People and The Nile
The Nile River is the longest river in the world, flowing north through northeastern Africa into the Mediterranean Sea. This vast body of water allowed the ancient Egyptians to cultivate the land for agricultural use, which in turn allowed them to settle more permanently in the region. Although the Nile flooded inconsistently throughout the year, the settlers still utilized the Nile as a resource year round. Viewing the Nile was the goal for many that visited Egypt, it became one of the prime subjects, aside from the pyramids, for photographers who would then turn images of these scenes into postcards so tourists could buy them and boast to their friends what they saw during their visit to the Orient. The main focal point of these postcards were the Nile River and the Great Pyramids, which in conjunction pulled focus away from any other aspect of the image. In many of these photos native Egyptians are standing alongside the river, wading through the water, or utilizing its flow for transportation. Although they are captured within the image, they seem to have minimal impact in shot, the focus remaining on the Nile and the Pyramids behind it. They were either posed by the photographers in order to look like they were using the Nile purposefully or they are going about their daily practices while these photographers took their pictures. Although the latter is far less likely, we can look at how the people in each photograph are posed and make our own assumption of how that photo came to be.
This is an image of a young boy, probably an Egyptian native, sitting on a wall that stretches alongside the Nile. The focal point of the image is the Nile and the Pyramids in the background. The boy is sitting under an overgrown cactus palm looking straight ahead. This image was most likely staged by the photographer to show how wide the Nile was. The boy in the foreground gives the viewers a reference of how far the Nile stretches in order to make the building on the other side appear so small and even though the pyramids are even further away they still appear to be far bigger than anything else in the photograph. The boy serves no other purpose in this image other than to provide a reference point in order to scale the rest of the features in the image.
This is a photograph of Egpytian water carriers and their cattle inside the Nile River. The river is considered the backbone of Egypt's agricultural system. Land along the Nile was fertile and the soil was rich, great for growing crops. Hardly any rain falls in Egypt, making the predictable Nile floods an essential tool for planning the production of yearly crops. This image includes Egyptian natives in order to exemplify Egypt’s overall dependency on the river for everyday life.
This is an image of two people, most likely Egyptian natives, looking toward the Nile. There is a boat in the water and across the way there are buildings and many palm trees.The water is calm and reflective, and takes up the majority of the photo. The image itself is supposed to be a depiction of the Nile during the flood times. The Pyramids are used as a reference in order to identify what part of the Nile we are looking at, in this case it’s Cairo. The people in the photo are most likely staged to make their actions look purposeful, but there is no real meaning in their poses. The goal was just to make it look like an average scene that many tourists then expected to see during their travels.
The following postcards are further depictions of people and the great Nile River. By clicking on their link, you will be able to learn more about them.
