Egypt - Peace on the Nile

Karnak Sound & Light

There are more than 350 cruise boats on the Nile: less than 20% are operating. We took a cruise on one of these, on the most popular route – Luxor to Aswan, and it was at less than half capacity. We thought ourselves lucky to see such great sights with so few people around; only 12 of us attended the spectacular Karnak Sound & Light show.

Mosque at Dusk

Politics is everywhere in Egypt; our first two days saw the referendum vote on the new constitution; the streets were filled with truckloads of jubilant people; loudspeakers throughout Luxor urged the population to go out and vote. Most Egyptians we spoke to told us: ‘This is not a military coup; we’ve gotten our country back on track to stability,’ and they all wanted to talk about it. 

Temple figure - Edfu

Of course, we came to see ancient Egypt and there’s so much to see. Our guide Hussein was a local Egyptologist who weaved a tapestry of tales, laced with humour. Egyptian history mixes with mythology and coded language as it’s depicted on the walls of temples and tombs. Hussein: Osiris was killed by his brother Seth and cut into pieces, cast across Egypt but his faithful wife Isis collected the pieces and breathed life into him again; all but one piece – the most important piece of the man, …his wallet. Osiris became the judge of the dead.

Vendors in the wash

Egypt exists largely on a narrow strip of arable land straddling the Nile; historically the dead reside on the West Bank, with the setting sun; the living on the East bank. And the Nile was serene, clear blue skies and warm sun backlighting at dusk and dawn.

Felucca - Aswan

Tourism is a major source of income here so many are struggling; vendors would meet you as you left the ship; some would row out and attach themselves to our ship as we sailed, offering cotton products that they lobbed topside if you asked. As we took a short trip in a felucca four youngsters rowed out on surfboards, held on, and serenaded us. 

Surfboard Serenaders

After visiting the Luxor temples and the Valley of the Kings, we moved south to Aswan and learned the history of the High Dam, built by the Russians in the 1960’s after a split between Egypt and the West over the nationalization of the (previously French/British owned) Suez Canal. This impressive wall created Lake Nasser, several hundred kilometres long, affording control of the Nile floodplain, expanding the fertility and navigability of the area, and generating almost half of Egypt’s electrical power.

A crowd at Abu Simbel

Unfortunately, Lake Nasser flooded many ancient monuments and spurred the relocation of several to higher ground under a UNESCO program supported by many nations: the small but beautiful Temple of Philae on a small island close to the dam celebrates Isis the god of magic. Christians coexisted in this temple with followers of the cult of Isis for many years. Also cut into blocks and raised were the Temples of Abu Simbel and the mountains they were cut into. Huge temples carved out by Ramses II largely in his own image facing Sudan, less than 50 miles away.

The Sudan at moorings - Aswan

These temples are reached by a 3-hour bus drive through the Sahara; a mammoth feat of construction and so far from the centre of Ramses' power; it’s more than impressive .

The Sudan, whose sister ship starred in Death on the Nile, was moored in Aswan. ‘Does it still sail?’

“Yes, but only during high season,” said Hussein

‘When’s high season?’

“When people come…”

So if you’ve ever wanted to see Egypt, now’s the time!

To contact Hussein: husgaafar@yahoo.com

Dawn on the Nile - Luxor