The Nile Inundation

The Egyptians were only able to make permanent settlements due to the Nile River. The Nile river flows from south to north. The Nile would flood each year, bringing in silt-laden waters. When the waters receded the silt would stay behind, fertilizing the land. If a flood were too large it would wash over mud dikes protecting a village. If there were a small flood or no flood at all it would mean famine. A flood needs to be just right for it to be a good season.

The three stages of the Egyptian flood cycle were Akhet, the time of the Nile flood, Peret, the sowing time, and Shemu, the time of harvest. The flood cycle was so predictable that the Egyptians even based their ancient calendar on it.

End of the flooding

In 1970, with the completion of the High Dam at Aswan, the annual flooding cycle in Egypt came to an end. Today, farmers must use fertilizers to keep their land productive, as the deposits of silt no longer occur each year.

Amazingly also similar reasoning came from this farmer of Shariakandi, Bogra of Bangladesh. Also a few farmers of Matidali, Bogra beside which the Bangali river flows, also voice their annoyance reasoning that with dam & dykes (which we build) the water sometimes reach the halfway level of the flooding, resulting in parts of our land being scraped by the lapping waters.

Now first of all we photographers do not build dams obviously but I decided not to correct them. But as a diploma student studying Journalism I was definitely on a mission when I decided to visit Shariakandi, Bogra one of the places affected in 2007 and flood seems to be the enemy number one enemy of our country regardless what history teaches us.