All language subtitles for Nile BBC 2of3

The Nile.

Draining over three million
square kilometres of Africa,

then flowing through one of
the harshest deserts in the world.

It's the world's longest river.

This river was the power house behind
the world's first great civilisation.

Without the Nile's
extraordinary fertility,

there would be no Tutankhamen,

no Cleopatra, no pyramids.

It changed the world forever.

Each year, the Nile performed a miracle -

a great flood that brought not
only water to the parched desert,

but a staggering one hundred and forty
million tonnes of fertile volcanic soil.

Somewhere far away,

powerful forces gathered

to swell the river
and send it racing downstream.

But the Ancient Egyptians had no idea
where this flood came from.

They believed it was the gods who sent
these vital gifts so reliably each year.

Impassable rapids prevented

the Egyptians travelling far enough
upstream to discover the truth.

They lived in isolation,

believing this one green valley contained
their entire,

god-given Universe.

They knew nothing of what lay beyond.

But where does the Nile's
great flood really come from,

and how is it able to perform its miracle?

The river has been reluctant
to give up its secrets,

now we can unravel the mystery.

The answer can only be found
at the end of an extraordinary journey,

far upstream, into the remotest

and strangest corners of Africa.

It's an epic journey...

in search of the great flood.

The Nile's influence
as a lifeline in the desert

stretches a long way south from Egypt -

onwards into Nubia,
now part of northern Sudan.

For over a thousand kilometres,

the Nile is the only source of life
in a forbidding desert known

as "The Belly of Stones".

For millennia,
there have been human settlements here

on this green strip clinging
to the banks of the Nile.

But it's a man-made oasis,

extending only as far as farmers
can pump the river's precious water.

Animals have also benefited

from this transformation of barren
desert into lush paradise.

These, the rivers original
inhabitants have witnessed

more than one civilization
born of the Nile.

These pyramids are
the tombs of the so-called

“black pharaohs" of
the Nubian Kingdom of Kush.

They too harnessed the Nile's riches,

and were at one time powerful enough
to rule their Egyptian neighbours,

a thousand kilometres to the north.

But unlike the Egyptians,

little is known about their
mysterious culture and language.

A little way upstream from
those enigmatic pyramids,

the Nile's story becomes more complicated.

Now there are two rivers

the Blue Nile and the White Nile.

Here they meet and merge
in what Arab poets

call "The longest kiss in history".

The clearly different colours of the Blue

and White Nile suggest
different characters and origins.

This meeting of the waters is the site of
another great human settlement

Khartoum.

Khartoum is the capital of Sudan -

a country of nearly six hundred tribes
and over a hundred languages.

Centuries old,

Khartoum remains to this day
one of the most important crossroads

in the African landscape.

The Nile has seen Kushites, Christians

and Arabs each rule here in their time.

But Islam has emerged as the
dominant voice in modern Khartoum.

Every Friday, Islamic mystics
still gather

to affirm their beliefs.

A crowd urges them to spin.

They enter a state of trance
believing in this way

that they can span the divide
between heaven and earth.

These are the legendary
“whirling dervishes...

Like the waters of the Blue and
White Nile,

people have merged here.

In a human kaleidoscope,

Arabia meets Africa,
and the old ways meet the new.

But throughout Khartoum's fluid history,

the Nile's yearly flood has remained
the one true constant.

Beyond Khartoum, both branches of
the Nile lead into a wilder Africa...

But which branch brings the great flood?

This, the larger branch,
is the White Nile.

Just a few hundred kilometers
upstream from a desert city,

the White Nile flows through
a wholly different and stranger world.

This is the Sudd.

It's one of the largest
swamps in the world.

Sudd means "The barrier".

Throughout history, anyone who tried

to navigate this shifting landscape
found it well named, and it still is.

Arab and African worlds collide here.

Southern Sudan has seen many civil wars

the latest raging for 20 years.

Hostile geography and
politics combine to keep

the Sudd hidden from the outside world.

The course of the White Nile becomes
lost in an ocean of papyrus reeds.

The labyrinth of papyrus provides food

and shelter for enormous numbers of fish.

These waters are clearly fertile,

but did they nourish the far away
fields of Ancient Egypt?

The world of papyrus
is always on the move.

Air sacs in the stem
give it great buoyancy.

Huge papyrus rafts drift on the current.

These restless islands of reeds constantly

redefine the channels of the waterways.

It's no wonder explorers
found the Sudd impenetrable.

