Nile Lands

Nile Lands

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

Ethiopia

20040912

The Nile is the world's longest river, the lifeblood of one of the first great civilisations and the route which brought Europeans into the heart of Africa.

Over four programmes, Zeinab Badawi visits the countries through which the Nile flows to explore how the river has shaped their different cultural identities and helped to form perceptions of Africa in the Western imagination.

Zeinab's journey starts at the source of the Blue Nile where the river seeps out of Ethiopia's Mount Gish at the Sekala Spring.

Ethiopian tradition connects the river to the country's ancient Christian heritage: it is a river in the Garden of Eden, which gave refuge to the Virgin Mary on her flight from Egypt and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Axum.

The Nile is the world's longest river, the lifeblood of one of the first great civilisations and the route which brought Europeans into the heart of Africa. Over four programmes, Zeinab Badawi visits the countries through which the Nile flows to explore how the river has shaped their different cultural identities and helped to form perceptions of Africa in the Western imagination.

Zeinab's journey starts at the source of the Blue Nile where the river seeps out of Ethiopia's Mount Gish at the Sekala Spring. Ethiopian tradition connects the river to the country's ancient Christian heritage: it is a river in the Garden of Eden, which gave refuge to the Virgin Mary on her flight from Egypt and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Axum.

Uganda

20040919

Zeinab Badawi continues her cultural journey through the countries connected by the Nile, exploring how the river has shaped their identities and helped to form perceptions of Africa in the Western imagination.

For centuries the source of the White Nile was a mystery.

The ancients thought it rose in the heart of Africa and there was talk of the 'Mountains of the Moon'.

Even as late as the first half of the nineteenth century no one was sure.

It was a British explorer, John Hanning Speke, who claimed to have settled the issue in 1862 when he saw a huge river leaving the then unnamed Lake Victoria in Uganda.

Zeinab Badawi considers what led to this claim and what Ugandans then and now made of the discovery.

For centuries the source of the White Nile was a mystery. The ancients thought it rose in the heart of Africa and there was talk of the 'Mountains of the Moon'. Even as late as the first half of the nineteenth century no one was sure. It was a British explorer, John Hanning Speke, who claimed to have settled the issue in 1862 when he saw a huge river leaving the then unnamed Lake Victoria in Uganda. Zeinab Badawi considers what led to this claim and what Ugandans then and now made of the discovery.

Sudan

20040926

This week Zeinab's journey along the Nile reaches the land of her birth, Sudan, where the Blue Nile and the White Nile meet and flow north together to the Mediterranean.

It's been called the 'corridor to Africa ', and over the centuries the Nile has brought many visitors into Sudan - the Emperor Nero sent two centurions south along it to discover the riches of Central Africa.

They failed - and for the best part of 2000 years the great swamp barrier of the Sudd has separated the southern reaches of Sudan from the north.

This programme explores the currents of culture and identity that flow through the vast land of swamps and deserts.

04 LAST

20041003

Last of four programmes in which Zeinab Badawi visits the countries through which the Nile flows to explore how the river has shaped their cultural identities.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
01	Ethiopia	20040912	The Nile is the world's longest river, the lifeblood of one of the first great civilisations and the route which brought Europeans into the heart of Africa. Over four programmes, Zeinab Badawi visits the countries through which the Nile flows to explore how the river has shaped their different cultural identities and helped to form perceptions of Africa in the Western imagination. Zeinab's journey starts at the source of the Blue Nile where the river seeps out of Ethiopia's Mount Gish at the Sekala Spring. Ethiopian tradition connects the river to the country's ancient Christian heritage: it is a river in the Garden of Eden, which gave refuge to the Virgin Mary on her flight from Egypt and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Axum. The Nile is the world's longest river, the lifeblood of one of the first great civilisations and the route which brought Europeans into the heart of Africa. Over four programmes, Zeinab Badawi visits the countries through which the Nile flows to explore how the river has shaped their different cultural identities and helped to form perceptions of Africa in the Western imagination. Zeinab's journey starts at the source of the Blue Nile where the river seeps out of Ethiopia's Mount Gish at the Sekala Spring. Ethiopian tradition connects the river to the country's ancient Christian heritage: it is a river in the Garden of Eden, which gave refuge to the Virgin Mary on her flight from Egypt and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Axum.
02	Uganda	20040919	Zeinab Badawi continues her cultural journey through the countries connected by the Nile, exploring how the river has shaped their identities and helped to form perceptions of Africa in the Western imagination. For centuries the source of the White Nile was a mystery. The ancients thought it rose in the heart of Africa and there was talk of the 'Mountains of the Moon'. Even as late as the first half of the nineteenth century no one was sure. It was a British explorer, John Hanning Speke, who claimed to have settled the issue in 1862 when he saw a huge river leaving the then unnamed Lake Victoria in Uganda. Zeinab Badawi considers what led to this claim and what Ugandans then and now made of the discovery. For centuries the source of the White Nile was a mystery. The ancients thought it rose in the heart of Africa and there was talk of the 'Mountains of the Moon'. Even as late as the first half of the nineteenth century no one was sure. It was a British explorer, John Hanning Speke, who claimed to have settled the issue in 1862 when he saw a huge river leaving the then unnamed Lake Victoria in Uganda. Zeinab Badawi considers what led to this claim and what Ugandans then and now made of the discovery.
03	Sudan	20040926	Zeinab Badawi continues her cultural journey through the countries connected by the Nile, exploring how the river has shaped their identities and helped to form perceptions of Africa in the Western imagination. This week Zeinab's journey along the Nile reaches the land of her birth, Sudan, where the Blue Nile and the White Nile meet and flow north together to the Mediterranean. It's been called the 'corridor to Africa ', and over the centuries the Nile has brought many visitors into Sudan - the Emperor Nero sent two centurions south along it to discover the riches of Central Africa. They failed - and for the best part of 2000 years the great swamp barrier of the Sudd has separated the southern reaches of Sudan from the north. This programme explores the currents of culture and identity that flow through the vast land of swamps and deserts.
04 LAST		20041003	Last of four programmes in which Zeinab Badawi visits the countries through which the Nile flows to explore how the river has shaped their cultural identities.