0:00:03 > 0:00:08I'm going on a series of astonishing adventures...
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Wow!
0:00:10 > 0:00:11It's absolutely stunning.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15..travelling along three of the mightiest rivers on the planet.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25These rivers have given rise to some of the world's greatest civilizations.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31For centuries, we've worshipped their life-giving waters...
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..and feared their awesome, destructive powers.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Current is a killer!
0:00:41 > 0:00:45On these epic journeys, I'll meet some extraordinary characters...
0:00:45 > 0:00:47HE SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE
0:00:51 > 0:00:54..and experience the very different cultures,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58religions and countries that have emerged along our sacred rivers.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03In this episode, I'll be travelling along the world's longest river,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05the Nile.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Two great tributaries form this mighty river, the White Nile
0:01:09 > 0:01:13running north from Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile that springs from the
0:01:13 > 0:01:17highlands of Ethiopia, where I'll begin my journey from source to sea.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23The Nile flows through the arid landscapes of Sudan and Egypt.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It's a site that makes you bite your lip.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29The life-giving river is one of the cradles of humanity.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33These are some of the greatest treasures of human civilization.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36But with populations along the river banks rising,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39an ever-greater strain is being placed on the river,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42threatening the stability of the entire region.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47This is one of the greatest potential flash points in the world.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50With the people and countries along the Nile arguing over how
0:01:50 > 0:01:54they can use this great river, I want to know who really owns
0:01:54 > 0:01:56these sacred waters.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08My journey began in the central highlands of Ethiopia.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11I was heading for what many Ethiopians say is
0:02:11 > 0:02:13the source of the Blue Nile.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18Few rivers have captured the imagination quite like the Nile.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22For thousands of years, the source of the Nile was a secret
0:02:22 > 0:02:26known only to the people who lived beside it.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Explorers sought it out, venturing deep into the heart of Africa.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Many of them never returned.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36But here, it's just a stream.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40But eventually the Blue Nile will widen -
0:02:40 > 0:02:42it will become a river in its own right.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44It will join up with the White Nile
0:02:44 > 0:02:48and together they will form the all-powerful Nile river.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I grant you, though - it's not very impressive at this point.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55I think actually here,
0:02:55 > 0:02:56I might even be able to jump that.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00I've jumped the Nile!
0:03:00 > 0:03:02HE LAUGHS
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Ah!
0:03:04 > 0:03:05Source is this way.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10I've come to this site, Gish Abay, where the waters begin
0:03:10 > 0:03:13an epic journey north towards the Mediterranean Sea, because millions
0:03:13 > 0:03:18believe it is the source of the Nile and a place of divine power.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20My goodness! Look at the number of people here.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28So they're here because this is the holiest spot on the Nile.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33This is a site that is sacred to both Muslims and Christians,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37who believe that this is the source, not just of the Nile,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40but of one of the rivers of the Garden of Eden.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Most of the 93 million Ethiopians are Christian,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52and pilgrims here had travelled from across the country.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57This is the source just over here, I think.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Look at the structure around it.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Not what I was expecting.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Why are you here? Why is the source so holy?
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Why is it considered such a sacred site?
0:04:10 > 0:04:15- TRANSLATION:- In the beginning, God created the river as a heavenly river, not as an earthly one.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17It is a gift from God.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Since its creation, it has been a source of holy water
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and served the first people in heaven.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Now it turns out that this is...
0:04:41 > 0:04:45the other source, the proper source is in a building just over there.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Only priests are allowed to go in there.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53It's a little bit underwhelming in some ways, because of course,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56this isn't the mighty river as we imagine it to be
0:04:56 > 0:04:58but this is how it starts.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Every river starts with a trickle.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Ah!
0:05:10 > 0:05:14The water of the Nile at the source.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17It's wet and wonderful. Very memorable, actually.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Feels very special.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23I'll remember this moment long after the water has dried.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Now you can kiss.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Making a blessing. Thank you very much indeed.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44There was something very authentic about this simple, remote site.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48It's not something created for foreign tourists - and was
0:05:48 > 0:05:51full of Ethiopians who believe in the healing power of the Nile.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Salaam, salaam. Salaam, salaam, salaam, salaam.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58So you've got a kidney infection
0:05:58 > 0:06:02and you believe that the waters of the Nile can help to cure you.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07But how will you use the waters and what do you think they will do for you?
0:06:07 > 0:06:12- TRANSLATION:- I believe in the Holy Bible, and it says that if a person believes
0:06:12 > 0:06:16and is baptized by holy water, they will be cured.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19The holy spring here is a gift of God.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22It has the power of God and has just cured me.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36I found it upsetting to hear the sometimes desperate hope
0:06:36 > 0:06:40invested in the river - but perhaps their faith is understandable.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Most Ethiopians live in remote rural areas with limited access
0:06:43 > 0:06:45to health care.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Poverty is rife in Ethiopia.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53The United Nations ranks it amongst
0:06:53 > 0:06:55the poorest countries in the world.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00For many, the Nile is a source of hope and salvation.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10It was humbling to witness the strength of their belief.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Some people might think that worshipping a river or even
0:07:27 > 0:07:31just the source of a river sounds a little bit exotic,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35shall we say, but this river is a life-giver.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37It provides water for
0:07:37 > 0:07:43and irrigates the fields of tens of millions of people, so to me,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47anyway, it makes perfect sense to celebrate it and even worship it.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Salaam, salaam, salaam.
0:07:55 > 0:07:56We're off along the Nile.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04The source is more than 8,000 feet above sea level.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07As it trickles and tumbles downhill, the water
0:08:07 > 0:08:12widens into a river as it's joined by more streams from the highlands.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16My goodness. It's grown a bit already.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Since more than a million people died during drought
0:08:19 > 0:08:22and famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24many think of this as a dry country.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28But during the rainy season, this river will swell tenfold.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33Ethiopia provides more than 80% of the total flow of the Nile.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34It's a curious thing.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38When you think of the river Nile, generally you think of Egypt,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Pharaohs and pyramids.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43But actually, it's Ethiopia that contributes
0:08:43 > 0:08:44most of the flow to the river.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Ethiopia's crucial gift to the Nile has only recently been fully
0:08:49 > 0:08:53understood, and it raises a question.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Although we associate the Nile with Egypt,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59who do the precious waters of the river actually belong to?