A healthy population of dangerous animals

also helps maintain
the Sudd's inhospitable reputation.

At this time of the year
the huge swamp is, in fact, shrinking.

Fish become more densely concentrated,
making them easier prey.

But it's not just the water
that's becoming overcrowded...

White-eared kob retreat into
the dwindling grasslands

of the Sudd during the dry season -

when they were last counted there
were thought to be a million of them -

one of the greatest concentrations
of large animals on Earth -

one thousand per square kilometre.

But the over-crowding has
encourages strange behaviour.

The males are forced to fight
over females by protecting tiny,

merely symbolic, territories.

But they aren't the only ones

for which the White Nile
is a lifeline in the dry season.

Over a million people and
their cattle live in the Sudd.

Among them - the Dinka.

Their cattle are
at the centre of their world -

they depend on them for survival.

The relationship is certainly personal
and spiritual,

but above all it's practical.

Rarely killed and eaten,

each cow is a precious source
of milk or blood,

forming much of the Dinka's diet.

Cow dung is burned for fuel -

the smoke and the ash deters
the hordes of biting insects.

When they can,

the Dinka catch fish from the swamp.

How can the Sudd sustain such huge
numbers of people,

antelope and cattle?

It's all about to change...

As the rain sets in,
the entire swamp begins to swell...

The Dinka are forced to move

or the rising waters
will trap them.

The kob too.

Their migration is massive -

It rivals that of the wildebeest
in East Africa.

In a year they will travel
thousands of kilometres,

keeping one step ahead of the floodwaters.

Since the time of the Ancient Egyptians

these people have moved
in rhythm with the Nile.

Unable to settle,

they couldn't build great cities
or monuments

like those of Egypt or Nubia.

Distant tributaries bring yet
more water to the Sudd.

The Nile bursts its banks.

Grasslands become lakes.

As the rising waters reach all corners of
the swamp,

the transformation continues.
Strange beasts begin to appear.

This is a fish - a lungfish.

It's been cocooned in mud and
mucus underground for months,

waiting for the waters to rise.

Primitive lungs allow it to breathe air

as it searches for the nearest pool.

But reaching water doesn't mean safety.

The shoebill stork is a giant of
the swamp - well over a metre tall.

Its bizarre beak is perfectly designed

for feeding in muddy water
where prey is difficult to target.

A huge beak increases
the chance of success.

It's surprising
what a muddy pool can hide...

As the flood reaches its height,
the Sudd has doubled in size.

Now covering
thirty two thousand square kilometres,

it's one of the world's biggest wetlands.

For a few months,
this water-world is left to nature.

For some, it's paradise.

Fish can now colonise areas
that were recently grassland.

For just a few weeks

they can take advantage of
the huge new supplies of food.

Spot-necked Otters are very social.

They live in close-knit family groups,
often hunting together.

Intelligent and agile,

they hunt using speed and cunning.

Webbed feet give propulsion
and a long tail helps them steer.

Although they prefer fish,

these otters will sometimes eat snails,
frogs or even insects.

But there's one swamp creature
that really will eat anything...!

With a muscular body one

and a half metres
long and a powerful, poisonous bite,

the Nile Monitor is understandably
avoided by all its neighbours.

Relatively clumsy on land,

underwater it's transformed
into an agile hunter.

But the huge lizard is just
as happy eating others' rotting

leftovers on the bottom of the swamp.

In fact, it will eat and digest
almost anything

it can fit in its mouth.

The Nile monitor is one of the most
adaptable of all the Sudd's animals.

In this constantly changing water world

it's a winning strategy.

Soon it's all change again...

The tropical sun burns off
the Nile's shallow waters,

leaving a shifting mosaic of pools
and new grassland.

Now it's time for the Dinka to return.

But others fare less well
as the land re-emerges.

This catfish could easily
find itself stranded

but it has a curious ability
that might just save it.

If it can't swim, it'll crawl.

Specially adapted fins allow
the catfish to walk on its elbows.

Like the lungfish,
it can also breathe air.

It may have to perform
this trick many times

as its habitable world
gets smaller by the day.

Meanwhile, the kob are on the move again.

Their world is expanding rapidly.

As the floodwaters recede, a huge green
carpet of new grass rolls out before them.

This explains how the Sudd
can support such massive herds.

But is this the same flood and fertility
that sustained Ancient Egypt?

There's no doubt that
the White Nile has enough water

and nutrients to completely
transform the Sudd.

But the great marsh holds onto its riches.

