V. V. BELYAKOV Doctor of Historical Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: Egypt, Nile, high-rise Aswan dam, Soviet-Egyptian cooperation "Egypt is the gift of the Nile, "concluded the" father of history " Herodotus, who visited this country 2.5 thousand years ago. Today, with the fields of Fellah farmers juxtaposed with industrial enterprises, and the former villages turned into cities, this conclusion is no longer so obvious. And yet it is no accident that almost all Egyptians are still "crowded" in the valley and delta of the Nile: the desert approaching from two sides to the floodplain of the river is not suitable for life. Yes, the Nile gave birth to Egypt, but for thousands of years it forced the Egyptians to tolerate its merciless nature. The annual flood was sometimes high and swept away everything in its path, then low, and then drought and famine set in. There was nothing that people could do about the great river, and they only dreamed of the day when it would submit to man. This day came half a century ago. On May 14-16, 1964, the old channel of the Nile was blocked above Aswan, at the first Nile cataract, and the water went to the new channel, to the target of the future hydroelectric power station. This was the greatest event in the long history of Egyptian civilization. Neal was tamed. Since then, people decide for themselves how much Nile water and when to supply it to fields, factories and cities. It is not surprising that the" golden jubilee " of the Nile overlap in Egypt was celebrated very widely. I saw it with my own eyes, because I was part of the Russian delegation, mainly hydrobuilders, invited to the celebration. It was organized by the public, but under the patronage of Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour. Moreover, the first violin was played by the Egyptian Association of Graduates of Soviet Universities. And this is natural: the grandiose hydroelectric complex on the Nile is the joint brainc ... Читать далее