As far back as the fourth century B.C., Greek historian Herodotus observed that Egypt was “an acquired country, the gift of the Nile,” owing its very survival to the life-giving waters flowing down from a mysterious source, now identified as the Ethiopian highlands and three African Great Lakes. Even today the population of modern Egypt remains concentrated in the Nile Delta and a narrow ribbon of fertile land snaking through the inhospitable desert. This photo—taken from the International Space Station by a member of Russian-led Expedition 36—gives an astronaut’s-eye view of it all.
This article originally appeared in the February/March 2017 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Out of This World”).