r s n Down The Nile

going no is that there are fe tourists to cro d your ay.

BY PETRA O’NEILL

The longest ri er in the orld the Nile stretches for 6,700 kilometres and in September hen tra elled there the days ere still listeringly hot.

I’d joined a Peregrine tour of Egypt, eginning in airo ith an e cursion to the yramids and hin at i a the airo useum to ie the golden mas of Tutankhamun and other priceless treasures the os ue of ohammed li aladin itadel and the ancient sou han el halili crammed ith te tiles erfume and a e ildering array of itsch sou enirs including lastic yramids.

After boarding an overnight train and arri ing at . am in u or a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern gy t our small grou of si ere the first to enter the spectacular Temple of arna a ast o en air tem le com le that honours the gods of Osiris and Iris, an ambitious construction dating back to . . e then set off for u or Tem le here standing et een t o statues of amses you are o er helmed y the detail and grandeur around you. e t day e isited the est an and the alley of the ings arri ing at da n to ie se eral of the ancient tombs dug deep into the ground, including Tutankhamun’s tomb, all reached ia narro tunnels. The Tem le of ueen Hatshepsut is breathtaking in scale, and the Colossi of Memnon are massive stone statues thatonce guarded the gates of this ancient gy tian city.

eturning mid afternoon set off to e lore the a aar. er helmed y ealous endors retreated to the serenity of the grand u or alace otel for hi iscus tea the hall ays and u lic rooms filled ith anti ues and memora ilia. t nightfall e arri ed at om m o here the main tem le rises u ards. t as here that crocodiles rested in a end in the ri er and so a tem le as uilt in 181 BC, one part dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god and one to orus. t asn t ust haraohs that ere mummified the crocodiles on dis lay ere too. n our arri al in s an considered the gate ay to frica e too a motor oat to Philae Temple, built on an islandand dedicated to the goddess of love and healing and mother of the uni erse sis. e t day e e lored u im el. hen a e asser as created the t o tem les ere ainsta ingly trans orted y an international relief effort iece y iece to their ne location a three hour dri e a ay across a s arse and arren desert. The reat Tem le of a ara hte ith its four giant statues of Ramses II, and the Temple of Hathor dedicated to Queen Nefertari, are ell orth the ourney.

As our cruise boat set sail, the sky across the est an as lit u in shades of lue in and yello est ie ed from the u er dec efore dus turned to night.

Next morning on arriving at Edfu, I visited the famed Temple of Horus, the falcon god y a horse dra n carriage. Thanks to the desert sand that covered it for centuries the tem le uilt et een and . . is one of the est reser ed ancient structures in gy t.

That afternoon atched life ass y on the ri er as e cruised to ards s an a southern Egyptian city - fishermen casting their nets, egrets flying overhead, banana and mango trees green fields of heat and a landsca e of illages along the shoreline.

Dogged for years by political unrest and terrorist attacks, Egypt’s tourism industry is slo ly reco ering and the enefit of hile itineraries offered y tour operators on the Nile are similar and ship exteriors cookie cut in design, the main oint of difference is in the le el of creature comforts offered on oard. ur oat as comforta le ith contem orary d cor a sundec ith s imming ool and ca ins ith floor to ceiling sliding doors alcony railing and large athrooms. y last afternoon in s an turned out une ectedly. fter sho ing at the a aar loaded ith u ian all hangings asmine and rose scented perfume and a large bag of hibiscus tea, I arrived at the historic Old Cataract Hotel, the setting of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, for afternoon tea. ut the doorman ouldn t allo me to enter, so I returned to my hotel and egan chatting toa oman from lorida reco ering from amoe ic dysentery. he had anted to cleanse herself y drin ing the aters of the ile. That may ha e een ill advised, but there is something sacred a out the ile that you feel hen you see it for the first time. ur last night as s ent at the home of a Nubian family, on an island of brightly painted mudbrick homes dating back centuries. edding as in rogress in the illage ith dancing and drumming and our night ended ith a felucca ride along the ile a traditional ooden sailing oat the sails illo ing against the ind.

Egypt, the ancient land of the pharaohs, is stunning, and the Nile that provides ater to more than million eo le from frican countries is no less so. ounging on a dec chair on the u er dec as treated to ie s of ancient citadels as a ac dro to one of the orld s oldest civilisations, an extraordinary river ourney unli e any other.

Travel Notebook

Fly to Cairo with Etihad via Abu Dhabi or Emirates via Dubai. Many tour companies now offer tours to Egypt. I liked Peregrine’s choice of centrally located hotels, 4 nights spent on the Nile and small group size.

Egyptian cuisine is delicious, with in uences from North Africa, Middle East, and the Mediterranean, featuring grilled meat, and meze-style salads and dips. TryKoshari, rice and pasta with beans, tomato and onion. Avoid travelling in summer: JuneAugust, Mar-May and Sep-Nov are preferable; Dec-Feb is peak season.

A visa on arrival costs US$25 cash. The currency is the Egyptian pound. ATMs are widespread. Sites may charge a camera fee, mobilesare free. Drink bottled water and use hand sanitiser liberally.