0:08:59 > 0:09:03I followed the Blue Nile to the far north-west of Ethiopia,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05and the vast waters of Lake Tana.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11This beautiful lake, more like an inland sea,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14covers an area of more than 1,000 square miles,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19and is also considered by some to be the source of the Blue Nile.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22The waters here have long provided an abundance of fish
0:09:22 > 0:09:24and food for the region, supporting
0:09:24 > 0:09:26a way of life with traditions
0:09:26 > 0:09:27that have endured
0:09:27 > 0:09:28for thousands of years.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Fishermen here are among the last people in the world to still
0:09:34 > 0:09:39use boats made from this plant, papyrus.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43It grows all the way along the river Nile and it played an enormous role
0:09:43 > 0:09:46in the first civilizations
0:09:46 > 0:09:50that emerged along the Nile's river banks.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52The first books were made from papyrus as well.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Can we ask, what is your name, sir?
0:09:55 > 0:09:56My name is Girma.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Girma, how long does it take to make a boat out of papyrus?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- TRANSLATION: - About one and a half hours.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08My family are all engaged in this type of work.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10My father is a fisherman.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13So in time, I've been able to learn from him.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17So you see yourself as being a man of the river Nile?
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The Nile is everything for me.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24I've built my life on it and my livelihood depends on it.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Girma supplies dozens of these boats to fishermen on the Nile every year.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Foolishly, I agree to give one a try.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41I gather there are no Nile crocodiles on this part of the lake.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Can I just point out that there seems to be some water in it?
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Trust me, it will float!
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I'm holding you to that!
0:10:50 > 0:10:52All right, let's give it a go.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56OK.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Whoa! I'm up to my ankles in water.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Oh, bloody hell!
0:11:02 > 0:11:03Ahh!
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Come on, this is impossible.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13I'm off.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Forward motion seems to provide stability.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I'm on a paper boat.
0:11:22 > 0:11:23I'm on the Nile!
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Oh, this lake suddenly looks very big!
0:11:44 > 0:11:47There's a mystical, timeless quality to Lake Tana.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55The lake is home to dozens of island monasteries,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58guardians of Ethiopia's unique religious history.
0:12:03 > 0:12:04Salaam.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06This is a land of myth and legend,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10said to be home to the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon's mines.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13For centuries, tales of treasure on these islands drew explorers
0:12:13 > 0:12:14and fortune hunters.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Salaam, salaam, salaam.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20I had arrived at the 700-year-old monastery of Ura Kidane Mehret.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Oh, my goodness. Look at this.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Inside, vivid wall paintings tell the story of Ethiopia's
0:12:32 > 0:12:35spectacular heritage.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Christianity was declared a state religion here in the fourth century.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46This isn't a religion that was imposed on Ethiopia by missionaries.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51This is home-grown Christianity.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56Long before it was the religion of the Roman Empire,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58it was the religion here in Ethiopia.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Ethiopia was the first Christian kingdom in the world.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07But it wasn't the only major religion to find an early
0:13:07 > 0:13:08foothold here.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Before Christianity, Judaism had arrived
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and according to legend, this area has been the resting
0:13:14 > 0:13:18place for one of religion's holiest treasures for almost 3,000 years.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23An artefact precious to Jewish people and many Christians
0:13:23 > 0:13:24and Muslims as well.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30It's said to be guarded by priests of the Ethiopian church.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36There's lots of amazing myths
0:13:36 > 0:13:41and legends surrounding the monasteries of Lake Tana,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44the greatest of which surely is that one of them
0:13:44 > 0:13:46housed the Ark of the Covenant for a while.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50So the ark that held the tablets
0:13:50 > 0:13:52on which were written the Ten Commandments.
0:13:52 > 0:13:59THEY CHANT
0:13:59 > 0:14:03The story is that the Queen of Sheba who came from the land that we
0:14:03 > 0:14:07now call Ethiopia went to visit King Solomon in Israel.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10She'd heard great stories of his wisdom, wanted to meet him.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13She turned up there, they got on very well -
0:14:13 > 0:14:15so well, in fact, they had a son together.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16He went home with his mum
0:14:16 > 0:14:18but went back to visit his dad when he was a young man.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23When he returned home to Ethiopia, among his entourage was
0:14:23 > 0:14:26brought the Ark of the Covenant.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31It was apparently kept safe in a monastery on Lake Tana.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And now, according to many Ethiopians,
0:14:36 > 0:14:37it's still here in the country.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Outside, the monks were giving thanks for the waters of the Nile.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52THEY CHANT
0:14:57 > 0:15:02- TRANSLATION:- Here in Ethiopia, we feel that water represents life to human beings.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05If man doesn't have water, he has to endure drought.
0:15:05 > 0:15:11The river Nile, making its way around Ethiopia, nourishes the country.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15But because it is such a precious limited resource,
0:15:15 > 0:15:20the Nile has also long been a cause of conflict.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24700 years ago, Ethiopia threatened to divert the Nile because of what
0:15:24 > 0:15:30it said was Muslim persecution of Christians downriver in Egypt.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Now the two countries are once again locked in a bitter dispute
0:15:34 > 0:15:36over ownership and use of the river.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46To understand what's happening, I needed to take to the air.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Cleared for take off.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52'Clear for take-off, Bravo, X-ray, Echo. Thanks very much.'
