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A felucca glided past, its tall white sail
filling with a gust of wind.
I could hardly believe I was enjoying
such peace and quiet on one of the busiest tourist trails in the world.
With its abundance of ancient wonders, the Nile between Luxor and Aswan
attracts around two million visitors a year - most of them on the hundreds
of cruise boats that are moored six deep at the height of the season each
winter.
So it was a delight to find myself aboard the Alexander
The Great, which could be renamed the Dark Horse Of The Nile. Looking just
like dozens of other Nile cruisers on the outside, inside it is the
opposite of an Aladdin's cave - positively minimalist by Nile cruiser
standards.
My boyfriend Jonathan and I stepped up the gangway at
Alexander's private dock in Luxor and found ourselves in a floating
boutique hotel.
Our airy cabin had a double bed with crisp white
Egyptian cotton duvet and linen throws, a chaise longue, two large
windows, room to swing a suitcase, polished wood floor, and a full
bathroom with tub and shower. When the ship was refurbished three years
ago, out went 60 pokey cabins and in their place just 30 double-sized ones
were created. With only half the number of passengers, the public areas
are spacious and uncrowded. Delicious meals - sumptuous buffets for lunch
and breakfast, and à la carte for dinner - are served in the stylish
restaurant, which had plenty of tables for two.
The teak deck has
a small pool and lots of smart white sunbeds and sofas with cool calico
cushions to lounge around on.
It was the perfect base for
sightseeing, as all the top sites are close to the banks of the Nile and
our six-night voyage took us to Aswan and back, visiting them all.
As two of a handful of Britons on board (others were French,
Italian, German and Spanish) we had an expert guide for our small group.
We started in the Valley of the Kings where Howard Carter memorably
uncovered Tutankhamun's tomb (now empty, his treasures are in Cairo) and
descended down long tunnels to exquisitely decorated burial chambers. We
visited the huge, stark mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut and had a
quick photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon.
So much beauty and so
much history made our heads spin, and that was only the beginning.
On the opposite bank, the temples of Karnak and Luxor were
familiar from the movie Death On The Nile - a great deal more crowded but
still awe-inspiring. At Edfu we climbed into horse-drawn caleches to whisk
us up to the wonderfully preserved Temple of Horus, the falcon-headed god,
which had been buried in mud until the 1860s and is overlooked by
ramshackle houses.
As we approached Kom Ombo we could see the
temple pillars in the distance. From the boat it was just a few steps up
to the temple and the late-afternoon sun made the stones glow. As darkness
fell the magnificent carvings sprang into deep relief, highlighted by
cleverly positioned lamps. In the chapel of Hathor (the cow-headed
goddess) we were intrigued to find three mummified crocodiles in glass
cases.
Then it was time to get down to the important business of
shopping for outfits for the Galabaya Party that evening, at the market
stalls beside the dock. The party is a Nile cruise institution, when the
passengers are jollied into "Egyptian" dress.
And after a lot of
flattery by the merchants and haggling by us we were kitted out. A flowing
black two-piece number with lots of gold dangly bits and a beaded cloche
for me, and the full Lawrence of Arabia for Jonathan, were assembled for a
tenner. Back on board we got dressed up and went for dinner feeling rather
ridiculous but it was an Egyptian menu, with meze starters, a delicious
pigeon dish and grilled Nile perch among the choices.
After dinner
about half the guests joined in two very silly party games. Wrap your
partner in loo roll like a mummy (Jonathan made a note to bring his own
roll of Andrex another time, Egyptian ones are very flimsy) was followed
by a wacky game of musical statues. Then the disco started and we escaped
on deck.
As we sipped our coffee under a starry sky we agreed that
ancient monuments are best enjoyed from the comfort of a modern and
luxurious Nile cruiser.
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