National Geographic: Mysteries of Egypt

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No land on Earth possess

more wonders than Egypt

wonders long hidden

but revealed occasionally

in a glint of gold

or a curious tale.

Our story begins with a death

the death of an unusual boy.

Worshipped as the son of Re,

the Sun god

he was a pharaoh of Egypt

We don't know how he died,

only that his death was

sudden and mysterious.

His body was preserved

in the manner of other pharaohs

and priests anointed his

coffin to prepare him

for his final journey

into the world of the dead.

The rituals had to be finished

before his father

the Sun,

descended into darkness.

So this young pharaoh

was secured in his tomb

surrounded by kingly treasures

and his seal was pressed

into its entrance.

From that time on

it was to be a place of peace

hidden and undisturbed

throughout eternity.

This young King's name

was Tutankhamen.

For 3,000 years,

King Tut and his tomb

in the Valley of the Kings

remained concealed

beneath shifting sands.

Other tombs were discovered

and completely pillaged

but not his.

Believing he could find it,

an Englishman named

Howard Carter mounted

five arduous expeditions

but they yielded nothing.

In 1922, he returned to

Egypt for a sixth attempt.

That year he brought a

beautiful canary

to brighten his spirits.

The workmen called it

the Golden Bird and told Carter

it would bring them good luck.

But as work began success seemed

a remote prospect.

And time was running out.

Carter's benefactor,

Lord Canarvon

was an English earl

fascinated by Egypt

but even he was losing faith...

and had threatened

to cut off the money.

Yet Carter persisted

knowing that

if found intact

the tomb would be filled

with amazing artifacts

that would help us peer

through the shadows of time

to glimpse a world of human

splendor long lost

to glimpse our very beginnings.

That's a great story Grandpa

but I want to know more.

You live here and

I know you can tell me

the real story.

About?

Well, my friends want me

to ask about the "curse"

how anyone who entered

King Tut's tomb...

...will have some terrible

things happen to them.

Yes, yes, I know.

I don't know if I believe it.

But will you tell me about it?

So the pharaohs, the tombs

the monuments

the great civilization

who built them

you are not interested in?

But the Mummy's curse you find...

Exciting!

Yes, I can see that.

All right then.

you shall hear all about it.

But first we must

take a trip together.

Where will we start then?

At the source, of course.

The source of the Nile.

It is the longest river on Earth,

the greatest river in Africa

crossing nearly half

the continent.

It is born of two rivers

the White Nile

which rises near Lake Victoria

and heads north

through Uganda-and

the Blue Nile

which descends from the

highlands of Ethiopia.

They meet in the

desert of Sudan,

forming the main trunk

of the Nile.

By the time it drains

into the Mediterranean Sea

its waters have journeyed

more than 4,000 miles.

To the outside world

the source of the great river

was an enduring mystery.

But to the ancient Egyptians,

the source was clear:

the Nile flowed

from the realm of the gods.

But what has the Nile

to do with mummies and curses?

Everything.

There would be no mummies,

no ancient Egypt-in fact,

no Egypt at all without her.

You see,

Egypt without the Nile

is a desert...

suitable for

camels and scorpions,

but not great civilizations.

It's only here along the

flood plain of the Nile

that the desert's heat

is softened...

and arid sand is turned

to rich farmland.

Nourished and irrigated

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