Aldo Pavan is a travel writer and photographer. Among his previous books is The Ganges, also published by Thames & Hudson.

Introduction; 1. Uganda, the Nile of Black Africa - Uganda, Karamojong and Potok; Lake Albert and Lake Victoria; the search for the source of the Nile; Jinji, safaris, gorillas; 2. Ethiopia, the Source of the Blue Nile - Lake Tana, the cradle of Ethiopian Christianity; the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant; the fusion of cultures; Lalibela; 3. Sudan - Nubia; the black pharaohs; Meroe; the cataracts of the Niles; Khartoum; Gordon Pasha and the Mahdi; the dervishes; the Nuba mountains; the Dinka people; 4. The Classical Egypt of the Pharaohs - Up the Nile by boat; Luxor; Lake Nasser; Abu Simbel; 5. The Other Egypt - Siwa, Bahariya, Farfra and Dakhla; Alexander the Great; the Oracle of Amon; the Lost Army of Cambyses; the Great Sea of Sand; the painted houses; the Senussi at Dakhla; archaeology; the valley of the mummies at Bahariya; monastic life; the early hermits, from Wadi Natrum to St Anthony; Coptic monasteries; the Christian religion in Islamic Egypt; unknown Gilf Kebir; 6. Journey through the Nile Delta - Cairo; Alexandria; the Library; the Ptolomaic Pharos lighthouse; the Paris of the Mediterranean.