 625 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,360 ..Egypt's ancient monuments were under threat. 626 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:12,440 Some of them were swallowed by the water, but some of them were saved. 627 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:20,760 My God, look at this! 628 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,440 This is the Temple of Isis at Philae. 629 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:30,800 Built more than 2,000 years ago, 630 00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:34,560 in 1972 it was saved from being submerged in the reservoir 631 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:36,400 that rose behind the Aswan Dam. 632 00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:42,600 The entire temple was chopped up into 40,000 blocks, moved, 633 00:41:42,600 --> 00:41:45,120 and meticulously rebuilt on this new site. 634 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:52,840 This is absolutely breathtaking. 635 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:59,360 It is actually quite hard to believe, in some ways, 636 00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:02,560 that the Egyptians did what they did, WHEN they did it, 637 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:06,680 at a time when the rest of the planet, or most of it anyway, 638 00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:08,800 was in intellectual darkness. 639 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:13,760 The Egyptians were creating magic and mystery... 640 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:16,800 ..and stuff that lasts! 641 00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:23,720 In its day, 642 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:27,800 the temple attracted pilgrims from across the ancient world. 643 00:42:30,040 --> 00:42:32,080 This is a temple to the god Isis. 644 00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:35,600 She's absolutely central to the story of the Nile 645 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:37,760 because ancient Egyptians 646 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:41,200 believed that the river was swollen by her tears. 647 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:45,320 The temple bears witness to seismic shifts in our history, 648 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:48,480 to the rise and fall of civilizations. 649 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,480 The stones here tell an astonishing story. 650 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:04,240 They're covered in inscriptions and graffiti. 651 00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:10,880 And here...we've got the last known text written in hieroglyphics. 652 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,840 The last gasp of a culture and a civilization 653 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:17,640 that had endured for centuries. 654 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:24,480 A bit of writing here, and then... Pwoof! ..it's gone. 655 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:30,120 Other inscriptions carved into the ancient stones 656 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:32,600 tell of a new force travelling up the Nile. 657 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:34,680 Look, there's a cross here. 658 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:39,880 Times changed and Christianity came to the shrine. 659 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:43,040 In fact, this became a base 660 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,600 from which monks went on missions to the south, 661 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:50,000 to convert the Nubians and other tribes to Christianity. 662 00:43:54,720 --> 00:43:56,960 Egypt was Christian for hundreds of years, 663 00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:00,720 until Islam swept across North Africa. 664 00:44:00,720 --> 00:44:05,120 Today, Egypt is home to almost 80 million Muslims. 665 00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:09,520 It has the largest Islamic population in the Middle East. 666 00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:13,840 But religious strife and political conflict dog this Nile state. 667 00:44:13,840 --> 00:44:16,720 Liberal and conservative Muslims are battling physically 668 00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:18,920 and intellectually for the soul of the country. 669 00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:21,600 There is a small, 670 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:25,080 but not insignificant group of Islamic fundamentalists in Egypt 671 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:29,280 who want to tear temples like these down and destroy them. 672 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:31,880 They want to rid Egypt of its pre-Islamic past. 673 00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:35,760 They think these places are... idolatrous. 674 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:40,960 These are some of the greatest treasures of human civilization. 675 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:49,200 I think to tear them down would be obscene...utterly obscene. 676 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:55,320 Temples like Philae were central to life in Ancient Egypt, 677 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:59,320 but of course, they're also central to economic life here today 678 00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:03,600 because tourism is normally one of the country's largest industries. 679 00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:07,320 But in recent years, terrorist attacks on foreigners 680 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:11,400 and violent political protests since the revolution in 2011, 681 00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:13,760 mean tourist numbers have plummeted. 