0:16:00 > 0:16:02There it is down beneath us - the Blue Nile.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09On its way through the Ethiopian highlands,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11the Nile carves its way through a canyon,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15at times 300-feet deep and more than 250 miles long.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19We're in the Nile Gorge.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Remote and infested with crocodiles and malaria-ridden mosquitoes,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30the Nile has long flowed through this area of Ethiopia untamed
0:16:30 > 0:16:31and underused.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Ethiopia hasn't really tapped into the potential
0:16:37 > 0:16:42and the power of the river to generate electricity or to
0:16:42 > 0:16:44provide water for irrigating crops.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49That's now starting to change.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53On an isolated stretch of the Nile, Ethiopia has recently started
0:16:53 > 0:16:55building one of the world's largest
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and most controversial engineering projects.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04Beneath us now is what many hope will be the future for Ethiopia.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07They call it the Grand Renaissance Dam.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Look at this!
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The multibillion pound dam will eventually hold an inland
0:17:15 > 0:17:17sea behind it.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Water flowing through the dam's giant turbines will then generate
0:17:20 > 0:17:24huge amounts of electricity, tripling Ethiopia's current output.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28They are taming the Nile, they're controlling the Nile,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31they're going to divert it.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34But of course it's hugely controversial.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Downstream, more than 85 million Egyptians depend
0:17:38 > 0:17:40entirely on the Nile for their survival.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44A colonial-era treaty, drawn up by the British,
0:17:44 > 0:17:50awarded Egypt the rights to 66% of the river's entire flow.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Ethiopia, where the majority of the water in the Nile originates,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55got none.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59We're in a hugely remote part of the planet here, but make no
0:17:59 > 0:18:04mistake, this is one of the greatest potential flash points in the world.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Can you find a landing pad, Roger?
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I think we can find one.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Egypt fears the dam will allow Ethiopia to siphon off water
0:18:14 > 0:18:17that belongs, they think, to Egyptians.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20They reacted to the idea of this dam with fury,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22even talking of sabotage and war.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26It's overwhelming to come here and see this.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Semegnew Bekele is the Ethiopian engineer
0:18:29 > 0:18:32in charge of the six-year construction project.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35This is an almost biblical effort to control
0:18:35 > 0:18:40and harness the power of the mighty Nile.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43We are not controlling that mighty Nile.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45This is a whopping great wall.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49We can't control the Nile. We don't have any plan.
0:18:49 > 0:18:56We are really implementing a strategy that fights poverty
0:18:56 > 0:18:58without harming anyone.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00But countries downstream, Sudan
0:19:00 > 0:19:04and particularly Egypt, are worried about what might happen here,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08about how you will have the power to switch off the Nile.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10- No.- Should they be worried?
0:19:10 > 0:19:16This is an electricity project. Electricity doesn't consume water.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20We are not using this project for any other consumptive use.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Only generation of electricity and this is known,
0:19:23 > 0:19:29fact, without really affecting their flow.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Officials here say this dam will help to lift the country
0:19:32 > 0:19:34out of poverty.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37It's a persuasive argument, but economic development here -
0:19:37 > 0:19:42as it does everywhere - comes at a moral and ethical cost.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Behind the dam, a vast tract of wilderness will be submerged
0:19:45 > 0:19:47under a huge reservoir.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52And local tribes will be displaced from their traditional lands.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54I can see the benefits of development,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57but I still found myself torn.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00I find it quite emotional, actually,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02to see communities like this down here.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Their whole way of life is going to change.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Less than a fifth of the people here
0:20:09 > 0:20:11have access to electricity.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14By damming the Nile, Ethiopia could become Africa's biggest
0:20:14 > 0:20:17supplier, providing much-needed power for homes, schools,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19factories and hospitals.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Ethiopia's not alone in wanting a greater share of this
0:20:24 > 0:20:26life-changing river.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33I followed the Blue Nile north to the flat arid landscape of Sudan.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43Here, temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Yet even in this parched country,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49a remarkable transformation is taking place along the river.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Blessed with a longer stretch of the Nile than any other country,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Sudan is using its waters to turn its desert green.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04This is Al Waha, Arabic for "the oasis".
0:21:04 > 0:21:08It's a 22,000 acre state-of-the-art farm, that uses more than
0:21:08 > 0:21:12eight million gallons of water from the Nile every day.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18It's a model that manager Ali Alshiekh thinks could be
0:21:18 > 0:21:20replicated along the length of the river.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Look at this. Two, four, six, whopping great pipes.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26So you've got those...
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Those are basically in the Nile
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and you're sucking the water out of the Nile.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Out of the Nile to the farm, to the main canal.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35- Into this massive canal here. - The main canal.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38We have to keep this monster full.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- This monster? - All the time. All the time.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42Is it a hungry beast?
0:21:42 > 0:21:46It is never, never satisfied. It has to be full.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49The world is hungry. It is thirsty.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51- The world is hungry, yes.- Yeah.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53People need food
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and that food has got to be produced in the most efficient way possible.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Yeah. Yeah.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00We should...just coming behind us here, we've got
0:22:00 > 0:22:03a bloke on the back of a donkey and a herd of goats coming past.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07- Yeah. Yeah.- This is the more traditional image
0:22:07 > 0:22:11of farming in Sudan, I think, isn't it?
0:22:11 > 0:22:13- Yeah.- And it's quite a contrast... - Yeah.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15..with what you're doing here,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19which is scientific, and it's on a massive scale.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23But the time will come when all these guys will join us.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Give us a sense of the scale of your farm here.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35The centre pivot that we see there. You said that's 440 metres long.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38So nearly half a kilometre long.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42So each of these circles is about a kilometre wide.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46So this is equivalent to 100 football pitch.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49And how many of these crop circles, almost, have you got?
0:22:49 > 0:22:52We have 102 here.
0:22:52 > 0:22:53My goodness!
