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  he story of the Great Pyramid begins hundreds of years before the reign of pharaoh Khufu. It begins with the first people to settle along the Nile River.The Nile is a long ribbon of water that winds for hundreds of miles through a wide desert. Every year, heavy rains at the river's source high in the African mountains make it overflow. For three months, the entire valley is under water. When the land reappears, it is covered with wet, black silt. This fertile soil that the Nile leaves behind is ideal for growing crops. Long ago, people from wandering tribes left the harsh, dry desert and began farming the rich valley soil. They scattered seeds by hand and carried buckets of water for irrigation. They dried mud bricks in the sun and built homes on high ground above the level of the flood. The crops were successful and the villages prospered. |