“Pic of the Week”, Sept. 27, 2013. Papyrus, Okavango Delta, Botswana

I’d first heard about papyrus when studying the history of ancient Egypt.  It was the paper equivalent of the old Egyptians, although rough and not easy to write on, and brittle. Papyrus was used to produce scrolls thousands of years ago as we today would use paper to record modern text.   Papyrus was also used to construct boats, baskets, mats and other household products.

Papyrus is a tall plant growing in abundance not only the Nile Delta but also in the Okavango Delta. It’s a tall plant extending about 2 meters above the water level.  If you cut across its long axis, you’ll readily see how useful it could be.

We were going on an evening boat ride through a narrow channel in the delta.  It was a perfect evening, warm and still but very comfortable with the breeze of the draft caused by our boat’s movement.  The light of dusk was special and I wanted to share these images of the reflected images of papyrus and of the Okavango Delta.

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, then right arrow to advance the slideshow)