It soaks up the water
like a massive sponge

and the labyrinth of papyrus
traps any sediment.

Despite a great influx of water,

the flood goes no further North -

the flow of the White Nile out of the Sudd
changes little through the year.

Ancient Egypt's desert world

relied on the annual flood
brought by the Nile.

With it arrived millions of tonnes
of fertile soil.

So where did it come from?

The search upstream from Egypt

and then up the White Nile
stalled at the Sudd.

This branch of the Nile is not
the source of the great flood...

But there is an alternative...

to return to Khartoum -

and take a different journey

along the Blue Nile.

Upstream from Khartoum,

the Blue Nile flows through dry savannah.

Then, on the fringe of
the Ethiopian Highlands

the river emerges from deep inside
a gorge so steep and hostile

that it has claimed the lives of many

who have tried to explore the river further.

But the bottom of this gorge
shows little promise of a great flood.

It's barren.

This is a tough place to make a living.

They're crossing the dried out
river bed of the Blue Nile.

Right now it's no more than a trickle -

just enough to warrant a trek of
many hours

to bring livestock to drink.

But the huge boulders that
cover the river bed suggest

that at some time a powerful force
of water must flow through here.

The lammergeyer,

Africa's mountain vulture,

seeks out those who succumb
to the heat and the drought -

in this brutal season

the lammergeyer
will have plenty to choose from.

Ethiopia hosts eighty percent
of Africa's highest mountains -

a legacy of the region's volcanic past.

Thirty million years ago,

a huge plug of molten volcanic rock welled
up through cracks in the Earth's crust,

then cooled and solidified
to form the Ethiopian Highlands.

Since then, erosion has carved the edges
of this rocky dome to spectacular effect.

And there is a surprise up here -
in this arid land...

a lake!

...at nearly two thousand metres,

Tana is Africa's highest.

Tana's hippos live at a higher
elevation than any other.

Could Lake Tana be the elusive
source of the Niles great flood?

The mere trickle flowing out
of it doesn't look promising.

But the rocks here
tell a different story...

only a raging torrent
could have carved these shapes.

Further up on the highland
dome above Lake Tana,

the land is similarly dry and barren.

Yet if the Blue Nile is responsible
for the great flood,

it must surely start somewhere up here.

These mountains might appear lifeless,

but look closely and
they are alive with rodents.

These moor lands support one of the
highest densities of rodents on Earth -

up to three tonnes of them
in every square kilometre -

something that has not gone

un-noticed by other local residents.

The Ethiopian Wolf,

also known as the
Red Jackal, is a master rat-catcher...

...normally...

The parched vegetation gives
very little cover to the rodents -

they have to risk it out in the open...

...but it's not much good
at concealing a wolf either.

The rodents aren't
necessarily safe underground.

The wolf has acute hearing,
amazingly sensitive smell,

and a narrow,
stabbing snout full of sharp teeth.

Danger's past,
but they must always be on the alert...

Gelada Baboons

no monkey lives at higher altitude -

they are found only in these mountains.

They use the steep cliffs
of the Blue Nile's gorge

to provide overnight protection
from leopards and humans.

In fact,
the rodents have nothing to fear

the baboons feed exclusively on grass

the only monkey that does so.

Males use those teeth
to intimidate rivals.

They live in a complex ordered

society of many hundred animals...

It can be bitterly cold up here.

Geladas shuffle while feeding,

to save energy -

crucial with such a poor diet...

It probably stops
their bare bottoms getting cold too.

This is a tough time of year

they are forced to dig for roots.

How can such a place provide
the water for the Nile's great flood?

From June, moisture-laden clouds

from the Congo basin collide with these
steep mountains and the heavens open.

A metre of rain and hail
fall in just a few weeks.

The Ethiopian highlands are known
as "Africa's Water Tower".

The roof of Africa can be a miserable place

during its three month rainy season.

But the rain brings
the mountains back to life.

The rodents' world is transformed.

The lush vegetation provides them
with as much food as they need,

and cover from predators...

...like this Augur Buzzard.

Provided, of course,
they see it before it sees them.

The soil here is volcanic.

That means it contains
a rich cocktail of nutrients.

It was soil as fertile as this which

nurtured the crops of Ancient Egypt.

With the plentiful rain and
intense mountain sunshine,

the grass here grows fast.

This explains why these highlands can
support such huge numbers of animals.

The rains are transforming
the highlands in another way.

Night temperatures can be low enough
to freeze any water in the ground.

