"Not only is the Egyptian climate peculiar to that country, and the Nile different in the way it behaves from rivers elsewhere, but the manners and customs of the Egyptians themselves seem to the be opposite of the typical practices of mankind" - Herodotus

      When Herodotus wrote these words, the Egyptian civilisation had been established for thousands of years. Indeed, their customs and traditions were quite foreign, even for those right around the corner in North Africa and Asia Minor. But it was the uniqueness of the Nile River Valley that allowed this culture to develop, completely free from early interference, and to establish itself as a major world power for over 3000 years.
      The Nile originates to the south of Egypt: the Nile proper begins in the Sudan, near the city of Khartoum. It is the result of the joining of three rivers. The White Nile emerges from Lake Victoria in Uganda. The Blue Nile receives most of its water from Lake Tana in Ethiopia, and it, along with the Atbara which is the third river, is filled is silt and vegetation from the monsoons that cover the region every summer. Because of the increased precipitation every summer, the Nile regularly overflows it's banks, and completely covers its floodplain, depositing a layer of rich fertile alluvium. The flooding and the layer of silt and vegetation that it provides allows for agriculture in the middle of a land that would otherwise be desert. In fact, the Ancient Egyptians called the land that the Nile did not reach dsrt (or desert; most vowels are not written in Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics, as in modern Arabic), meaning 'the red land.'  The land that was covered by the inundation was called kmt, or Kemet, meaning 'the black land,' or the fertile alluvium that allowed for agriculture. In modern times, the dividing line can be quite distinct, and one can stand with one foot on some of the world's most fertile soil and the other in one of the world's driest desert.
     The southern and northern portions of the Nile River Valley differ greatly. In the South, the Valley is narrow, and the river and the fertile land on either side may only be a couple miles in width. To the North, however, the Nile branches out, forming a wide, rich delta that, together with the Fayum Oasis,  forms the majority of the agricultural land in the country . This differentiation between the two areas of Egypt are shown in the terms Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt is the land upriver, and Lower Egypt is the Delta region. These terms are also useful as the Delta is geologically lower than Upper Egypt, and so may also refer to the lay of the land, so to speak. The Ancient Egyptians also noted this difference, and called their nation Tawy, or the Two Lands. This geographical separation lasted throughout Pharaonic Egypt.
     The Nile also allows for ease of travel. It is generally a calm river, and except for the cataracts in the South, river travel is quite manageable. This easy transportation tied the Two Land together, and allowed for a unity between two very geographically separate people.
     Besides the uniqueness of the Nile River and all it provides, Egypt is unique in its isolation. No other civilisation had the privilege of complete isolation during its formation. To the West is desert that is passable only if one knows the terrain and is well prepared for it. To the East is another desert. The Eastern Desert is passably through wadis, or dry stream beds cut by occasional flooding. Again one must know the way, or face being lost forever in a maze of wadis. To the North is the Mediterranean Sea. In the early days sea travel was not yet mastered, and although some did sail the seas, it was mostly done for trading purposes only, and always in site of land. Finally, to the South are the cataracts, large granite outcroppings that make river travel difficult. To get around the cataracts, one must generally carry their boat to the other side.  The first cataract at the town of Elephantine marks the traditional boundary of Egypt and her neighbor to the south, Nubia, although in the New Kingdom, the expansionist pharaohs did extend the boundaries much farther to the south.
     The whole of the Egyptian Civilisation can be tied to the geology of their beloved Tawy. Besides the total and complete isolation they enjoyed during their formative years, they were mostly self-sufficient. There was always some trade outside of Egypt, with the Levant, Nubia, Punt or Mesopotamia, but except for good quality timber, the Egyptians had all they needed in their own country. The Nile River Valley provided all that they needed to survive and then some. There are local sources of alabaster, copper, natron, granite, and limestone, just to name a few of the natural resources that were exploited by the Ancient Egyptians. One foreign ruler once remarked that gold in Egypt was like the sands of the desert, it was so plentiful.
     The Ancient Egyptian was so tied to his home land that he could not fathom wanting to be anywhere else. Indeed, all other places were completely foreign to him. When Sinuhe fled the country following the assassination of the pharaoh Amenemhat I, he longed to be allowed to return to his home and be buried according to Kemetic tradition:
     Whichever god decreed this flight, have mercy, bring me home! Surely you will let me see the place in which my heart dwells! What is more important than that my corpse be buried in the land in which I was born! - The Tale of Sinuhe. In the Syrian forests, one could not see from horizon to horizon; in Mesopotamia the rivers flowed backwards.
     The Nile River has always been a unique place, and in time this uniqueness transferred to the people who inhabited the area. Because of their early isolation from invaders, they were able to develop a distinctive culture and religion that has no equal. Even after continuous contact, the Ancient Egyptians maintained their identity. Even after invasions, the new rulers quite often began to adopt the ways and customs of the people they had 'conquered.' Never has there been such a civilisation that has endured as long as the Ancient Egyptians, a culture that was defined by their homeland. As Kamose had inscribed on the First Karnak Stela: We are content with our Black land: Abu is strong, and the heartland is with us as far as Cusae.