The Nile Museum, locating in Upper Egypt’s Aswan, is a good place where you can explore how the African continent’s lifeline and its vast basin nourish with the irrigation of the mother river — the Nile River.
by Mahmoud Fouly
ASWAN, Egypt, March 11 (Xinhua) — Near the old Low Dam of Upper Egypt’s sunny city of Aswan, the Nile Museum documents the history of the Nile River flowing through several African countries and how the continent’s lifeline and its vast basin nourish almost the entirety of African culture.
The museum, which is built on an area of over 2,000 square meters and opened in early 2016, is located in the heart of the vast African Cultural Center affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
“Through the museum, we assert that the passage of the Nile River within the 11 African countries is like an artery within the same body, which strengthens the relationship between these countries,” Ereen Fayez, the museum’s general manager, told Xinhua.
The two-storied museum comprises several themed halls, with those on the first floor showing the history of the Nile River and Egypt’s key flood-containing projects, such as the Low Dam and the High Dam.
On the left side of the main entrance is a room showing the museum building’s maquette. On the opposite is a hall guarded by six standing statues of Hapi, the ancient Egyptian god overseeing the flooding of Nile.
Walking through the Hapi Hall will lead to the Nile Basin Countries, or El Patio hall, that gives such an immersive feeling of the wilderness via sound effects of animal whereabouts, life-size jungles and water streaming from a fountain representing the Nile.
One additional hall features miniatures and maps of Aswan low and high dams, another shows a map of the Nile Basin, introducing Nile-related projects in Egypt and ministers of water resources over the past century.
The second-floor highlights paintings depicting the general condition of each country across Africa, in addition to two big tanks of fishes and amphibians as well as animal art. Next to it is a room screening animations about the importance of conserving the Nile’s ecosystem.
“The painting shows a country’s most prominent features, including its national flag, currency, the capital city, well-known rivers, famous tribes, and the most visited places,” the museum’s manager noted.
“The museum appeals to Egyptian families and students of all ages as well as foreign tourists,” said Mohamed Abdel-Salam Abbas, the museum’s tour guide.
The museum building is surrounded by landscapes with models of African wild animals and old irrigation tools such as waterwheels, as well as an open Roman-style theater that can accommodate 2,500 spectators.
Sherine Darwish, a computer programmer who came with her family from Cairo, said she learned a lot about the Nile countries during the visit.
“What I liked most here is the maquette of the High Dam. The tour guide explained to us how the dam was built from scratch, as I didn’t know how the digging was done and so on. The jungle-like hall was also very nice,” the young lady told Xinhua.
