Today was just an ordinary Saturday here on the West Bank in Luxor, Egypt. I have developed a respect for the productive lands near this place we're staying. When walking today, we came across a farmer who had his own land between some banana plantations. It was a large area, but I'm not terribly good at guessing acreage. He was very proud to tell us about the things he was growing. He had a deep well and diesel pump which watered his own fields.
Of course, irrigation also plays an important role in the productivity of the Nile Valley now. There's a canal which runs about a mile and a half back from and parallel to the river. I am not sure if this infrastructure was developed when the massive project of damming Lake Nasser took place 45 years ago. Unfortunately, the Nile River no longer floods annually bringing new, fertile soil to the places we stood.