682 00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:16,400 There are guards everywhere here. 683 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,320 We've got guards following us around all the time 684 00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:26,080 and there are guards at all of the major tourist sites here now. 685 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:30,800 Egypt cannot afford to have another terrorist attack 686 00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:33,040 on visitors to the country. 687 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:41,560 We're taking the train. 688 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:45,520 It was time to head north. 689 00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:51,040 So WE are off to Cairo! 690 00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:57,200 I was catching an overnight train and I had plenty of company. 691 00:45:59,240 --> 00:46:02,600 We have got an extraordinary entourage with us. 692 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:04,600 Endless layers of security. 693 00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:09,600 We've got local security, regional security, we've got train security. 694 00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:12,040 We now also seem to have a secret policeman with us, 695 00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:15,680 blokes with sub-machine guns under their jackets. 696 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:20,560 Partly to protect us and partly to control us and to keep an eye on us. 697 00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:23,600 Egypt is a difficult country to film in. 698 00:46:24,840 --> 00:46:27,680 What I find extraordinary about the situation here, 699 00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:30,120 is that several years now after the revolution, 700 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:33,720 Egypt is back where it's basically always been, 701 00:46:33,720 --> 00:46:38,080 with the military in control of national life. 702 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:41,680 We won't be short of company 703 00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:45,360 if we fancied a five-a-side in the corridor... 704 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:47,200 Bye, chaps. 705 00:46:51,240 --> 00:46:56,440 Ah, look! What a magnificent flow. 706 00:46:56,440 --> 00:46:59,960 Cold, hot. Cold, hot. OK, brilliant. 707 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:04,240 Yes, yes... It's got a curtain. 708 00:47:04,240 --> 00:47:06,160 Don't know who he is, or where he's come from. 709 00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:08,320 HE MOUTHS 710 00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:11,040 He might be standing guard... 711 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:14,000 ..for the whole night! 712 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:22,520 The train to Cairo tracks close to the Nile. 713 00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:25,760 The greenery of irrigated crops means it's easy to forget 714 00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:29,280 that Egypt is one of the driest countries on the planet. 715 00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:35,120 95% of Egyptians live on a narrow ribbon of land alongside the river 716 00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:37,160 that constitutes only 5% of the country. 717 00:47:38,960 --> 00:47:43,200 And Egypt's population has soared in recent decades. 718 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,160 Much of the growth has been in Cairo, 719 00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:47,920 which in the last 50 years has seen its population triple 720 00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:51,760 to more than 18 million, and it's still rising fast. 721 00:47:51,760 --> 00:47:54,400 This city is absolutely rammed. 722 00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:58,280 There are some predictions that say by 2050, 723 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:03,440 there will be nearly 40 million people in Cairo. 724 00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:05,480 HORNS BEEP 725 00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:06,800 40 million?! 726 00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:11,080 The one thing that won't change in the future 727 00:48:11,080 --> 00:48:13,920 is Egypt's complete and utter dependence on the Nile. 728 00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:18,160 So far, Egypt has been able to discourage or threaten 729 00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:19,600 other Nile states 730 00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:23,000 to prevent them tapping into the supply of Nile water. 731 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:26,240 Most Egyptians believe it's their historical birthright. 732 00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:31,160 On Rhoda Island, which sits at the centre of the Nile in Cairo, 733 00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:34,160 I went in search of a rather forgotten site 734 00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:36,880 that illustrates the enormous importance of the river 735 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:38,080 for the whole of Egypt. 736 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:39,680 Assalam alaikum. 737 00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:43,160 This place isn't really on the tourist trail in Cairo. 738 00:48:43,160 --> 00:48:45,200 I think that might be the toilets. 739 00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:47,840 Where is it? This way? OK. 740 00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:53,160 Oh, my... 741 00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:56,160 Now this is a fascinating place, 742 00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:59,600 absolutely central to the story of the Nile. 743 00:49:00,720 --> 00:49:04,720 This is...the Nilometer! 744 00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:06,720 SIMON CHUCKLES 745 00:49:06,720 --> 00:49:09,160 It does what it sounds like it does. 746 00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:11,400 It measures the height of the Nile. 747 00:49:12,840 --> 00:49:16,280 Long before the Aswan Dam regulated the flow of the Nile, 748 00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:20,480 the Nilometer recorded the critical level of the annual flood. 