The Nile: Egypt's Great River with Bettany Hughes (2019): Season 1, Episode 4 - Episode #1.4 - full transcript

For 5,000 years, this land, Egypt,

and the epic civilization
it gave birth to,

has been shaped by one
thing more than any other.

This awesome river.

The river Nile.

The Nile helped temples to rise.

Pharaohs to rule.

And pyramids to be built.

Without the Nile, there'd
be no ancient Egypt.

So I'm making the historical
journey of a lifetime.

A 900 mile adventure along the Nile,



across the whole of Egypt.

I'll explore Egypt's
greatest achievements.

It is truly wonderful, isn't it?

And find treasures hidden
for thousands of years.

Oh my God, that's a sheer drop down there.

This is my chance to
travel this fabulous land.

Lovely!

And experience as the
ancient Egyptians did,

from the river Nile.

From pharaohs to slaves,
from facts to fantasies,

I want to explore firsthand and understand

how this river shaped one of the world's

first and greatest civilizations.

Join me as I uncover
5,000 years of history.



Along the river Nile.

I'm almost 600 miles into
my journey up the Nile.

And all along the way, I've been given

the warmest of Egyptian welcomes.

- Hello!
- Hello!

Good luck, hope you have a good day!

Bettany!

Bettany, salaam, salaam.

Showing kindness to strangers

is a huge part of Egyptian culture.

- Thank you.
- Welcome.

It looks like a lovely
breakfast, isn't this amazing?

Wherever you go, the people on the banks

invite you to come and share their food.

It is such a beautiful thing.

And of course, Egypt's
hospitality has been matched

by the wealth of its epic history.

I'm now on the final leg of my journey.

Where arguably the river
is at its most beautiful,

and you can explore ancient Egypt

at the very height of its powers.

I'm now well past the
famous sights of Luxor,

and heading to the intriguing
treasures of southern Egypt.

In beautiful Aswan,
with its island temples,

I'll have to say goodbye
to my lovely dahabiya boat

before crossing the Aswan
Dam to end my journey

on the shores of Lake Nasser

at the world famous temple of Abu Simbel.

30 miles north of Aswan though,

I'm enjoying the familiar
rhythm of life on the river.

But there was a time when the locals

wouldn't have looked quite so
relaxed near the water's edge.

Thanks to the presence
of a ferocious predator.

If I'd been sailing down here at the time

of the ancient Egyptians, all these banks

would have been thick with crocodiles,

and thousands and thousands of them.

And this was a huge problem

for the people who lived on the river.

Crocodiles have now been
hunted out of existence here.

But for ancient Egyptians
who traveled on the Nile,

fished in it, swam in it,

and drank from it, there
was a constant threat

lurking just beneath the surface.

The ancient Egyptians were very clever,

and they knew that they had
to keep their enemies close.

So they ended up actually
worshiping the crocodiles.

And sometimes they were kept in temples,

they were dressed in jewelry,

and we're told that they were
given wine and cakes to eat.

In fact, the Nile's ultimate
predator inspired my next stop.

Kom Ombo.

This temple was built towards the end

of the ancient Egyptian
era, 2,300 years ago,

by the family of Cleopatra.

And it was here that
the crocodile-headed god

Sobek was worshiped.

So there he is with his human body,

very realistically done, he's
got lovely, lovely knees,

but that mad crocodile head

and his scepter, his staff of power.

But I'm here because for the past year,

a team of archeologists has been working

to save Kom Ombo from rising water,

which threatens to damage the
temple and its foundations.

It's given the team an amazing chance

to dig through layers and
layers of Egyptian history.

So, I've made my way round
to the back of the temple.

This is the outside wall.

And the reason I'm here
is that I've had a call

from one of the archeologists
working here to say

that they've just discovered
something rather exciting.

The mission is being led by archeologist

Dr. Abdel-Mannam Said.

- Hi, it's Bettany.
- Nice to meet you.

How are you doing?

Welcome here in Kom Ombo.

