EGYPT: THE NILE RIVER
The Nile is the longest river in the world, its headwaters 4,160 miles upstream from where it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile was
the giver of life for the ancient Egyptians. Water to drink and fish like
carp, mullet, and sturgeon came from it. Every spring it overflowed its
banks, bringing rich, fertile soil down from the mountains into the valley to grow food. There were three seasons in Egypt, all connected to the
Nile and to planting: flooding was from the middle of June to the middle of October, when the floodwaters receded; sowing and growing lasted
until the end of February; and harvesting continued until mid-June or
July when the cycle began all over again. Humans scattered barley and
wheat seeds by hand, then sent goats into the fields to walk on them and
push them down into the soil so birds couldn’t eat them before they had
a chance to germinate. By 1300 B.C., apple orchards were planted along
the Nile.48 Like the Mesopotamians, Egyptians irrigated. However, sometimes the water stagnated and became hospitable to mosquitoes and other
flies. Other vermin like mice and rats were also a problem because they
chewed or burrowed their way into the granaries. Cats were domesticated
in Egypt and worshiped because they kept the rodent population down.
one ancient food still eaten in Egypt is beans: “Beans have satisfied
even the Pharoahs.”49 Most popular were and are fava beans–ful nabed,
and brown beans–ful medames, the national dish of Egypt.