The Egyptians became very wealthy through trade. There were very few roads, because the Nile floods washed them away, therefore people often travelled on the river in small boats. These were made out of reeds, because wood was scarse in the land where trees rarely grew.
Although reed boats were quite strong, they could not carry heavy loads or travel on the open sea. Instead the pharaohs and wealthy merchants made stronger ships of wood. Exotic goods such as ivory, animal furs and even baby giraffe were transported on large sea going craft.
In about 1470 BC, a fleet of ships was sent by Queen Hatshepsut to trade with the land of Punt where incense was obtained from.
It is known that the Egyptians traded in the Mediterranean and with other parts of Africa. Traders swapped grain, gold, linen and papyrus for metal such as copper and silver, Greek olive oil, incense from Punt and Arabia, and wood from the eastern Mediterranean for making boats and furniture.
The Egyptians did not use coins until about 300 BC. Before this they had a succesful system of swapping goods, called bartering. [2]