The Desert

T1, E4: While traveling through the land of the Pharaohs in around 450 BC, Herodotus proclaimed that Egypt was a "gift of the Nile". Like any visitor of yesterday and today, he was struck by the contrast between the luxuriance along the banks of the great river and the aridity of the surrounding desert. These inhospitable expanses cover 96% of the country, and only 1% of the population lives there. The desert is also the gateway for many foreign invaders, and the domain of nomads, whom Egypt's settled population is very wary of. Despite the military presence, the Egyptians of the Nile never really succeeded in controlling this arid territory: it remains today a place of danger and rebellion.