For 5,000 years this land – Egypt and the epic civilisation it gave birth to – has been shaped by one thing more than any other: this awesome river, the River Nile. The Nile: Egypt’s Great River with Bettany Hughes, Channel 5 2019
Since ancient times this has been Egypt’s gateway to the world. ibid.
Cleopatra … used this river to captivate and control the ancient world. The Nile: Egypt’s Great River with Bettany Hughes II
But this [catacombs] wasn’t built as a resting place for humans – it was for animals. ibid.
It’s now thought seventeen million animals may have been mummified in ancient Egypt. ibid.
The Kings’ List is the ancient Egyptians telling their own story. In fact it’s the sole source we have for many of the pharaohs and their families. ibid.
Luxor: 300 miles south of Cairo … There’s tons to see here … the legendary Valley of the Kings … Tut’s tomb stunned the world and it’s been drawing crowds ever since. The Nile: Egypt’s Great River with Bettany Hughes III
Hatshepsut had a secret: it seems she had a bit of a soft spot for one of her courtiers. ibid.
The Nile helped temples to rise, pharaohs to rule and pyramids to be built. Without the Nile there would be no ancient Egypt. The Nile: Egypt’s Great River with Bettany Hughes IV
The intriguing treasures of southern Egypt ... Aswan … crossing the Aswan dam before ending my journey on the shores of Lake Nasser and the world famous temple of Abu Simbel. ibid.
‘[Alvin] Coburn was looking for that dark, misty, almost ominous feeling with this ethereal light coming off the Thames.’ Eamonn McCabe, Britain in Focus: A Photographic History II, BBC 2017
Water pollution – who’s to blame? What effect is it having on our rivers and lakes? Is enough being done to stop the polluters? And do we have to put a solution in place? Tonight: Who’s Pollution Our Water? ITV 2022
‘There is not a single river in England that isn’t currently listed as being in good overall environmental health.’ ibid. Fergal Sharkey
Water companies are allowed to discharge untreated sewage into rivers and the sea but they need a permit and it has to be in exceptional circumstances … The privatized water companies have been allowed to self-monitor. ibid.
Today, two-thirds of the world’s major rivers no longer have a connection to the sea … The way we are controlling water has changed the planet. H2O: The Molecule that Made US II
South Africa supposedly has its own Nessie ... Mamlambo ... An African safari hunting down a brain-sucking river monster – Hemingway, eat your heart out. Destination Truth s1e5, Skyfy 2007
Jesus: I have visited Albion. I’ve walked across the River of Mersey.
Lister: All those old prams; it’s not hard, is it? Red Dwarf s10e3: Lemons, BBC 2012
The scandal of our polluted rivers. We capture evidence of untreated sewage being dumped. We see the damage sewage causes. And we expose the water companies breaking the law. Panorama: The River Pollution Scandal, BBC 2021