0:22:53 > 0:22:57I have 10,000 football to care about.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00THEY LAUGH
0:23:02 > 0:23:07In this field, Ali is growing alfalfa, a crop used to feed animals.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Most is exported to Sudan's Islamic neighbours in the Gulf States,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15where their remaining water supplies are disappearing fast.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Ali also uses the crop for the farm's own herd of milking cows who
0:23:21 > 0:23:26shelter from the searing Sudanese sun in giant purpose-built sheds.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30You've got what look like dozens of Friesian cows.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Yeah.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37We could be in Lincolnshire or Dorset in the UK.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43There are 2,500 dairy cows here, cared for by Dr Mohamed.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45- Dr Mohammed?- Oh, hello.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48- Assalam alaikum. - Assalam alaikum.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51He uses the latest technology to keep this European
0:23:51 > 0:23:53breed at home in Africa.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59In summer, the temperature can reach more than 48 degrees Celsius.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02We are using these big cooling fans.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04We are using these misters.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08All these together reduce the temperature by 20 degrees Celsius
0:24:08 > 0:24:10from outside.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14The cows produce up to three times as much milk as Sudan's native breed,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17thanks to the waters of the Nile.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21- Can we go in? - Yes.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25But as populations along the Nile continue to rise
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and farming here intensifies,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30an ever greater strain will be placed on the river.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34How many have you got now?
0:24:34 > 0:24:37We've got now 2,500 cows.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Our plan here in two years is to expand to 10,000 cows.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44I feel a bit conflicted about what I'm seeing here
0:24:44 > 0:24:47because although I'm sure they're farming with best of intentions,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50they are using a lot of water from the Nile,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and although they say that the amount they're using is sustainable,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57what would happen if there were 100 farms like this,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59a thousand farms like this,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01sucking water out of the river?
0:25:01 > 0:25:04There wouldn't be a lot left to flow on down
0:25:04 > 0:25:06through the rest of Sudan and into Egypt.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Who does the Nile belong to?
0:25:11 > 0:25:13It comes back to that question.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Who has rights to the water of the Nile?
0:25:16 > 0:25:19And it's something that the countries along the Nile
0:25:19 > 0:25:20haven't really decided
0:25:20 > 0:25:23and haven't been able to come to agreement on.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33We're coming to a crucial point on the river.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38I was nearing the end of the Blue Nile.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42Wow.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51This is the confluence of the Nile.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53I'm on the Blue Nile.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Down there, that's the White Nile,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58joining this river
0:25:58 > 0:26:03and together forming the mighty, one, the legendary Nile.
0:26:04 > 0:26:11This is an absolutely key geographical spot on the continent.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14It's a key spot on planet Earth actually.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19The meeting of these two great rivers to form an even greater one.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28This has been described as the longest kiss in history,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30which is rather beautiful, don't you think?
0:26:42 > 0:26:44That is an absolutely incredible sight.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46I find it rather mesmerising.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50As the meeting point of the two Niles,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Sudan has always been a historical crossroads.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Cultures have met and mingled here.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59There are still more than 100 languages spoken in Sudan.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02It's something of a cliche
0:27:02 > 0:27:04but inevitably there's an element of truth about it -
0:27:04 > 0:27:09that way to the south is broadly Christian Africa,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and to the north is mainly Islamic.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21Rising up alongside the confluence is Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I'd arrived in the city on a Friday.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Islamic mystics known as Sufis were gathering on the edge
0:27:27 > 0:27:31of the city to perform a weekly sunset ritual.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36It harks back to the earliest days of Islam on the Nile.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39These are the whirling dervishes of Sudan.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Journalist Isma'il Kushkush was at hand to help me
0:27:46 > 0:27:50understand this magical yet fairly chaotic spectacle.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53What are they doing?
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Purifying the heart.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Does that mean effectively cleansing the body of evil?
0:28:25 > 0:28:28As the Sufis spin to the rhythmic chants of the crowd,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31they enter a kind of trance.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Their meditative state is intensified
0:28:36 > 0:28:39by the overwhelming fragrance of frankincense.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42That's a beautiful, beautiful smell.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45Shokran.
0:28:45 > 0:28:51Islam dictates almost every aspect of daily life in Sudan.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56Under Sharia Law, everything from crime, politics and economics
0:28:56 > 0:29:00to sex, hygiene and diet is governed by the Koran.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04It feels to me, like, in quite a conservative culture,
0:29:04 > 0:29:09this is a chance for some people to let off steam, almost.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12This is actually typical and normal Sudanese culture.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17This is the essence of Sudan.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20The international reputation of Sudan has been hammered
0:29:20 > 0:29:23by the genocide and crisis in the Darfur region,
0:29:23 > 0:29:27and 20 years of civil war between the north and the south of the country.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30The Sudanese government has also been accused
0:29:30 > 0:29:33of supporting terrorism, committing human rights violations
0:29:33 > 0:29:35and denying religious freedom.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Sudan is a country that has its fair share of problems
0:29:39 > 0:29:42and many of those problems are well known to the globe.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47There is not one form of practising Islam.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49There are groups that could be described
0:29:49 > 0:29:51as a little more liberal, centrist and conservative.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57This is a way of practising Islam that is a little more liberal.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08I think before coming here, I had quite a negative view of Sudan.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11I thought of it as a very conservative country
0:30:11 > 0:30:13that was quite unfriendly,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16but this was a magnificently welcoming service and ceremony.
0:30:16 > 0:30:21It felt holy and sacred but it felt very inclusive as well,
0:30:21 > 0:30:22and I loved it, I loved being here.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34The following day I was back on the road, heading across the desert.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39This is a part of Sudan beyond the reach of the river,
0:30:39 > 0:30:41where little can survive.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45I was travelling to a region that was once home
0:30:45 > 0:30:48to the ancient Nile civilization now known as Nubia.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51It developed along the river 5,000 years ago,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and stretched from Northern Sudan into Southern Egypt.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Archaeologists like Tim Kendall are shedding new light
0:31:02 > 0:31:05on a largely forgotten civilization.
