I thought we’d continue the River theme that Simon had started last week (Travel Icon 12) by focussing on another one of the great rivers on the planet: The River Nile.

The River Nile is widely considered to be the longest river in the world (this is fiercely disputed by fans of one of the other great rivers, the Amazon!), it is 6,650km long and runs through Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethopia, Uganda and Egypt. That is a LOT of countries! As I haven’t had the opportunity to travel along the mighty Amazon as of yet, the Nile gets my vote for the longest river.

My wife and I had had our own moment with the Nile when we had booked a trip in a traditional Egyptian form of transport: the felucca. The felucca’s captain was great fun, as he regaled us with tale after tale, while we traversed the mighty river. The Nile has been the main artery of Egypt for thousands of years, helping the country become one of the greatest civilisations in ancient times. It was striking how different the Valley of the Kings and its desert terrain was in comparison to the lush countryside bordering the Nile.

This photograph was taken at the best time of day for any photographer: sunset. I would like to think this photograph captures the stillness of the river at a calm time of day, while helping to evoke images of a time Cleopatra would have sailed down the Nile in her personal barge.

by Gavin London

What we are reading: We know people who love to travel love to read about travel.

Simon is reading For Fukui’s Sake: Two years in rural Japan by Sam Baldwin – A classic tale of someone seeking adventure from mundane life. Sam embarks on quest to teach English in a small, rural Japanese town. His guidebook describes Fukui as a place where there’s ‘little reason to linger’, yet Sam meets many characters and reasons to stay.

Gavin is still reading At Home by Bill Bryson: If you think that your mind is always in overdrive, spare a thought for Bill Bryson, who can’t seem to switch off no matter where he is! If you enjoy an element of history and travel in your reading material, ‘At Home’ would be a worthy purchase. It is a book written along the same lines as ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’, but it also has many similarities with his travel books, written in his usual witty style, just set at home. ‘At Home’ succeeds in answering many questions, some of which you wanted to know and others, you probably had never given any thought!

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