This river has brought life to Egypt since ancient times. The river flows from south to north beginning where the White Nile in the mountains of Zaire and the Blue Nile of Ethiopia meet in . Traveling on the Nile, you see many boats called feluccas, they are the same sturdy, graceful design used for centuries. Fishermen in two different boats will often throw a net between them to catch fish. Because of irrigation and flooding, the soil along the Nile is very rich and good for growing things.
Agriculture provides more jobs than any other economic activity.
Cotton is Egypt's major agricultural export. In ancient times, the Nile flooded each year and brought nutrients to the soil. After the construction of the Aswan Dam was completed in 1970, water for crop irrigation became available most of the year. These examples of ancient Egyptian architecture were constructed of nearby sandstone. The earliest were built in 2920B.C. Without modern equipment, like forklifts, bulldozers and cranes, it took laborers many years to construct them.