So what have you found?

During the digging on
the other side, over there,

- they found a group of steles.
- So steles, like big stones.

Big stones.

- And we have just uncovered it.
- Can I come have a look?

- Of course, why not?
- Thank you.

Steles were like giant
stone message boards,

used to make public announcements.

So I'm hoping these finds might

reveal something new about
life here in ancient Egypt.

How amazing!

I don't know if you can see this,

it's an enormous slab of stone.

And the slab is not alone.

For some reason, several
steles, some in pieces,

have been buried beneath
the wall of the temple.

You had no idea these were down here.

- No, no idea.
- How brilliant.

It looks like a seriously
dangerous job down there.

Can you tell how much this
weighs, what do you think?

- Almost three tons.
- Three tons.

Yes.

- That's so exciting.
- Very exciting.

We're gonna be the first people

to hear what it says for 2,000 years.

- Of course.
- Amazing.

That's so tantalizing.

What are you gonna tell us, stone?

It's like it's kind of teasing us.

At nine feet below ground level,

the dig is turning up
more than just the stele.

There's a confusing mix of treasures here,

including more recent Roman pottery.

But why is the pottery here?

Why has it ended up underneath the stele?

The stele is much
hidden, like dumped here.

Dumped here, yeah.

That's really interesting.

So, because this is late Roman pottery,

but it's underneath the stele level,

that shows us that the
stele must have been

just put down, dumped for some reason.

So it starts out life as a work of art,

and it looks like it's ended up as just

a bit of construction material.

Poor old stele, I'm glad
you're happy with this though.

Beautiful.

It seems that all these
intriguing artifacts

have been dumped here to help support

the foundations of the temple.

'Cause the idea of that
coming down on people's arms,

actually, my heart's in
my throat watching them,

'cause it's so perilous.

And these men, they've been
doing this all their lives.

- So they're experts.
- They're strong men

who have good experience,
not just the strength,

both of them together.

- Strong and wise.
- Exactly.

That's how we like men.

So I've just seen the top of the stele.

I recognize those inscriptions.

Not just hieroglyphic,
but it has a scene.

Yes, so you've got hieroglyphs
and a scene, oh my God!

Amazing.

Now out of the ground, it's clear that two

broken pieces actually fit together.

Allowing an ancient stele to be reformed

after thousands of years in the dirt.

Great to see that, I love it,
I love the fact that they are

loving the rescuing of
this thing from the earth.

But what we don't know is what our ancient

stone stele may be about to reveal.

Just a stone's throw from the Nile,

at the crocodile temple of Kom Ombo,

I'm watching as a team of archeologists

excavate a giant stone stele.

These were public message boards,

the press releases of ancient Egypt.

And I'm about to be
one of the first people

in over 2,000 years to
see what's written on it.

So slowly, slowly the
hieroglyphs are coming out.

Look at the detail on that.

- Is it painted?
- Yes.

- The means of colors.
- This is amazing.

The paint is still on it.

All of the colors,
they come from nature.

Plants, the trees,
stones mixed with water.

Covered by honey to, to be very bright.

I'm blown away by the paint.

I've never seen it come out
of the earth like that before.

It's unusual to find a
stele in a good condition

with the nice original colors like this.

Amazing, so you can
just imagine in its heyday

kind of glaring out with
these jewel-like colors.

And then, we spot a
familiar face in the dust.

- This is Sobek.
- So this is just

too exciting, so what's been
cleaned is Sobek's face.

So the crocodile god.

Amazing, and it's just all appearing

right in front of our eyes.

Sobek's image is proof
that this discarded stele

was originally made for this sacred site.

So how old is it?

The Egyptologists have noticed
the all-important clue.

A pharaoh's name.

You can see his name is here, Seti.

- So which Seti?
- The father of Ramesses II.

So this is the father of Ramesses II.

One of the most powerful men on earth.

Seti I ruled 3,300 years ago.

He expanded the Egyptian empire,

and built beautiful temples.

