Pretty amazing. On the books, Cairo has 11 million people. Most people think its closer to 20, and that, day to day, another 20 or so come in from outside for work. I lived there on and off for a few years, and it's truly one of the most remarkable places in the world.
Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
11–20 of 45 posts
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#12I'm in Egypt at the moment. We're in Dahab, on the Sinai peninsular - but we spent several weeks travelling on the Nile from Cairo to Aswan and Luxor before we got here. The experience that really brought home the importance of the Nile was taking the overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. You wake up in the morning to sunrise over the Nile. If you look out of the left hand window of the train, you see desert - nothing…
I spent a month in Egypt when I was much younger.
Nothing drives home the beauty, the fragility, and somehow the hospitality of the country like this image.
I didn't get to see Luxor or Aswan (it was out of season), and I missed Alex because I ran out of money. The time I spent in Cairo, Sharm, Giza, Ainh-Soknah, and 6th of October City changed my life.
To anyone considering it: if you have the chance to travel, do it. Nothing makes the world seem smaller and the people seem closer.
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#13I'm in Egypt at the moment. We're in Dahab, on the Sinai peninsular - but we spent several weeks travelling on the Nile from Cairo to Aswan and Luxor before we got here. The experience that really brought home the importance of the Nile was taking the overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. You wake up in the morning to sunrise over the Nile. If you look out of the left hand window of the train, you see desert - nothing…
Here's a video my wife took that illustrates the point: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliedowne/5120992880/
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#14Of course, pictures like this are more profound for what you don’t see: country borders. There are some borders you can see from space, such as the transition between North and South Korea: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/dprk-dark....
Of course, pictures like this are more profound for what you don’t see: country borders.
I don't know why the author thought that was so profound. Did he really expect the borders to be outlined with lights?
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#15Anyone know what this article meant by "enphaoronate"?
Did you mean: define: pharaonic
No definitions were found for enphaoronate.
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#16Anyone know what this article meant by "enphaoronate"?
When linking pictures, Phil Plait always adds a line that basically means "Click to enlarge". He started using the Simpsons phrase embiggen at some point, and a while after that he started making up words vaguely related to the context.
Pharaos are big in a metaphorical sense. Enpharaoronate means embiggen.
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#17I'm in Egypt at the moment. We're in Dahab, on the Sinai peninsular - but we spent several weeks travelling on the Nile from Cairo to Aswan and Luxor before we got here. The experience that really brought home the importance of the Nile was taking the overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. You wake up in the morning to sunrise over the Nile. If you look out of the left hand window of the train, you see desert - nothing…
I was in Kenya a couple of weeks ago and the flight we took flew south from Luxor in Egypt - what stunned me is how empty that region is - literally nothing but sand and rock for hour upon hour with the thin sliver of the Nile running through it.
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#18Of course, pictures like this are more profound for what you don’t see: country borders. There are some borders you can see from space, such as the transition between North and South Korea: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/dprk-dark....
Of course, pictures like this are more profound for what you don’t see: country borders. I don't know why the author thought that was so profound . Did he really expect the borders to be outlined with lights?
I think this paragraph should shed a bit more light on what the author meant:
But if enough people can get to space, they’ll see the planet for what it is: a fragile, magnificent ball with a thin shell of atmosphere protecting it from the entire Universe… and no artificial boundary lines to be seen. We made those ourselves, and we put an awful lot of stock in them. Remembering that fact might also be an important way to make sure our species endures.
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course, pictures like this are more profound for what you don’t see: country borders. I don't know why the author thought that was so profound . Did he really expect the borders to be outlined with lights?
I think this paragraph should shed a bit more light on what the author meant: But if enough people can get to space, they’ll see the planet for what it is: a fragile, magnificent ball with a thin shell of atmosphere protecting it from the entire Universe… and no artificial boundary lines to be seen. We made those ourselves, and we put an awful lot of stock in them. Remembering that fact might also be an important way…
I have no problem getting rid of international borders. Just install a global government of my choosing to control everything. No one else will have a problem with my choice, right?
Re: Turns out, it is a river in Egypt
#20Of course, pictures like this are more profound for what you don’t see: country borders. There are some borders you can see from space, such as the transition between North and South Korea: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/dprk-dark....
Of course, pictures like this are more profound for what you don’t see: country borders. I don't know why the author thought that was so profound . Did he really expect the borders to be outlined with lights?
It's profound because it's a reframing - we lose assumptions by viewing the Earth from Space.