spindoc,

Yes, it's difficult some to imagine that the nutrients left after the annual flood could be so important to a people, but Egypt's civilisation was only possible because of the yearly promise of renewal. I suppose in the South, they were closer to the land and the cycle of growth and decay.

There's huge division in that part of Africa over access to water.

There is a big dam being built on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, I believe, causing angst among neighbouring countries (will have to have a closer look at that).

Control of water will increasingly be pertinent to peace and prosperity in this region.

........

Arjay,

I can believe you are so naive as to imagine that Egypt would have possessed the capacity to make any sort of organised military incursion into Syria.

Arjay,
Egypt is no state to launch a military attack on anybody.
It is verging on "Failed State" status.

Spindoc;
Franking is sign of desperation. Just as it is in the US they
will do no more than delay further decline by several years at best.
There is just no hope of getting back to exporting oil.
Not even the US has been able to do more that increase their
production by a few percent for a few years.
I wish I had visited Egypt but it is too late now and I doubt if it
will ever be safe to visit again.

Poirot,

Some incisive points from you in your last post. I shot an email off overnight to Ahmed re some of the debate going on here. He points out that water, as you rightly point out is an issue, but he says although Egypt is almost 90% dependent on Nile water, it is not all bad news.

Firstly he points out that Lake Nasser is still one of the largest man made lakes on the planet and even though Sudan also draws water from it through Lake Nubia, its capacity to meet Egypt’s water needs is pretty solid. They see no real problem with head waters in the Blue or White Nile catchments being dammed as the overall flow should be enough for all. He thinks this is a “betup” (I think he means beat-up) by foreign media and he can’t identify any real concerns about this from within Egypt. Curious but Hey! He is on the spot.

I had not realised that the benefits of the “high dam” include two crops a year rather than the one crop associated with the annual flood. A bonus of “agricultural releases” in the dry season as he puts it. He also said that back in 1970 the electricity generated from the dam was sufficient then but falls well short of current needs due to population expansion and economic changes.

He mentioned one of the big problems they face is the cost of importing fertilizer. This is due to the lack of nutrients from the flood seasons. I hadn’t picked up on that. (They import much of this in the form of phosphates from Morocco, another revelation).

Ahmed also confirmed that one of the key issues is that the loss of the annual flood has caused the shrinkage/degradation of the overall arable land, which we addressed earlier.

He had much to say about the political situation and was scathing about “Western media” (again).

Hope this helps and thanks for your interest and astute comments on this. I’m impressed

Egypt if it attacked Syria would have the backing of the USA and Israel. The USA often fights wars by using proxies. Obama does not want to attack Syria, but nutters like Kerry ,John McCain and the factions in Israel, want to attack Syria and Iran.

If you listen to Tarpley here http://tarpley.net/ ,then you might understand. This was the neo-cons' big hope of forcing Obama into war and it has failed.

Bazz,

Sadly your trip to Egypt might have to wait a while. It was not that safe in 2011. We were desperate to visit to Abu Simbel but were advised against the trip. In the end we took the plunge and went for it. Our tour guide met us at an Egyptian Army Base in Aswan. Our coaches were seriously inspected by real “Army”, rather than the “Tourism and Antiquities” police.

We met our guide at 3:00 am (still 35 degrees). Each coach had an Army “thingy man” in civilian clothes with a 9 mm semi-automatic stuffed down his jeans. We stopped at Army checkpoints across the Sahara every 25 Kms but made the trip without incident.

Abu Simbel, like so many of the monuments saved from the flooding of the Aswan Dam, is one of those visits that can only be truly relished and replayed in retrospect.

I hope you make it some day. One of the great treasures of our travels has been that we discovered the real peoples of nations rather than the “Google” acquired perspectives of them. The Egyptians and Nubians were some of the most awesome and friendly people we have encountered and nothing like what we were presented with by our own media.

We find it really sad that many of the perspectives expressed on line are from people who have never experienced meaningful contact with such peoples.

Bazz, make a wish and make it come true.

Arjay,

Sometimes you are so far off the mark that some might think you are from another planet.

First you seek to imply that Egypt might be going to war with Syria and then you speculate on the “what if’s”.

Your hyper speculative conspirator theories and “straw man” postulations are indicative of someone who has lost their place in society. You really are out there and on your own with a tin foil hat.

Why don’t you try a heavy dose of reality? Or is this just for people who can’t handle drugs