It'll be months before experts
can fully decipher the stele.

But it's new evidence
that his influence reached

all the way to this
sacred spot on the Nile.

This is like a kind of CV sort of,

kind of boasty biography
of what Seti achieved.

So it means the press releases,
it's just not started now.

- It dates back to 1300 BC.
- Of course it did.

Of course it, we're all
big showoffs as a species.

We want the world to
know how great we are.

And we now know that the
crocodile god was worshiped here

over 1,000 years before
the current temple.

We'll have to start writing
all our press releases in stone

so they survive 3,300 years as well.

Honestly, gentlemen, thank you so much

for letting me see this.

It's just the most incredible thing.

I'm real privileged to witness it.

I'm still completely reeling from today.

What an incredible experience.

I'm covered in sand and Nile mud.

But watching those men, there
was a lot of camaraderie

and support and laughter,
and that must have been

the case in ancient Egypt too.

And those stone stelae,
they are beautiful things.

They are historical gold.

They're gonna tell us so much

about the land here
thousands of years ago.

And they have been
hidden in the foundations

of this incredible temple
of the crocodile god.

I'm genuinely sad to be leaving Kom Ombo.

But now I've got to head further south.

I'm entering one of the
Nile's busiest stretches.

Hi!

I do love this river,
because you never know quite

who's gonna come down it,
it feels very peaceful,

and then suddenly there's a massive barge

carrying stones or sand or cement,

or one of these modern day luxury liners

taking tourists on their
voyage of a lifetime.

Many of us are heading to the same place.

30 miles south of Kom Ombo

is the great southern city of Aswan.

It once marked the border between

ancient Egypt and the rest of Africa.

And remains the final stop
for many great Nile journeys.

So I can just see the Aswan
bridge, which means that soon,

I'm gonna have to say goodbye
to this beautiful boat,

goodbye to the dahabiya.

Just a few miles upstream,
the famous Aswan Dam

means that this is as far as
large boats like mine can go.

I've gotta go, I've gotta go.

Captain, thank you so much!

- I enjoyed every moment.
- I hope to see you again.

Yeah.

Boys, thank you so much!

You've been so lovely, bye bye, thank you.

Thank you guys, you've
been amazing, thank you.

Should we do a quick photo, do you think?

I don't think you've got Sayed in.

That's it, that's it.

What do you say in Arabic, not
cheese, it's something else.

Okay, let's try, one, two, three,

Thank you, that was
really great, thank you.

Bye, bye, see you, see you.

Thank you, it was amazing!

With its multitude of islands,

Aswan is considered by many to be

the Nile's ultimate beauty spot.

A reputation that helped
create one Aswan icon,

the Old Cataract Hotel.

This place was built when Egypt

was the winter playground
of the British Empire.

And it's remained the place
to stay for over 100 years.

Oh my goodness.

Hello!

Hi, I'm Bettany.

- And this is your key.
- Thank you.

- Hope you enjoy.
- Great.

Okay.

Now I've gotta try and find it.

I've been allowed to borrow the key

to one of the hotel's most famous suites,

dedicated to none other
than Winston Churchill.

I just hit a dead end that way.

Churchill, on the other
hand, would have known

this hotel like the back of his hand.

He first stayed here in 1902,

when he was just 28 years old,
and he returned many times.

How does this work?

A few things have been
updated since though.

I'm always hopeless with these things.

That is definitely not letting me in.

Okay.

Ridiculously posh, isn't it.

So this is the, called the
Winston Churchill suite,

and this is where he came back

when he was Prime
Minister, with his family.

It's a nice bathroom.

And a very nice touch.

There's a little bag with a hairdryer.

And it says wonderful hair
begins with a little wind.

I'll remember that.

Next time I'm getting ready to go out.

It is lovely though.

Now that is how I like my views.

That really is something.

And I'm very lucky in my life.

I spend my time traveling around

to ancient sites and fascinating places.

But this is something else,

so you've got a little bit of history

just beyond your balcony, rimmed
by the waters of the Nile.