0:31:05 > 0:31:12When people think of a culture along the Nile in ancient times,
0:31:12 > 0:31:16I think they just think of ancient Egypt, but we're in Sudan.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Right. There was a major ancient civilization here.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24Urban, literate, powerful kings
0:31:24 > 0:31:27that controlled a vast empire in the 8th century,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31bigger than any empire that had ever been on the Nile before.
0:31:31 > 0:31:36And here we are standing in front of pyramids of these kings,
0:31:36 > 0:31:392,000 kilometres south of the pyramids of Egypt.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46This is Nuri, a royal cemetery containing pyramids
0:31:46 > 0:31:50for 20 kings and 54 queens of the Nubian kingdom known as Kush.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57We climbed the ruined side of the pyramid belonging to Taharqa,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01the greatest of all Kushite Pharaohs, who not only ruled Sudan
0:32:01 > 0:32:03but the whole of Egypt as well.
0:32:10 > 0:32:11What an epic view.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15This is spectacular.
0:32:15 > 0:32:16Yeah.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22This is what some historians recently
0:32:22 > 0:32:25and writers have called the Black Pharaohs.
0:32:25 > 0:32:31This is a culture and a civilization distinct and different
0:32:31 > 0:32:36at some times in its history to the civilization
0:32:36 > 0:32:37further down the Nile in Egypt.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41But they were closely related, they shared the same religion,
0:32:41 > 0:32:42they honoured the same gods.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47The Kushites believed that the Egyptian Gods were here
0:32:47 > 0:32:50in the Kushite form, in the Nubian form.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Because there's this overwhelming focus on the civilization
0:32:54 > 0:32:59of ancient Egypt, it wouldn't be unnatural for modern Egyptians
0:32:59 > 0:33:03to think, "We've been here for thousands of years,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06"this is our culture, this our land,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08"this is our river as well,"
0:33:08 > 0:33:13but the fact we are standing on a pyramid here in northern Sudan,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17built by people whose descendents may still live around us now.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21I have a feeling that that gives them an historical,
0:33:21 > 0:33:25more legitimate claim to the land and the water and the space.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28It does, you know, but there's a funny thing I noticed in Cairo
0:33:28 > 0:33:31and that is that on the facade of the Cairo Museum,
0:33:31 > 0:33:37the only dynasty that isn't named is the 25th dynasty.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41- And that was... - The dynasty of Kush which ruled them.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43The dynasty of the Nubian kings from here.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45They deliberately cut it out.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Some archaeologists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
0:33:50 > 0:33:56refused to accept that a black African civilization could have achieved what it did.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00They said the people here must have been lighter skinned,
0:34:00 > 0:34:03maybe Libyans, maybe even... early Europeans.
0:34:05 > 0:34:06It's racism.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13There are actually more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Ignorance of Nubian culture has in some ways
0:34:17 > 0:34:21denied the black Africans who live here now, and Sudan generally,
0:34:21 > 0:34:26an historical claim to this land, and even to the Nile itself.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Not far from the royal pyramids is Jebel Barkal,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35a lone 300-foot high rock,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39once considered the most sacred site in Nubia,
0:34:39 > 0:34:41partly because of its proximity to the Nile.
0:34:43 > 0:34:44For thousands of years,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Nubians and Egyptians climbed the mountain at sunset,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50believing it to be the birthplace of Amun,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54the father of their gods and the creator of life.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01- Assalam alaikum. - MAN: Assalam alaikum.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Religions often developed out of a desire to explain
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and understand the powerful forces of nature and creation.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15And the keys to life here were the sun and the Nile.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Oh, my goodness...
0:35:19 > 0:35:22- HE EXHALES DEEPLY - Ah...
0:35:23 > 0:35:25This is a...
0:35:26 > 0:35:27HE LAUGHS
0:35:27 > 0:35:29It's a sight that makes you bite your lip.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Has there ever been a clearer representation
0:35:35 > 0:35:37of the POWER of a river?
0:35:37 > 0:35:40On the far side, desert.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Out here, desert.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45And along the river...life!
0:35:50 > 0:35:52It feels like...
0:35:53 > 0:35:57..the imagination and beliefs of our forefathers is...
0:35:57 > 0:35:59is invested in the rock.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03It feels holy, it feels magical, mystical.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07Special.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Ancient Nubians and Egyptians worshipped the same gods.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15But for thousands of years,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18their relationship was marred by conflict...
0:36:20 > 0:36:23..and the repercussions of that history are still being felt
0:36:23 > 0:36:25along the Nile today.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31In the heart of what was once Nubia,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34the river now flows into an enormous lake,
0:36:34 > 0:36:39stretching 350 miles from northern Sudan into southern Egypt.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43HE CHUCKLES
0:36:43 > 0:36:44Lake Nasser!
0:36:45 > 0:36:47The world's longest reservoir.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53And it's all down to this incredible structure that I'm standing on,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55this whopping great dam.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57I'd arrived in Egypt.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02The Upper Aswan Dam was built in the 1960s to generate electricity,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05provide a reservoir of water for farms
0:37:05 > 0:37:07and control flooding along the Nile -
0:37:07 > 0:37:10the result of the rainy season in Ethiopia.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13Before the dam, heavy floods could decimate crops,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15often resulting in famine.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20The dam gave Egypt control over the levels of the Nile downstream,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23but at a heavy price for many Nubian communities.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Down there...
0:37:26 > 0:37:29are the remains of Nubian settlements, dozens of them.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32They were home to more than 100,000 people.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35And their homes and fields
0:37:35 > 0:37:37were swallowed by the rising waters of the lake.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43An entire way of life... their civilization, their culture -
0:37:43 > 0:37:45they'd been here for thousands of years -
0:37:45 > 0:37:48swallowed and submerged.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56The Egyptian authorities relocated many Nubians
0:37:56 > 0:37:57to new settlements in the desert,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00far from the fertile land of the Nile.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04In the Nubian communities that survived the arrival of the dam,
0:38:04 > 0:38:08I found Nubians trying to use their culture and traditions
0:38:08 > 0:38:11to carve out a living in Egypt's flagging tourist industry.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16They've got a crocodile on the side of their house.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19Assalam alaikum.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24Why do people have crocodiles outside their homes?
