Word: deserted
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...country's character as well as its geography. Men needed organization to cope with the ebbs and floods of the fickle river; thus civilization emerged. They required some means of surveying their tiny plots of irrigated land; thus geometry became necessary. Protected in their green river valley by the desert's barriers, the ancient Egyptians constructed perdurable institutions, of which the pyramids remain as awesome symbols. With scarcely an interruption, pharaoh succeeded pharaoh and dynasty followed dynasty for nearly 3,000 years before Christ, a continuity of government unmatched by any other people. To appreciate the grandeur of that achievement...
Both history and the river set the Egyptian apart from the desert Arabs, who are Semites. By contrast, a Hamitic strain prevails in the blood of Egypt's river people. Outsiders often have difficulty distinguishing a Syrian from a Jordanian, or either from a Lebanese. But an Egyptian stands out. His Arabic accent is different, and his speech is peppered with odd words, some dating from the pharaohs, some borrowed from visiting?or conquering?Europeans. Although Egypt is a predominantly Muslim land with a large Coptic minority, its customs differ from those of its Islamic neighbors. In Saudi Arabia...
Although Arab by definition, Egyptians are still Egyptian first?by emotion and inclination. Their history has made them proud, and they are galled to have to wait, like the beggars on their own streets, for handouts from desert oil sheiks or American capitalists. Sadat's peace initiative was hugely popular with his own people, who have grown increasingly resentful that they have fought Israel in four wars with blood while other Arabs have fought only with words or money. "Given a choice between our feelings for Egypt and our feelings for the Arab world, Egypt will win every time," says...
...flow more slowly now. More Egyptians than ever are infected with schistosomiasis, a debilitating disease caused by tiny worms in the river. In the delta, salt water pushing inland from the Mediterranean is gradually destroying some of Egypt's precious few acres of fertile land. In some areas the desert, because of present wind patterns, is moving toward the Nile Delta at the rate of eight miles per year...
Hundreds of test wells have been drilled in the desolate desert west of the Nile, and scientists have discovered what they think is a vast underground network of rivers and reservoirs, possibly with enough water to irrigate half a million acres for 700 years. Egyptian officials call this area "the New Valley" and predict that one day it may rival the Nile Valley itself. One hundred thousand people have already been resettled at the Kharga Oasis, at the southern end of this underground water supply...