It is quite something.

It's scenes like this that
have made Aswan famous.

But early British guests
weren't just here for the view.

The 19th century saw a huge
boom in health tourism,

with doctors prescribing
their wealthier clients

a stay in Egypt as a cure for bronchitis,

tuberculosis, and the ills
of industrial Britain.

Visiting here became so
popular that in 1894,

a book was produced called
"Wintering in Egypt. "

And it gave the English
visitor all kinds of tips

about how to have a marvelous time.

The climate here was
described as dry and tonic,

and it was perfect as a counterbalance

to the gloom and rigors
of an English winter.

It was particularly
recommended that men between

the ages of 50 and 60 come here

if they had a gouty tendency.

And in the book there's all
sorts of recommendations

as to what women and men
need to bring with them.

So a woman had to bring a
deck chair and cushions,

parasol, a dressing gown and
sketching materials of course.

And for men, they had to bring
all kinds of different suits

for the evening and for the daytime.

Sorry to say, two flannel
shirts for shooting.

And of course, tennis whites.

Well aware of this advice
was Britain's most famous

travel agent, Thomas Cook.

He'd already pioneered
the modern Nile cruise.

And with his fleet of steamships
ready to bring in guests,

his company opened the Old Cataract

as the ultimate health resort.

With all of this, it meant that this place

became a real trigger for that
golden age of Egyptomania,

where people loved everything
and anything to do with Egypt.

I may have had to leave
my dahabiya behind,

but that hasn't stopped my
river journey through Aswan.

The city overlooks a
unique stretch of the Nile.

With many islands and narrow channels,

it's known as the cataract.

A small boat is needed
to explore these rocky

outcrops and shallow waters.

For the ancient Egyptians,
the cataract formed

a physical barrier, a natural
southern border to their land.

And it was here, each
year, that they experienced

the first signs of the annual Nile flood.

The flood meant fertile land,
crops, food and prosperity.

So monitoring the flood was vital.

The islands of Aswan were
perfectly placed to do this.

And the ancient Egyptians developed

a nifty tool, a Nileometer.

And this is how the waters would have

flooded into the Nileometer.

Thank you, Drakan.

So, the river waters would
come flooding up here,

and as they raised, the levels were marked

by all these grooves in the wall.

So that meant that the powers
that be could work out exactly

what the level of the floods were,

which mean they could estimate

what the sediments would be on the soil.

So they could work to how
many crops could be grown.

And from that, it meant
that they could predict

exactly how much they
could tax the people.

But despite their clever Nileometers,

the ancient Egyptians never
worked out where the energy

of the flood waters actually came from.

They rarely saw rainfall.

To them, water from the
sky was a gift of the gods.

We now know that the
monsoons of central Africa

caused the floods each year.

But the ancient Egyptians
believed the flood waters

emerged from beneath the
rocks of the cataract.

Down here, there was a system of caves.

The crazy thing was that
you could actually hear

the floodwaters before you could see them.

So for the ancient Egyptians,

this was a kind of magic moment.

And they believed that
the gods and goddesses

of the Nile and the Nile
floods lived down here,

and that this was the source

of the life-giving powers of the Nile.

Along with the ancient
Egyptians, the true cause

of the floods baffled Greeks and Romans,

and remained a mystery for centuries.

But just over 100 years ago,

the Nile flood was brought under control.

Ahead of me stands the great Aswan Dam,

whose construction would threaten

one of the Nile's most
beautiful treasures.

I've reached the final city
on my journey up the Nile.

The rocks and islands
of Aswan make it unlike

any other stretch of the river.

It's always been a natural
stop off for travelers.

If you know where to look on these rocks,

you can find inscriptions that date

right away back to the Pharaonic period.

And they were left by traders who traveled

this stretch of the Nile, as
a kind of I was here stamp.

And we know that festival
goers would come,

in order to mark the fact that they had

come to this sacred spot.

