30/10/2025
âJust a few hours separate us from the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
âThat magical, surreal monument.
âEveryone around me on Facebook and Instagram is posting AI-generated photos of themselves wearing ancient Egyptian costumes.
âI watch them and feel deeply grateful.
âHow lucky I am,
âfor all the experiences Iâve lived since God willed that I be born to an Egyptian father who named me Nile,
âas if he were always offering me as a sacrifice to Egypt.
âMy name became a calling,
âpushing me to dive into the civilization that blossomed along the river.
âAs I see everyoneâs images around me, Iâm thankful that my photos in ancient Egyptian dress are real.
âI wore it for the first time when I was two, at the Pharaonic Village.
âThen again, years later.
âAnd I chose it once more as the outfit I wore for a horseback riding championship.
âI won while wearing it, and everyone started calling me Cleopatra,
âthough I actually prefer Nefertiti. Sheâs from Minya, just like me.
âI love Egypt so much that I once slept in the tomb of its king, Khufu,
âand I told my diverse classmates at my virtual school about my experience
âin a presentation I called âA Night in the Kingâs Tomb.â
âAt that moment, I felt like no one else.
âMy name is Nile,
âthe longest, oldest river on Earth.
âI have an ancestor whoâs over 7,000 years old,
âand I slept in his tomb without fear.
âThat mysterious granite chamber that no one knows how they lifted or placed where it is.
âMy name is Nile,
âand whenever I wanted to scare someone, Iâd write:
ââDeath shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the kingâs peace.â
âOn my diary, never meant to be read, I write:
ââDeath shall come on swift wings to him who reads the queenâs secrets.â
âOn the ice cream tub in the freezer:
ââDeath shall come on swift wings to him who eats the queenâs ice cream.â
âOn my water bottle on the football field:
ââDeath shall come on swift wings to him who drinks from the queenâs bottle.â
âMy name is Nile,
âand I used to get angry at our Ethiopian helper, Samira,
âbecause she dared to say they have a Nile too.
âMy name is Nile,
âand my artery is also the Nile.
âOn the occasion of the Grand Egyptian Museum opening,
âSilence, world. Egypt is about to speak.
