The Nile: 5000 Years of History

Professor Bettany Hughes sets sail on an epic journey through the history and highlights of Ancient Egypt. Travelling on her own traditional Dahabiya boat, Bettany journeys almost 1,000 miles from Cairo to the Aswan Dam on the mighty River Nile stopping off at the most iconic and dazzling sites along the way.

A hundred miles south of Cairo, Bettany starts this second episode on a stretch of Nile that few visitors ever get to see. But this was once Egypt's main highway, used by Cleopatra to travel the country and be seen by her people.

Traffic on the Nile is building as this third episode begins, signalling Bettany's arrival into Luxor - the 'world's greatest open-air museum'. For 500 years this is where the Ancient Egyptians buried their Pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings.

Along the southern Nile, Bettany joins archaeologists at the temple of the crocodile god before heading to Aswan, where she visits a hotel that was frequented by Winston Churchill. Her journey ends near the border with Sudan.