Long periods of isolated growth without foreign invasion occurred because Egypt had natural borders that were impossible, or very difficult to cross. So immense is the significance of the Nile River to the development of Egyptian civilization, that we cannot separate the history of Egypt from its geography and other natural aspects.
There were deserts to the east and west of the Nile River, and mountains to the south. This isolated the ancient Egyptians and allowed them to develop a truly distinctive culture. Other natural barriers included the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the east. Mountains, swamps, deserts, icefields, and bodies of waters such as rivers, large lakes, and seas are examples of natural barriers. To Egypt's north lays the Mediterranean Sea. To the East of the Nile is the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea. To the west of the Nile is the Western Desert. The Egyptian culture was, in fact, life-affirming, as the scholar Salima Ikram writes: The Egyptians were obsessed by life and its continuation rather than by a morbid fascination with death. The tombs, mortuary temples and mummies that they produced were a celebration of life and a means of continuing it for eternity
