River and Desert: North African Trade Routes For much of
history, Africa was, to Europe, the “Dark Continent”, because so
little was known about it. Although considerably developed
civilizations existed in Africa, the vast distances and harsh
geography limited exchange between Africa and Europe. But in
ancient times, the Nile was an important trade route, and from
the Roman Empire until the age of exploration the cross-Sahara
trade routes thrived. The most obvious trade route in northern
Africa is, of course, the Nile River. Stretching north 4,132
miles from Burundi in central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea,
the Nile is one of the most ancient trade routes in the world.
It defined the ancient civilization of Egypt, and the desert
surrounding it kept the people living close to the river on the
narrow floodplain, which is on average only 19.2 km wide. With
such easy access, it was natural for practically all travel and
trade in Egypt to occur on the Nile. The river allowed Egypt to
have a strong central govern