They're really amazing, and they carry

on for around 3,000 years.

But you have to have quite
keen eyes to find them.

Aswan once marked the edge
of the Egyptian world.

The gateway to the rest of Africa.

Gemstones, ebony, incense and ivory flowed

through this city, along with Egypt's

most revered and precious item, gold.

Tutankhamen's funeral
mask is one of the few

golden treasures to have
escaped the robbers and raiders.

But here, in this part of ancient Egypt,

gold was once said to
be as common as dirt.

So these lovely ladies have just come in,

and I think, because she's got this black

henna on her hands, she must be choosing

a wedding or an engagement ring.

Are you getting married?

It's like engagement.

Engagement.

Gold jewelry has been found in Egypt

that predates Tut's treasure
by more than 2,000 years.

Super special for the ancient Egyptians,

because they also thought it was sacred.

And they believed that gold came

from the flesh of the sun god Ra.

And that because it didn't
tarnish in the ground,

it had magical properties.

So it was a status symbol,

but it was also something spiritual.

For many of us, Aswan
isn't known for its gold,

but for a famous engineering project,

the Aswan Dam.

Just over a century ago, the
British were in control here,

and changed the Nile forever.

In 1902, a dam opened here
just south of the city.

But 60 years later, the Egyptians

added another, the high dam.

Sandwiched precariously between
them, though, was a small

island with a big treasure,
the temple of Philae.

Reflected in the waters of the Nile,

this temple is truly romantic.

I think there's something
a bit magical about

all ancient Egyptian temples.

But this one is particularly special.

Because when I was a teenager,

it was 15 feet submerged underwater.

And it's been moved block by block,

over 37,000 blocks, and
jigsaw puzzled together

to be in its new place here.

As the second dam was completed in 1970,

and the reservoir between
the two dams rose,

all but the uppermost parts of the temple

disappeared beneath the water.

The only way to save it was
to move it to a higher island.

The ancient Egyptians
dedicated Philae to Isis,

the goddess of resurrection.

And the temple now has a
new life at a new location,

allowing visitors to appreciate

one of Egypt's most famed beauties.

This place felt so perfect.

It was described as the pearl
or the jewel of the Nile,

and it attracted travelers
across the centuries.

One of the English visitors who came here

was Florence Nightingale, and she spent

three months traveling the Nile.

And she thought that Egypt was a place

full of light and life and beauty.

But her heart was really taken by Philae.

And she described it as having
a kind of super sacred sense,

and it was actually here
in Egypt that she followed

what she thought was a calling
from God to become a nurse.

And she went straight from here to train

for five years on the
shores of Alexandria.

This place hasn't just
enchanted with its beauty,

it has a fascinating tale to tell

about the last days of ancient Egypt.

Just over 2,000 years ago, with the death

of the last great pharaoh, Cleopatra,

the Romans seized control of Egypt.

But they weren't here just
to conquer and suppress,

they were massive fans of
ancient Egyptian culture,

and even made their own
additions to this temple.

Archeologist Fatma Mati Amwar

has invited me to see the evidence.

Thank you so much for
a better look at this,

because I've never seen it.

This will be pleasure
for me to show you.

- Thank you.
- Come after me.

- Watch your step.
- I will.

Thank you very much.

As you can see here, this
is August, this is emperor.

And how do you know that
is definitely Augustus?

You can see that his name

is written in hieroglyphic letters.

Augustus was the first
emperor of the new power, Rome.

But he chose to mark his presence here,

using the ancient language of Egypt.

He couldn't be looking more Egyptian,

he's standing in that really
typical Egyptian pose,

and he's making offerings to the gods

as a good pharaoh would do.

And I mean, the Romans are kind of more

than half in love with Egypt.

They love the fact it's very wealthy,

but love everything about it.

Yes.

When they came to Egypt, they want to win

the hearts of the Egyptians.

So they worshiped the same
gods of the Egyptians.

It's a kind of hearts
and minds campaign,

because they're already in power.

Yes, not just power.

