Nile Cruise: Aswan to Luxor, Egypt
I took a five day cruide down the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. It Is one of the best holidays I have ever had.
I was worried that it would all be blue-rinse oldies but in the end we had a good mix of passengers of all ages and backgrounds on board so that was good. The food wasn't really anything to write home about and very little of it was authentically egyptian. If you want to immerse yourself in a culture I guess you wouldn't be on a cruise anyway.
The tour guides really were first rate and took pride in either answering all questions or getting back to you with the answers later. And they did. On the last day they ran up to me to respond to two questions about heiroglyphics that I asked them on day two. Great guys and an asset to the tour.
DAY 1
We got on board and had lunch before being herded off the boat and onto local
siling boats called feluccas for a leisurly sail around Kitchener's Island
and the Agha Khan Mausoleum. This was really lovely and a nise easing in.
We said no to the 'Nubian Folkloric Show'
and instead went and got nice and lost in the streets of Aswan. Everyone speaks
English to tourists so we never felt worried.
DAY 2
Toured granite quarries where they carved obelisks in ancient times. Some were left unfinished and are still in the quarry. Philae Temple was dismantled and reassembled (about 550 meters from its original home on Philae Island) to save it from flooding. It is a very pretty place and originally marked the 'end' of egypt during Ptolemaic period.
We sailed to Kom Ombo, a quick visit to a temple of Sobek
and then straight on to Edfu. Dinner and Dancing was where I met Stephanie
for South Africa. She was really intelligent, stunningly beautiful and had
decided to come on a last minute holiday. Things went really well and we became
inseperable for the rest of the holiday.
DAY 3
More temples in Edfu and then weset off for Luxor, the jewel of the nile. In the eening they got the guests to dress in Galabyas and plied us with too much booze. Steph and I ended up snogging like teenagers at the back of the room while people danced into the small hours.
DAY 4
The Valley of the Kings and Queens on the west bank of the Nile are egypt's treasures. Everyone should visit. However, when you have finished here, back on the other bank Karnak Temple beckons. This is amazing. the biggest and most beautiful of the temples, this is what I imagined Egypt would be like.
DAY 5
Saying goodbye to the ship and staff was hard. Saying goodbye to Steph was harder. My Nile Cruise was a holiday I will never forget.
JN 2007
