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CHASING WATER
Three Cups of Chai along the Nile
Dear John —
My Uber driver was up for adventure. I’d dropped a pin on the map in the middle of fields south of Cairo. It’s where ancient Egyptians dug thousands of miles of canals to irrigate their crops and where they grew their wealth and influence.
On my way back from the UN climate summit in Egypt, I was drawn to the fertile floodplains where an entire empire was built on the ebbs and flows of the Nile River.
We entered a mystical haze where the humidity of the river meets the billowing dust of the desert. We found farmers in their fields harvesting cauliflower, lettuce and root vegetables destined to feed the nearly 22 million people of the Cairo region. This winding green oasis is created by the mighty river that has written stories of feast, famine, and conquest for countless generations.Â
When it was time to leave and catch my flight, we heard the ominous clicking of our car’s starter. The battery was dead. Mohamed, the driver, was embarrassed to be marooned somewhere that barely existed on a Google map. And with one of his most unusual Uber customers.
He left me with the car and went for help.
Soon after, a farmer named Saiyed emerged from the haze, carrying a small basket. In it was bread, sweet onions, spices, and water. His brother, Eid, appeared from a grove of palm trees nearby, carrying fronds and wood for a small fire.
They motioned me over to sit with them for breakfast — breaking bread and drinking chai made with a family recipe passed down over generations. This, I thought, is what water is all about it. It feeds our world and builds connections.
When Mohamed returned in a three-wheeled tuk-tuk, we all gathered around the disabled car and gave it a running push. The engine started.
I was reluctant to leave my new friends behind, but inspired knowing that this is the story playing out every moment around the world, where water’s history meets culture, compassion, and the future.
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Saiyed, right, and his brother, Eid, both farmers along the Nile River south of Cairo, make a morning fire to heat breakfast and chai.
Pushing the car to get it started.
đź“·Â Photos: J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue
Circle of Blue is part of the Covering Climate Now network and with its partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative received the U.S. Water Prize for reporting in the U.S. Great Lakes.