749 00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:27,840 So there are three points where the water would come in. 750 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:32,920 The water would fill this cavern, it would rise up through the chamber. 751 00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:39,240 The height of the water could make or break the Egyptian harvest. 752 00:49:39,240 --> 00:49:43,080 In effect, the Nilometer measured the health of the country. 753 00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:47,840 It did mean, however, if it reached the right level, 754 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:50,280 that everybody would be taxed. 755 00:49:52,640 --> 00:49:54,520 Built after the Arab conquest of Egypt, 756 00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:58,520 the Nilometer was one of Islam's first great constructions here. 757 00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,680 The grandeur and craftsmanship of the building was perhaps 758 00:50:02,680 --> 00:50:05,240 an acknowledgement that the Prophet Muhammad 759 00:50:05,240 --> 00:50:08,800 said the Nile was holy and one of the rivers of Paradise. 760 00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:16,600 The dome here was rebuilt after a fire and around the base of it 761 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:20,240 are inscriptions and quotations from the Koran. 762 00:50:20,240 --> 00:50:22,320 They talk about how... 763 00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:24,320 water is a gift from the skies. 764 00:50:25,640 --> 00:50:29,400 And how rainfall can create a paradise with... 765 00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:33,480 ..fruits and grapes and palm trees. 766 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:37,720 Almost all of the religions, the great religions, 767 00:50:37,720 --> 00:50:42,200 revere water in some way because of what it offers, what it brings. 768 00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:50,200 The river has always brought life to this city and to this country. 769 00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:54,600 But do modern Egyptians assume 770 00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:56,840 the river will just keep flowing like this forever? 771 00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:02,320 Certainly for ancient Egyptians, the river was just always there, 772 00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:04,840 something they could set their calendars by. 773 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:09,640 Now, with countries to the south demanding the right to take 774 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:12,280 more water from the Nile, some commentators are saying 775 00:51:12,280 --> 00:51:15,160 Egypt cannot expect to have a monopoly on the river 776 00:51:15,160 --> 00:51:18,560 and might need to adapt to a future with a smaller share of the flow. 777 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:24,240 I met up with Egyptian politician Mona Makram-Ebeid. 778 00:51:26,440 --> 00:51:28,560 Has Egypt taken the Nile for granted? 779 00:51:28,560 --> 00:51:32,720 I guess so, for a very long time. Nobody has asked. 780 00:51:32,720 --> 00:51:38,480 Probably many of the population here doesn't know that other people too 781 00:51:38,480 --> 00:51:41,600 are sharing the Nile waters. 782 00:51:41,600 --> 00:51:43,360 Unless you're educated, 783 00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:45,400 which is not the case for a lot of people. Mm. 784 00:51:45,400 --> 00:51:48,000 40% of the people are illiterate. 785 00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:51,520 So I think you're right, in a way, 786 00:51:51,520 --> 00:51:55,920 Egyptians have taken the Nile for granted for a long time. 787 00:51:55,920 --> 00:51:57,960 Now they have to wake up. 788 00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:02,600 So what does that mean for Egypt today in the 21st century 789 00:52:02,600 --> 00:52:06,680 when countries to the south are starting to build giant dams 790 00:52:06,680 --> 00:52:09,440 and they will have the power to turn off the taps? 791 00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:13,200 Some of these countries who are at the source of the Nile 792 00:52:13,200 --> 00:52:18,280 think that it is their right to have more of a part of the Nile 793 00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:21,120 than they had until now. 794 00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:24,480 I think that we need people who understand, 795 00:52:24,480 --> 00:52:27,080 who are experts on the Nile, 796 00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:31,640 to see what would be the equitable distribution. 797 00:52:31,640 --> 00:52:34,040 Who owns the Nile? 798 00:52:34,960 --> 00:52:38,280 SHE LAUGHS Who owns the Ganges? 799 00:52:39,440 --> 00:52:42,040 I think Indians would say, they do. 800 00:52:42,040 --> 00:52:44,880 The Egyptian will say the same thing. 801 00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:51,000 The Nile has always been synonymous with Egypt. 802 00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:56,680 The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt 803 00:52:56,680 --> 00:52:57,960 "the gift of the Nile". 804 00:52:57,960 --> 00:53:02,400 Nowhere is this more evident than in the country's breadbasket... 805 00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:04,120 the Delta. 806 00:53:05,600 --> 00:53:09,080 From above, it's been described as a flowering lotus plant, 807 00:53:09,080 --> 00:53:12,400 as the river splits into thousands of channels, 808 00:53:12,400 --> 00:53:15,560 flowing through a vast expanse of some of the most fertile land 809 00:53:15,560 --> 00:53:16,560 on the planet. 810 00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:21,040 Over half of all Egyptians live in the Delta, 811 00:53:21,040 --> 00:53:26,920 many growing fruit, vegetables and thirsty crops like rice and cotton. 812 00:53:26,920 --> 00:53:30,200 The Delta is famous for being the source of the luxury 813 00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:33,120 Egyptian cotton sheets sold on our high streets. 