As the ice expands,
it breaks up the topsoil.

When the ice melts the next morning,

the soil is left crumbled
and fine

Millions of nest-making
rodents loosen the soil further.

The highlands are full of people, too.

They have exploited the rich soil here

since the time of Ancient Egypt.

The rainy season turns the highlands
into a busy patchwork of farmland.

This is one of the largest and oldest
areas of cultivated land in Africa.

Inevitably, this great bounty
attracts unwelcome visitors.

Ethiopian children play their part
in protecting the family crops.

The flute is played
to scare away animals

at least that's one theory.

Sometimes more direct action is necessary.

The rains continue for up to three months.

It may appear bleak,

but in fact it's a time of celebration
and thanksgiving for the highland farmers.

They're accustomed to the yearly rhythm,

and they see the rains as a blessing.

Beneath their feet, the land
is undergoing one final dramatic change.

The rain-sodden earth
can hold no more water.

It spills out across the mountainsides,
creating a host of tiny streams.

As they merge, the cargo of fertile
soil driven downstream increases.

Streams become rivers.

Finally these rivers flow into
the mountain bowl that is Lake Tana.

The lake is filling up all the while,

creating marshland on its shores.

Here, Weaver birds turn the flower heads
of papyrus into building material

and they set about constructing

a woven city over the growing lake.

Papyrus is one of the Niles great gifts
growing along much of the rivers length

it provides a strong waterproof

building material for
expert craftsmen such as these.

The people of the Nile have
also found it useful for building.

The Ancient Egyptians
even used it to make the paper

on which they recorded
the story of their great civilisation.

People here still put papyrus to good use.

The design of these boats
has changed little since ancient times.

Tana has become a vast mountain
reservoir for the Blue Nile.

The dissolved volcanic soil
has enriched the lake.

It's good fishing for people and animals.

It's thought that the Ancient Egyptians
heard rumours of this lake,

but they never realised the critical

role it played in their lives.

Every day pelicans gather
near the lakeshore...

...in response to especially
dense concentrations of fish.

But sometimes the fishing is easy.

The pelicans aren't fussy about
where their food comes from.

Fisherman's off cuts do just fine

as Lake Tana's pelicans have learned.

Like the Ancient Egyptians,

the people of the Ethiopian highlands

know they must live
within the Nile's rhythm.

It can be good to them
and give them all they need.

But it can also turn on them

and even threaten their lives.

Some years the flood
is so great that crops,

livestock and even homes are swept away

Even though most highlanders are devout
Christians, older, pagan beliefs,

with a deep connection to nature,
still survive here.

Discreet offerings are made to Gihon

a river spirit.

Usually, Gihon is asked for help.

But if the flood is too great,
the spirit is begged for mercy.

More than sixty mountain rivers
have flowed into Lake Tana,

but only one river flows out -
the Blue Nile.

Virtually dry just a few months ago,

it has now become
a very different river...

The highlanders call these falls Tis Isat.

It means “smoking fire...

This, surely,
is a force powerful enough to carry

the great flood thousands of kilometers
to the deserts of Egypt.

Gathering speed and power,

the floodwaters
sweep on into the Blue Nile Gorge.

Well over a thousand metres deep,

nearly twenty kilometres wide
and over six hundred kilometres long,

this is Africa's Grand Canyon.

From all over the highlands,

other huge rivers pour
into the Blue Nile Gorge.

By the time it leaves Ethiopia,

the Blue Nile will be fifty times
the size it was in the dry season.

Now the Blue Nile is carrying a hundred
and forty million tonnes

of fertile soil.

For a million years, the Blue Nile

has been carving this huge
gash through the Ethiopian highlands -

grinding down the volcanic rock, grain
by grain, to form the enormous gorge.

Finally, the Nile's great flood
spills out of Ethiopia

and across the flat lands of Sudan

It sweeps past Khartoum,

elbowing the steady flow of
the White Nile aside.

And on through the desert to revive

and enrich the parched lands of Egypt.

Thousands of years ago
this was the great flood

that allowed the Ancient Egyptians
to build a great civilization.

But they passed into history
without ever finding out

where the riches
they depended on really came from.

The Nile has never given up
its secrets easily.

Next week...

for centuries,

mankind struggled to find
the source of the White Nile.

It was this great prize that drew
an army of explorers to Africa -

men who were ambitious,
dedicated, obsessed.

Their endeavours made them legends.

Doctor Livingstone I presume.

And revealed why a river that
flows through a desert never runs dry.