0:38:24 > 0:38:27TRANSLATION: Those who kill them hang them like this.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Because tourists used to come and look at them.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32As a community, are you scared of the crocodiles?
0:38:32 > 0:38:34Do they pose a threat to you?
0:38:34 > 0:38:38I have one in my house. A live crocodile.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42Sorry, did you just say you have a live crocodile?
0:38:42 > 0:38:44- I do.- Can we see it?
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Yes. Please, come in.
0:38:48 > 0:38:49Oh, dear.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58Why have you got a crocodile... in your house?
0:38:58 > 0:39:01Because tourists used to visit me.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04They would sit down and look at the crocodile.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10In many houses there are crocodiles, that's normal.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15This croc doesn't look entirely happy in there.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18Do... Do you ever get it out? Does it get to walk around?
0:39:19 > 0:39:22No, I don't take it out.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25If I took it out, it would go away, it would go to the Nile.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28Yeah, perhaps not surprisingly.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34When it grows... Did you see the one outside the house, the dead one?
0:39:34 > 0:39:36When it grows like this, we will kill it, stuff it
0:39:36 > 0:39:38and hang it on the door.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40Right.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44Doesn't have a great future then, does it?
0:39:46 > 0:39:48It was disappointing to see one of the Nile's oldest inhabitants
0:39:48 > 0:39:50treated like this.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Crocodiles were once worshipped by locals here -
0:39:53 > 0:39:56in the form of the god Sobek.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58But now this community is struggling
0:39:58 > 0:40:01and people are trying to make ends meet any way they can.
0:40:04 > 0:40:10The Nubians have lived along the Nile for as long as almost anyone.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14They still have their faith, their traditions,
0:40:14 > 0:40:18their connection to the river, but times have changed and so have they.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22What they really want here now is a few more tourists.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27There have been centuries of tension along the Nile
0:40:27 > 0:40:29between Arabs and Nubians.
0:40:32 > 0:40:3525 people were recently killed near here and many more were injured,
0:40:35 > 0:40:39during clashes between Arab and Nubian families.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42Many Nubians still feel ostracized from Egyptian life.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52Back on the Nile, I went to visit an ancient temple
0:40:52 > 0:40:55that nearly suffered the same fate as nearby Nubian settlements
0:40:55 > 0:40:59and was almost submerged by the rising waters of the river.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04When the Nile was dammed and the lake began to rise...
0:41:05 > 0:41:08..Egypt's ancient monuments were under threat.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Some of them were swallowed by the water, but some of them were saved.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20My God, look at this!
0:41:24 > 0:41:26This is the Temple of Isis at Philae.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Built more than 2,000 years ago,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34in 1972 it was saved from being submerged in the reservoir
0:41:34 > 0:41:36that rose behind the Aswan Dam.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42The entire temple was chopped up into 40,000 blocks, moved,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45and meticulously rebuilt on this new site.
0:41:51 > 0:41:52This is absolutely breathtaking.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59It is actually quite hard to believe, in some ways,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02that the Egyptians did what they did, WHEN they did it,
0:42:02 > 0:42:06at a time when the rest of the planet, or most of it anyway,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08was in intellectual darkness.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13The Egyptians were creating magic and mystery...
0:42:15 > 0:42:16..and stuff that lasts!
0:42:22 > 0:42:23In its day,
0:42:23 > 0:42:27the temple attracted pilgrims from across the ancient world.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32This is a temple to the god Isis.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35She's absolutely central to the story of the Nile
0:42:35 > 0:42:37because ancient Egyptians
0:42:37 > 0:42:41believed that the river was swollen by her tears.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45The temple bears witness to seismic shifts in our history,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48to the rise and fall of civilizations.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00The stones here tell an astonishing story.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04They're covered in inscriptions and graffiti.
0:43:04 > 0:43:10And here...we've got the last known text written in hieroglyphics.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15The last gasp of a culture and a civilization
0:43:15 > 0:43:17that had endured for centuries.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24A bit of writing here, and then... Pwoof! ..it's gone.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30Other inscriptions carved into the ancient stones
0:43:30 > 0:43:32tell of a new force travelling up the Nile.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Look, there's a cross here.
0:43:34 > 0:43:39Times changed and Christianity came to the shrine.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43In fact, this became a base
0:43:43 > 0:43:46from which monks went on missions to the south,
0:43:46 > 0:43:50to convert the Nubians and other tribes to Christianity.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56Egypt was Christian for hundreds of years,
0:43:56 > 0:44:00until Islam swept across North Africa.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05Today, Egypt is home to almost 80 million Muslims.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09It has the largest Islamic population in the Middle East.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13But religious strife and political conflict dog this Nile state.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Liberal and conservative Muslims are battling physically
0:44:16 > 0:44:19and intellectually for the soul of the country.
0:44:20 > 0:44:21There is a small,
0:44:21 > 0:44:25but not insignificant group of Islamic fundamentalists in Egypt
0:44:25 > 0:44:29who want to tear temples like these down and destroy them.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31They want to rid Egypt of its pre-Islamic past.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35They think these places are... idolatrous.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41These are some of the greatest treasures of human civilization.
0:44:43 > 0:44:49I think to tear them down would be obscene...utterly obscene.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55Temples like Philae were central to life in Ancient Egypt,
0:44:55 > 0:44:59but of course, they're also central to economic life here today
0:44:59 > 0:45:03because tourism is normally one of the country's largest industries.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07But in recent years, terrorist attacks on foreigners
0:45:07 > 0:45:11and violent political protests since the revolution in 2011,
0:45:11 > 0:45:13mean tourist numbers have plummeted.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16There are guards everywhere here.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21We've got guards following us around all the time
0:45:21 > 0:45:25and there are guards at all of the major tourist sites here now.
