Tag Archive for: Luxor

A Farmer in the Nile Valley

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Farmer bringing in his sugarcane harvest on a donkey cart, Luxor, Egypt

In many parts of Egypt, as here near Luxor, the donkey cart is still widely used as a simple means of transport to bring in the harvest from the sugarcane plantations along narrow paths. Sugarcane dominates the cultivated areas. During a third-class train journey from Luxor to Aswan, I witnessed how, at many stops (it felt like every third palm tree), passengers would rush out, grab a few sugarcane stalks as a ‘sweet treat’, and then chew on them to extract the juice. The plant fibres and remnants soon spread across the entire floor of the carriage.

The Ramesseum in West Thebes

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Ramesseum, Temple of Ramesses, Thebes West, Nile Valley, Egypt

With its head in the sand, a colossal statue lies amidst the remains of a massive temple complex, looking so helpless that you’d love to stand it back up again. The remains of this mortuary temple, built as a place of worship for Ramesses II and the gods Amun, Mut and Khonsu in West Thebes near Luxor, on the middle reaches of the Nile in Egypt, as well as the many other imposing structures, are testimonies to a highly advanced civilisation that produced a sophisticated form of government, technical inventions and great artists. Walls and columns are almost completely covered with reliefs and paintings, giving an impression of the life of the ancient Egyptians in earlier times as well as their ideas of the world before and after death, which played an important role in their religion. This is how many burial sites were created out of concern for the well-being of the deceased in the realm of the dead. This was even more true for a Pharaoh; to ensure the continued existence of their own empire, burial sites were built and riches and everyday items were sent along on the journey to the afterlife.

All images from the ‘Weltbilder’ edition

Evening Mood by the Nile at Luxor

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Evening Mood by the Nile at Luxor, EgyptEven the flourishing of civilisation during the time of the Pharaohs was only made possible by the waters of the Nile, and to this day, this same source forms the livelihood of the Egyptians. The origin of the Nile lies half a continent away in the rain-rich mountains of Central Africa, and the last thousand kilometres the brown waters flow past temples and pyramids. Along with the fertile farmland it has created on both sides, it cuts through the desert; the green of the plants is a soothing and calming sight amidst the hot, dusty land. Until the construction of the Aswan Dam, the soils were replenished with new nutrients by the annual flooding. Even the calendar was aligned with the flood. Today, the fellahin have to use artificial fertilisers and also contend with soil salinisation. As only a few bridges span the river, ferries and feluccas, small sailing boats, are still a traditionally common means of transport up and down the country in Egypt.

All pictures from the ‘World Pictures’ edition