- He needed to be loved.
- And are there any other

emperors represented
anywhere else in the temple?

- Yeah, we have Nero there.
- Nero?

I'd love to see Nero
as an Egyptian pharaoh.

Okay, let's go and see it.

Nero was notorious.

Known for his lavish lifestyle
and tumultuous reign.

He's got a particularly splendid

headdress on, hasn't he, now?

- Yes, he's lovely to be sure.
- Yeah, well I love the fact

that he's not even just
represented as a pharaoh here.

He's trying to show himself
to be an Egyptian god.

Yes, as you can see, he's
wearing the crown god Amon.

Everybody wants to be like an Egyptian.

- Yes.
- And it must make you proud,

I'd imagine, as an Egyptian woman,

the fact that people
come here not just today,

as tourists, but through history.

Yes, from every ages
and from every country,

there's a lot of people
want to be Egyptians,

and want to involve with Egyptian culture.

You look very proud,
you're actually filling up.

It's a great thing, and
we're very lucky to be able

to share it today, so thank you.

Thank you for looking after us today.

Well thank you, thank you
for looking after us today.

Very beautiful, thank you.

Thank you, fantastic.

On my Nile journey, I've met
so many people like Fatma,

who are incredibly proud
of their country's history.

And it's understandable, since
this amazing civilization

endured over 5,000 years, and
has been celebrated ever since

by everyone from the
Romans right through to us.

There's one final treat here at Philae.

A tiny detail that bears witness

to the dying breath of
ancient Egyptian culture.

The whole of this temple is
covered with historical clues

and information, so it
might seem slightly perverse

to pick this one, which
isn't particularly pretty.

But what I'm looking at
here is really significant.

These are the last Egyptian hieroglyph

ever carved on a wall in Egypt.

And they date from 394
AD, and they were put here

by somebody who was a
member of dynasty of priests

who served the goddess Isis.

Now it's really poignant.

Because what it says here
is that this is a cult

that is gonna carry on forever and ever.

But that's not the case.

Because increasingly the Roman
Empire, and Rome-dominated

Egypt at this time, is becoming Christian.

And within just a few generations,

paganism was outlawed, and this temple

was turned into a Christian church.

Philae marks an endpoint
for ancient Egypt,

and for many Nile journeys.

But for me, there's one last stop

on the river I want to show you.

It reveals just how captivated
we still are by Egypt.

Many travelers end their
Nile journeys here in Aswan.

But I've got one more treat in store.

And getting there takes
me away from the river.

I'm heading to a special
place for a very special date.

This drive allows me to get
around Aswan's mighty dams,

and press on, 180 miles in
fact, where the ancient Nile

valley is now engulfed by Lake Nasser.

This is one of the largest
manmade lakes in the world,

created by the second of
those dams downstream.

From the time of the ancients onwards,

and Egypt always seems to
have attracted these massive

ambitious construction projects,

and that tradition continues.

And Lake Nasser, or Lake
Nubia as some call it,

is 340 miles long, and it
took six years to fill.

But I've come this far south
to see one of ancient Egypt's

most impressive engineering feats.

There's a temple coming up just here,

which symbolizes Egypt's glory days.

Abu Simbel, without a
doubt one of the most

striking of Egypt's ancient temples.

Unusually, it was built in
one reign by one pharaoh.

Abu Simbel encapsulates the
glory days of Egyptian rule.

Now, we're used to the leaders of nations

making shouty statements of power.

But even today, you
cannot argue with this.

This is Egypt telling the
world that she is in charge.

And the incarnation of
her power is this man,

it's Ramesses II, the pharaoh

also known as Ramesses the Great.

And Ramesses is so certain of his potency,

there isn't just one of him here,

there's one, two, three,
four all set in stone.

3,300 years ago, Ramesses enjoyed

one of the longest reigns in history.

Over 67 years he proved a great
leader on the battlefield,

and a famous builder of enormous temples.

