The River NIle flows through the hot, dusty deserts of Egypt. About 8,000 years ago, farmers were planting crops on its muddy banks. By 3,100 BC the great civilization of ancitient Egypt, which lasted for thousands of years, had grown up here. The Egyptians built cities and temples, and huge pointed tombs called pyramids. They were the first to make and use paper. Their rulers were called pharaohs. When an important person died, the Egyptians dried out the body and wrapped it in bandages so it would last forever. It was called a mummy. We are still discovering these mummies today.

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