Six Cataracts In Egypt

There was great concern that Egypt was not well protected due to the great trade routes crossing the Sinai from Palestine, linking Egypt with other cultures of the Near East. Those same trade routes could be used to attack Egypt as well. Access to Egypt came primarily through the northeast Delta.
Cataracts protected by strategically fortified garrisons, controlled any approach to Egypt. A cataract is a rushing stream of water in a natural setting. Six Cataracts in Egypt are of the Nile and it stretches between Elephantine and Khartoum; or from Egypt to the south. Cataracts made it harder to travel on shallow parts of the river.
The Egyptians repeatedly sought to extend their control beyond Sinai into Palestine and Syria, thereby ensuring security