0:45:25 > 0:45:30Egypt cannot afford to have another terrorist attack
0:45:30 > 0:45:33on visitors to the country.
0:45:40 > 0:45:41We're taking the train.
0:45:44 > 0:45:45It was time to head north.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51So WE are off to Cairo!
0:45:53 > 0:45:57I was catching an overnight train and I had plenty of company.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02We have got an extraordinary entourage with us.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Endless layers of security.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09We've got local security, regional security, we've got train security.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12We now also seem to have a secret policeman with us,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15blokes with sub-machine guns under their jackets.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20Partly to protect us and partly to control us and to keep an eye on us.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Egypt is a difficult country to film in.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27What I find extraordinary about the situation here,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30is that several years now after the revolution,
0:46:30 > 0:46:33Egypt is back where it's basically always been,
0:46:33 > 0:46:38with the military in control of national life.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41We won't be short of company
0:46:41 > 0:46:45if we fancied a five-a-side in the corridor...
0:46:45 > 0:46:47Bye, chaps.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56Ah, look! What a magnificent flow.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00- Cold, hot.- Cold, hot. OK, brilliant.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04Yes, yes... It's got a curtain.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06Don't know who he is, or where he's come from.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08HE MOUTHS
0:47:09 > 0:47:11He might be standing guard...
0:47:12 > 0:47:14..for the whole night!
0:47:18 > 0:47:22The train to Cairo tracks close to the Nile.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25The greenery of irrigated crops means it's easy to forget
0:47:25 > 0:47:29that Egypt is one of the driest countries on the planet.
0:47:29 > 0:47:3595% of Egyptians live on a narrow ribbon of land alongside the river
0:47:35 > 0:47:37that constitutes only 5% of the country.
0:47:38 > 0:47:43And Egypt's population has soared in recent decades.
0:47:43 > 0:47:44Much of the growth has been in Cairo,
0:47:44 > 0:47:47which in the last 50 years has seen its population triple
0:47:47 > 0:47:51to more than 18 million, and it's still rising fast.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54This city is absolutely rammed.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58There are some predictions that say by 2050,
0:47:58 > 0:48:03there will be nearly 40 million people in Cairo.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05HORNS BEEP
0:48:05 > 0:48:0640 million?!
0:48:08 > 0:48:11The one thing that won't change in the future
0:48:11 > 0:48:13is Egypt's complete and utter dependence on the Nile.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18So far, Egypt has been able to discourage or threaten
0:48:18 > 0:48:19other Nile states
0:48:19 > 0:48:22to prevent them tapping into the supply of Nile water.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26Most Egyptians believe it's their historical birthright.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31On Rhoda Island, which sits at the centre of the Nile in Cairo,
0:48:31 > 0:48:34I went in search of a rather forgotten site
0:48:34 > 0:48:36that illustrates the enormous importance of the river
0:48:36 > 0:48:38for the whole of Egypt.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39Assalam alaikum.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43This place isn't really on the tourist trail in Cairo.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45I think that might be the toilets.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47Where is it? This way? OK.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Oh, my...
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Now this is a fascinating place,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59absolutely central to the story of the Nile.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04This is...the Nilometer!
0:49:04 > 0:49:06SIMON CHUCKLES
0:49:06 > 0:49:09It does what it sounds like it does.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11It measures the height of the Nile.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16Long before the Aswan Dam regulated the flow of the Nile,
0:49:16 > 0:49:20the Nilometer recorded the critical level of the annual flood.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27So there are three points where the water would come in.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32The water would fill this cavern, it would rise up through the chamber.
0:49:34 > 0:49:39The height of the water could make or break the Egyptian harvest.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43In effect, the Nilometer measured the health of the country.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47It did mean, however, if it reached the right level,
0:49:47 > 0:49:50that everybody would be taxed.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54Built after the Arab conquest of Egypt,
0:49:54 > 0:49:58the Nilometer was one of Islam's first great constructions here.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02The grandeur and craftsmanship of the building was perhaps
0:50:02 > 0:50:05an acknowledgement that the Prophet Muhammad
0:50:05 > 0:50:08said the Nile was holy and one of the rivers of Paradise.
0:50:10 > 0:50:16The dome here was rebuilt after a fire and around the base of it
0:50:16 > 0:50:20are inscriptions and quotations from the Koran.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22They talk about how...
0:50:22 > 0:50:24water is a gift from the skies.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29And how rainfall can create a paradise with...
0:50:30 > 0:50:33..fruits and grapes and palm trees.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Almost all of the religions, the great religions,
0:50:37 > 0:50:42revere water in some way because of what it offers, what it brings.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50The river has always brought life to this city and to this country.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54But do modern Egyptians assume
0:50:54 > 0:50:56the river will just keep flowing like this forever?
0:50:59 > 0:51:02Certainly for ancient Egyptians, the river was just always there,
0:51:02 > 0:51:04something they could set their calendars by.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Now, with countries to the south demanding the right to take
0:51:09 > 0:51:12more water from the Nile, some commentators are saying
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Egypt cannot expect to have a monopoly on the river
0:51:15 > 0:51:18and might need to adapt to a future with a smaller share of the flow.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24I met up with Egyptian politician Mona Makram-Ebeid.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28Has Egypt taken the Nile for granted?
0:51:28 > 0:51:32I guess so, for a very long time. Nobody has asked.
0:51:32 > 0:51:38Probably many of the population here doesn't know that other people too
0:51:38 > 0:51:41are sharing the Nile waters.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43Unless you're educated,
0:51:43 > 0:51:45- which is not the case for a lot of people.- Mm.
0:51:45 > 0:51:4740% of the people are illiterate.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51So I think you're right, in a way,
0:51:51 > 0:51:55Egyptians have taken the Nile for granted for a long time.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57Now they have to wake up.
