Guide to Egypt [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION The Country Contrasting with the great variety and diversity to be found in Central European regions, the Egyptian landscape shows clear-cut divisions. If natural contrasts are to be found anywhere on earth, it is in the northeastern corner of Africa, lying between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sudanese frontier. The picture is most clearly unfolded during the plane trip from Alexandria via Cairo to Luxor or as far as Khartum in the Sudan. Seen from above, the majestic River Nile looks minute in the midst of the unending desert, like a shining silver thread on the naked crust of the earth. Anyone who, from a plane, has seen the narrow green strip of the Nile Valley, tight in the grip of the surrounding desert, will certainly realise the importance of water for man's survival. Something the same may also be felt at the top of the Great Pyramid. Westwards the desert stretches like a boundless sea, nothing but yellow sand and brown-grey rocks; almost a shadow of death in a magnificent solititude. Towards the east, in the Delta and along the banks of the Nile, glitters "the biggest, the greenest oasis in the world." Foreigners coming to the Nile Valley are at first surprised, sometimes even a little disappointed. "What can desert, barren mountains and the fields of the river oasis possibly signify? The scenery does not entrance at first sight as it does in so many places in Europe. The desert is always the first thing the traveller sees. But is it really only barren earth and wilderness? It has boundless expanses, not to be found anywhere in Europe. Its stillness and solitude can be overpowering. And the light over the desert! There in the very early morning hours such pure and limpid air will be enjoyed as nowhere else. Then there is the play of colours in the sky in the evening while the day fades. At first it turns a transparent green, with which blends a vivid 36