Ramesses left Egypt with
more statues of himself

than any other Pharaoh, and it was said

that he fathered 100 children.

But what's really
interesting is that in spite

of all of his power Ramesses needs to keep

the Nile on his side, so at
the entrance of the temple here

you've got the inscription
showing Hapi, the god of the Nile

and of the Nile's floods,
and he's binding together

the country, uniting it
with the power of the river.

Inside, the temple stretches
185 feet into the mountain.

And as you might expect,
eight more massive images

of Ramesses flank the entrance hall.

There's also a wealth of historical clues.

Like many in power, Ramesses
was no stranger to propaganda.

Now, there's absolutely no mistaking

the message that is
being sent out by these

frankly quite disturbing images.

This is the almighty
pharaoh smiting his enemies.

But you've actually got to read

these pictures really carefully.

So if you look at this
wall, the whole of the space

is being used to commemorate
a very famous battle,

the Battle of Kadesh,
between the Egyptians

and their archenemies, the Hittites.

Now what's really interesting

is that this is portrayed
as a glorious victory.

But the truth is, the
Egyptians probably didn't win.

And if anything, this
was a kind of messy draw.

So this isn't quite fake news.

But it's Ramesses II being
very economical with the truth.

One rather amazing thing did come

out of the Battle of Kadesh.

Years later, the two sides
signed the Eternal Treaty,

which has been described as
the world's first peace treaty.

And actually, there's
a copy of it that sits

inside the UN building in New York.

It's full of very
beautiful words and ideas.

There's talk of the need for the lands

and the people within it to flourish.

Mind you, it makes for
devastating reading now,

because Kadesh is in
what is modern-day Syria.

So 3,300 years on, that promise
of peace has been shattered.

One thing that hasn't changed
in all that time, though,

is the aura that Ramesses
worked so hard to create.

And here, there's an unique
bit of ancient Egyptian magic.

So I've gotta go back to my
hotel room now to get some rest,

because I have to be
back here really, really,

really early tomorrow morning.

Because I've actually timed my visit,

because something rather
unique is gonna happen.

Twice a year, this remote
spot in southern Egypt

fills with thousands of people.

They come from all over the
world to witness an event

that's been going on over three millennia.

In a few minutes, a shaft of
direct sunlight will pierce

the temple, shine right
through the hypostyle hall,

and hit the far wall
of the inner sanctuary.

There, it will illuminate the
face of Ramesses the Great,

as he sits in line with
Egypt's most powerful gods.

There'd have been great
excitement in Ramesses' time,

because the moment when
the sun hit his face

was thought to be the moment

that it was proved that he was divine.

The moment of alignment is said to happen

on Ramesses' birthday and
on his coronation day.

But it doesn't last for long.

As the sun crosses the doorframe,

the light strikes the back of the temple.

And Ramesses glows in the sun.

Once again, he displays his
godlike power, just as he did

to the ancient Egyptians
over 3,000 years ago.

And then as quickly as it
started, the moment is gone.

Outside, the festivities continue

on the shore of Lake Nasser.

And in the past, this event would have

been the cause for huge celebration too.

It's really great to
see this kind of party,

festival atmosphere carrying on outside,

because the ancient
Egyptians loved a party,

they loved a festival, but we know,

because it's inscribed
in some of the temples,

that what they called the common people

were only allowed into certain spaces

and never into the inner sanctuary itself.

But with Ramesses desperate
to be considered immortal,

I think he'd have loved this modern crowd

turning up to honor him.

At the end of my epic
journey along the Nile,

here's more proof that
we're still fascinated

by the great civilization
that this river gave birth to.

Coming here and making this journey

has taught me a huge amount.

I've always known from history books

that Egypt is described
as the gift of the Nile,

but now I really get it,

I understand what that actually means.

The Nile didn't just shape Egypt.

It nourished the lives and life experience

of millions of rich and poor alike.

The Nile really is the
gift that keeps on giving.

Because its treasures are
shared across the millennia,

not just by the ancients,
but by all of us.