City lights captured by the photo taken April 11, 2003, define the Nile River Valley as it snakes across the Egyptian desert. The cities of Naj’ Hammadi, Qena, and Luxor, shine the brightest. Communities in the hillsides create a thin border along either side of the valley. Similar strips line the Nile itself. Most of Egypt’s population, and most of the country’s arable land, occupies the Nile River Valley.