0:51:57 > 0:52:02So what does that mean for Egypt today in the 21st century
0:52:02 > 0:52:06when countries to the south are starting to build giant dams
0:52:06 > 0:52:09and they will have the power to turn off the taps?
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Some of these countries who are at the source of the Nile
0:52:12 > 0:52:18think that it is their right to have more of a part of the Nile
0:52:18 > 0:52:21than they had until now.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24I think that we need people who understand,
0:52:24 > 0:52:27who are experts on the Nile,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31to see what would be the equitable distribution.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Who owns the Nile?
0:52:34 > 0:52:38SHE LAUGHS Who owns the Ganges?
0:52:39 > 0:52:42I think Indians would say, they do.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44The Egyptian will say the same thing.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50The Nile has always been synonymous with Egypt.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt
0:52:56 > 0:52:57"the gift of the Nile".
0:52:57 > 0:53:02Nowhere is this more evident than in the country's breadbasket...
0:53:02 > 0:53:04the Delta.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09From above, it's been described as a flowering lotus plant,
0:53:09 > 0:53:12as the river splits into thousands of channels,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15flowing through a vast expanse of some of the most fertile land
0:53:15 > 0:53:16on the planet.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21Over half of all Egyptians live in the Delta,
0:53:21 > 0:53:26many growing fruit, vegetables and thirsty crops like rice and cotton.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30The Delta is famous for being the source of the luxury
0:53:30 > 0:53:33Egyptian cotton sheets sold on our high streets.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38To see where they come from, I met up with farmer Mosbah Oman.
0:53:40 > 0:53:41What is... What's going on?
0:53:43 > 0:53:46TRANSLATION: They're planting cotton, the whole aim is to plant cotton.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50We plant cotton and then it grows like this.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Do you need a bit of help? Or, I'm here to assist.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55FARMERS LAUGH
0:53:55 > 0:53:58God bless you, God bless you. Work, kids!
0:53:58 > 0:54:02Ululate, girls, ululate. WOMEN ULULATE
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Can one of the ladies show me what to do?
0:54:09 > 0:54:12Oh, blimey! You plant them close together, don't you?
0:54:12 > 0:54:15ULULATING CONTINUES
0:54:15 > 0:54:17She's fast! Right, come on, come on!
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Does all this ululating help you to focus on the job?
0:54:22 > 0:54:23Does it keep you happy?
0:54:23 > 0:54:27- TRANSLATION:- The ululating helps us to stay happy during our work.
0:54:27 > 0:54:32We encourage each other so that we go home with happy hearts.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35SHE ULULATES
0:54:35 > 0:54:39- WOMAN SHOUTS COMMANDS - Honestly, I've got a bad back!
0:54:40 > 0:54:45TRANSLATION: I have a dancing horse. It dances, a horse, tell him.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Would you buy it?
0:54:47 > 0:54:49No, I do not want to buy a dancing horse!
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Producing the cotton for a single T-shirt can require more than
0:54:54 > 0:54:572,500 litres of water.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00So huge amounts of water are pumped out of the Nile here
0:55:00 > 0:55:03and flooded over tens of thousands of fields.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07It's a hugely inefficient and untargeted way of irrigating crops.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11But many farmers believe they have a historic God-given right
0:55:11 > 0:55:12to this limited resource.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16What would you say to an Ethiopian farmer
0:55:16 > 0:55:19who says, "The waters of the Nile are mine?"
0:55:22 > 0:55:26TRANSLATION: This is unfair, an injustice.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29I would say, "This is an injustice."
0:55:31 > 0:55:33What can one do about his food?
0:55:33 > 0:55:36He blocks my food and the food of my young children and the people.
0:55:38 > 0:55:39God won't let them.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43Because Egypt, glory be to God, is the mother of the Nile.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46Egypt is the mother of the Nile, glory be to God.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53It's hard to talk to a farmer here who says,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56"I'm poor and this water is a God-given right,"
0:55:56 > 0:55:59when I've also spoken to people in the south, south of Egypt,
0:55:59 > 0:56:03who say, "We're even poorer and we need this water as well."
0:56:03 > 0:56:08Somehow these countries are going to have to sit down and talk
0:56:08 > 0:56:13and discuss and agree how they use this incredibly vital,
0:56:13 > 0:56:16precious, sacred river.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21From the lush green fields of the Delta,
0:56:21 > 0:56:25the waters of the Nile flow onward towards the sea.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39Standing guard at the Mediterranean is the great port of Alexandria.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44I had come to the end of my journey down the Nile.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52At last, the Med!
0:56:55 > 0:56:57I'd travelled almost 3,000 miles,
0:56:57 > 0:57:00through three very different countries,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03united by one extraordinary life-giving river.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07I think what this journey has really shown me
0:57:07 > 0:57:09is the astonishing legacy of the Nile.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Of course, some of the world's first great civilizations
0:57:13 > 0:57:17grew up on its banks, but it was also central to the development
0:57:17 > 0:57:19of some of the world's great religions as well.
0:57:19 > 0:57:24What's surprised me the most is just how important the Nile is today
0:57:24 > 0:57:27in shaping the beliefs, but also the politics
0:57:27 > 0:57:29of the people who live along it.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35The key question about the Nile is who owns it?
0:57:36 > 0:57:38The answer will help to determine
0:57:38 > 0:57:42whether the river is shared peacefully or controlled by force.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45Personally, I suspect most people would say
0:57:45 > 0:57:47that it should belong to everyone in the countries of the Nile.
0:57:47 > 0:57:52The Nile today is as important as it has ever been.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56Hundreds of millions of people and entire countries depend on it
0:57:56 > 0:57:59and they've got to find a way to share it.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12On my next journey I'll be travelling along the Ganges,
0:58:12 > 0:58:13the great artery of India.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17I'll be taking a dip in its sacred waters...
0:58:17 > 0:58:18And...three!
0:58:19 > 0:58:22..and visiting a city said to be as old as Babylon.
0:58:24 > 0:58:26This is an utterly overwhelming place.