The material to make papyrus comes from the Cyperus papyrus plant, which grew alongside the Nile, and provided the Egyptians the proper materials. After the Egyptians first invented papyrus, they tried keeping it a secret, so they could have a monopoly over it. Eventually, though, many other cultures in other places made their own form of papyrus. Papyrus was Egypt's greatest export, and it forever changed the way information was kept. In the tenth century, though, the Arabs introduced pulped paper. This was quicker and more efficient, but did not last as long. Still, Egypt's trade in papyrus declined, and the Egyptians abandoned this cultivation and trade. Today, the word "paper" in English comes 
from papyrus. The Egyptian Exploration Society now owns the largest collection of papyri in the world (Over 500,000 paper fragments).Pictures: http://www.earlham.edu/~seidti/iam/papyrus_66a.gif
http://www.freeserbia.net/Editorial/papyrus.jpg
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