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| Behind Sandra, Suzanne, Eve, and Joyce is where it begins |
In my childhood, I had been fascinated by the River Nile. I vividly remember the colorful biblical pictures where the infant Moses was placed in a basket by his mother and made to float in the Nile in Egypt to save him from the Pharaoh's persecution of the Israelis. Entangled in the reeds, the basket was found by the Pharaoh's daughter. Baby Moses became an Egyptian till the time he was told he was not and he had to lead his people out of Egypt.
When the vols (that's short for volunteers) were asked to go to Kampala for a second training, I organized a day tour to Jinja, which is just about 82 kilometers away. My purpose was to see the source of the River Nile.
Egypt is called the cradle of civilization, and much of the activity occurred near the River Nile. Up to the 1800, many explorers who went to Africa were restless to pinpoint the source of the river. Many claims were refuted. In 1862, an Englishman, John Hanning Speke announced that he finally found the source of the river..... The Lake Victoria in Uganda. However, he was ridiculed, and some authors say that his suicide, some years later was occasioned by the frustration that no one believed his discovery. Years after his death, explorers, including the legendary Scottish missionary, Dr. David Livingstone had acknowledged that Speke was right... indeed the River Nile comes from Lake Victoria - the 2nd largest lake in the world. The first is Lake Superior in Canada.
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| The obelisk | |
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| Train crossing the Owen Dam |
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| Gate to the Owen Dam |
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| Ready to become explorers? |
Oh, I am so glad that the explorers have finally agreed where the Nile comes from. Otherwise, I might be tempted to ask my colleagues to go look for it...... and temporarily abandon our volunteer work. More on the Nile in the next post.
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| In Uganda, there are 2 popular beers; the Bell and the Nile. This signboard was sponsored by Bell beer. |
Egypt is called the cradle of civilization, and much of the activity occurred near the River Nile. Up to the 1800, many explorers who went to Africa were restless to pinpoint the source of the river. Many claims were refuted. In 1862, an Englishman, John Hanning Speke announced that he finally found the source of the river..... The Lake Victoria in Uganda. However, he was ridiculed, and some authors say that his suicide, some years later was occasioned by the frustration that no one believed his discovery. Years after his death, explorers, including the legendary Scottish missionary, Dr. David Livingstone had acknowledged that Speke was right... indeed the River Nile comes from Lake Victoria - the 2nd largest lake in the world. The first is Lake Superior in Canada.
Hi Ma'am, i personally loved your blog about the river nile. I actually did some research as well. I got it from this site - http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/river-nile-facts.html. Here are some of it:
ReplyDelete1. The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world.
2. The river got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which means valley.
3. The Nile floods the lands in Egypt, leaving behind black sediment. That's why the ancient Egyptians named the river Ar, meaning black.
4. While the Nile River is often associated with Egypt, it actually touches Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan, as well as Egypt.
5. The Nile Crocodile has been a major component of the Egyptian culture and way of life since the first Egyptians settled along the fertile banks of the Nile. Most Nile Crocodiles are approximately 4 meters in length, although some have been reported as longer.
(scaryyy!)
Be careful of the crocs, though.
Keep blogging as you keep inspiring people.
Take care po.
... c",) mai-mai
Hi, my name i BJorn Bertoft, I am working with The Non-Violence Project Foundation and we are at present educating youth, students and teachers in Uganda how to understand how to solve conflicts peacefully. We are settingup an office in Uganda.
ReplyDeleteI am in Seden and I wanted to use your great image of the sign The Source of The Nile.
is it ok if we use it in our travel blog?
http://www.iobffp.com/news-uganda
I have published with your photocred.
If not ok, just let me know: bertoft@nonviolence.com
With kind regards/Bjorn B