814 00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:38,920 To see where they come from, I met up with farmer Mosbah Oman. 815 00:53:40,560 --> 00:53:41,840 What is... What's going on? 816 00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:46,840 TRANSLATION: They're planting cotton, the whole aim is to plant cotton. 817 00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:50,280 We plant cotton and then it grows like this. 818 00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:52,640 Do you need a bit of help? Or, I'm here to assist. 819 00:53:52,640 --> 00:53:55,160 FARMERS LAUGH 820 00:53:55,160 --> 00:53:58,840 God bless you, God bless you. Work, kids! 821 00:53:58,840 --> 00:54:02,520 Ululate, girls, ululate. WOMEN ULULATE 822 00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:09,160 Can one of the ladies show me what to do? 823 00:54:09,160 --> 00:54:12,520 Oh, blimey! You plant them close together, don't you? 824 00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:15,200 ULULATING CONTINUES 825 00:54:15,200 --> 00:54:17,920 She's fast! Right, come on, come on! 826 00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:22,400 Does all this ululating help you to focus on the job? 827 00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:23,760 Does it keep you happy? 828 00:54:23,760 --> 00:54:27,960 TRANSLATION: The ululating helps us to stay happy during our work. 829 00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:32,560 We encourage each other so that we go home with happy hearts. 830 00:54:32,560 --> 00:54:35,560 SHE ULULATES 831 00:54:35,560 --> 00:54:39,040 WOMAN SHOUTS COMMANDS Honestly, I've got a bad back! 832 00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:45,760 TRANSLATION: I have a dancing horse. It dances, a horse, tell him. 833 00:54:45,760 --> 00:54:47,160 Would you buy it? 834 00:54:47,160 --> 00:54:49,840 No, I do not want to buy a dancing horse! 835 00:54:51,280 --> 00:54:54,080 Producing the cotton for a single T-shirt can require more than 836 00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:57,320 2,500 litres of water. 837 00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:00,800 So huge amounts of water are pumped out of the Nile here 838 00:55:00,800 --> 00:55:03,400 and flooded over tens of thousands of fields. 839 00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:07,760 It's a hugely inefficient and untargeted way of irrigating crops. 840 00:55:07,760 --> 00:55:11,360 But many farmers believe they have a historic God-given right 841 00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:12,960 to this limited resource. 842 00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:16,280 What would you say to an Ethiopian farmer 843 00:55:16,280 --> 00:55:19,680 who says, "The waters of the Nile are mine?" 844 00:55:22,760 --> 00:55:26,200 TRANSLATION: This is unfair, an injustice. 845 00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:29,400 I would say, "This is an injustice." 846 00:55:31,040 --> 00:55:33,440 What can one do about his food? 847 00:55:33,440 --> 00:55:36,520 He blocks my food and the food of my young children and the people. 848 00:55:38,560 --> 00:55:40,000 God won't let them. 849 00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:43,240 Because Egypt, glory be to God, is the mother of the Nile. 850 00:55:43,240 --> 00:55:46,880 Egypt is the mother of the Nile, glory be to God. 851 00:55:51,160 --> 00:55:53,200 It's hard to talk to a farmer here who says, 852 00:55:53,200 --> 00:55:56,200 "I'm poor and this water is a God-given right," 853 00:55:56,200 --> 00:55:59,920 when I've also spoken to people in the south, south of Egypt, 854 00:55:59,920 --> 00:56:03,600 who say, "We're even poorer and we need this water as well." 855 00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:08,360 Somehow these countries are going to have to sit down and talk 856 00:56:08,360 --> 00:56:13,600 and discuss and agree how they use this incredibly vital, 857 00:56:13,600 --> 00:56:16,040 precious, sacred river. 858 00:56:19,560 --> 00:56:21,840 From the lush green fields of the Delta, 859 00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:25,080 the waters of the Nile flow onward towards the sea. 860 00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:39,600 Standing guard at the Mediterranean is the great port of Alexandria. 861 00:56:42,160 --> 00:56:44,760 I had come to the end of my journey down the Nile. 862 00:56:50,080 --> 00:56:52,520 At last, the Med! 863 00:56:55,560 --> 00:56:58,000 I'd travelled almost 3,000 miles, 864 00:56:58,000 --> 00:57:00,200 through three very different countries, 865 00:57:00,200 --> 00:57:03,680 united by one extraordinary life-giving river. 866 00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:07,680 I think what this journey has really shown me 867 00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:09,760 is the astonishing legacy of the Nile. 868 00:57:11,000 --> 00:57:13,440 Of course, some of the world's first great civilizations 869 00:57:13,440 --> 00:57:17,240 grew up on its banks, but it was also central to the development 870 00:57:17,240 --> 00:57:19,960 of some of the world's great religions as well. 871 00:57:19,960 --> 00:57:24,600 What's surprised me the most is just how important the Nile is today 872 00:57:24,600 --> 00:57:27,560 in shaping the beliefs, but also the politics 873 00:57:27,560 --> 00:57:29,480 of the people who live along it. 874 00:57:32,720 --> 00:57:35,600 The key question about the Nile is who owns it? 875 00:57:36,760 --> 00:57:38,440 The answer will help to determine 876 00:57:38,440 --> 00:57:42,480 whether the river is shared peacefully or controlled by force. 877 00:57:42,480 --> 00:57:45,200 Personally, I suspect most people would say 878 00:57:45,200 --> 00:57:47,960 that it should belong to everyone in the countries of the Nile. 879 00:57:47,960 --> 00:57:52,200 The Nile today is as important as it has ever been. 880 00:57:52,200 --> 00:57:56,760 Hundreds of millions of people and entire countries depend on it 881 00:57:56,760 --> 00:57:59,920 and they've got to find a way to share it. 882 00:58:09,280 --> 00:58:12,040 On my next journey I'll be travelling along the Ganges, 883 00:58:12,040 --> 00:58:13,400 the great artery of India. 884 00:58:14,960 --> 00:58:17,200 I'll be taking a dip in its sacred waters... 885 00:58:17,200 --> 00:58:18,640 And...three! 886 00:58:19,720 --> 00:58:22,880 ..and visiting a city said to be as old as Babylon. 887 00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:26,560 This is an utterly overwhelming place.