1/4. Ethiopia. It's the world's longest river, the lifeblood of one of the world's first great civilisations, and the route that brought
Europeans into the heart of Africa. The Nile has shaped the cultural identities of the countries it flows through, as Zeinab Badawi discovers as she travels to each country in turn. Her journey starts at the source of the Blue Nile: the Sekala spring at Ethiopia's Mount Gish. Ethiopian tradition connects the river to the country's ancient Christian heritage: it's a river in the Garden of Eden that gave refuge to the Virgin Mary on her flight from Egypt and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Axum. Part 2 is broadcast tomorrow at 9.45