On the Nile for 600 Miles
Good afternoon everyone! It’s a drizzly afternoon here in my corner of Kent. However, I should be grateful for the drizzle as it’s the first time I have seen rain since January. I flew back from Cairo with my wonderful group of passengers on Friday 11th March, and it is now two days later as I sit down to write this blog. Naturally, the theme of this blog will be the last 5½ weeks that I have spent in Egypt, but I feel that I must start by mentioning the horrendous events that are occurring in Ukraine. When I flew out to Egypt on 1st February, there were just occasional mentions of Russia amassing troops at the Ukrainian border. Fast forward those 5½ weeks and it is a living nightmare for the Ukrainian people. For many years I worked on a ship where the entire deck and engine department were Ukrainian. To be honest, they mostly kept themselves to themselves, but if you made the effort, they were brilliant people to get to know. I can't imagine what they are all going through now. In May and June of 2018 I worked on board “Hebridean Sky” for three cruises: The Bahamas to New York, New York to Halifax, and then Halifax to Halifax via Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and St Pierre and Miquelon. On those cruises, I became good friends with our receptionist, Elena. The photo below is of the two of us in Cap-aux-Mueles in Quebec’s Magdalen Islands, within the Gulf of St Lawrence. Elena was born and raised, and until very recently, lived a happy life in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She has now had to flee, along with her female relatives, to Western Europe, while her male relatives have had to stay behind. I told the story of Elena a week ago, at the Sunday Service on board the ship. At that time she had managed to reach Lviv, but has now thankfully made it across various countries and is safely in France. I also asked those at the Sunday Service to keep in mind the brave protestors in Russia. Over the years I have made many friends from the numerous visits to St Petersburg, and all of them are united against this senseless conflict, and have been bravely protesting on the streets in the face of daunting pressure. I continue to pray for all the innocent lives caught up in this ghastly war.
Elena and me, with “Hebridean Sky” in the background, in Cap-aux-Mueles, Canada. 5th June 2018.
And so to Egypt… readers of this blog will remember that I had been on the SS “Misr” once before, back in late 2018. I had only been on board for a week, completing the Luxor-Aswan-Luxor cruise. However, the ship had left a great impression on me and I was delighted to be returning to see more of the Nile. To my surprise, I was welcomed on board as though I was an old friend. It is not just the Filipino crews who can remember names and faces, as clearly the Egyptians have also learnt that trick. It is a long day to reach Aswan, changing flights in Cairo, but as soon as you wake up the next morning and stand on deck in the sunshine, watching the feluccas and other vessels busily passing by, you already feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Our first full day began with a trip to the UNESCO-built Nubian Museum. I was fascinated to learn that this is the only museum that UNESCO has built. The organisation is dedicated to preserving places where they are, but with the creation of Lake Nasser, that option did not exist, and so the museum was built to house those items which would otherwise now be hidden under water. The afternoon included a boat ride to the Temple of Philae, a drive across the Aswan Low Dam, a photo-stop at the Aswan High Dam, and then afternoon tea at the famous Old Cataract Hotel.
The Old Cataract Hotel, Aswan. 28th February 2022.
We all sat and admired the sunset over the River Nile with a delicious array of treats for afternoon tea. I hadn’t realised the hotel had been built by James Mason Cook (son of ‘Thomas’). To sit on the balcony overlooking the Nile and think that the same view had been enjoyed by the likes of Tsar Nicholas II, Winston Churchill, Princess Diana and, of course, Agatha Christie, was the perfect end to our first full day in Egypt. The next day was the earliest start to a day I can ever recall. Many of you will know that I could never be described as a “morning person”, but even the most ardent morning enthusiast would be challenged by the 3.30am alarm call for those heading out to Abu Simbel. Don’t worry, only those that had signed up were given the alarm call! It is approximately a 3½ hour drive each way from Aswan to Abu Simbel, but it is one of those trips that everybody should do at least once. Not only is there the miracle of how it was built back in c1250 BC, but the more recent miracle (1964-68 AD) of how it was moved, piece by piece, to its new location – 213ft (65m) higher up the bank. It would be a big enough challenge now, in 2022, but to manage it with the available technology of the 1960s makes it all the more impressive.
The Great Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. 3rd February 2022.
Whilst those passengers that had chosen to visit Abu Simbel were starting to make their way back to Aswan, those who had remained on board were given the option of a stroll around the open-air souk near the ship. Our guide, Sherif, appeared to know every single person in Egypt, and it made for an enjoyable wander and opportunity to see every-day modern Egyptian life. I have never been offered so many “special prices”. With everyone back on board for a late lunch, we set sail for the first time and enjoyed our surroundings, whilst those who had been on the Abu Simbel trip probably had a well-deserved afternoon nap. Shortly before sunset we arrived at our next destination – Kom Ombo. The temple is on the banks of the Nile and it was a short walk up the steps to be greeted by this impressive sight. Our two brilliant guides, Anwar and Sherif (or Younis for one of the cruises) explained various highlights, and the tour concluded at the mummified crocodile museum. The temple itself is partly dedicated to Sobek, the god with a crocodile head – hence the presence of mummified crocodiles.
Mummified Crocodiles at Kom Ombo. 3rd February 2022.
Some passengers had been hopeful of seeing a Nile Crocodile, but were saddened to learn that, since the building of the Aswan High Dam, there are no longer any crocodiles on the northern reaches of the Nile. They are yet to work out how to walk around the dam. We were told that, occasionally, a crocodile does appear in the northern part of the Nile, but they are quickly killed by the local fisherman in order to protect the children who enjoy swimming in the Nile. The next day would see us call at Edfu, with its huge temple dedicated to the falcon-headed god, Horus. The site could be quite busy, and it was explained to us that the vast majority of Nile tourism takes place between Luxor and Aswan, and, somewhat strangely, most of the ships plying that route do so on the same days. Once we were north of Luxor, we rarely saw another vessel. After our visit to Edfu, we continued along the Nile until we arrived in Luxor. The sun was beginning to set as we headed out to explore Luxor Temple. I think it is rather wonderful how the mosque has been left in situ behind one of the pylons, with its original entrance now suspended many feet in the air. It makes you fully appreciate the amount of excavation that had to take place to reach the original floor of the temple. Another highlight was the illuminated Avenue of Sphinxes, only fully restored in November last year. After a rather large lunch on board the ship, I decided I needed to increase my daily step count and walked some of the avenue. It truly is a splendid achievement.
The Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor. 5th February 2022.
We stayed overnight in Luxor and headed out to the West Bank the following morning. The morning tour included three sites – the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut (shown above) and the Colossi of Memnon. Three tombs in the Valley of the Kings are included in the entry ticket, and these tombs understandably vary each day. Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramesses V & VI can always be visited for an additional fee. It is quite puzzling to notice that Tutankhamun’s tomb entrance is near the front of the valley, and looks fairly obvious. However, you then realise that the entrance was quickly covered by the spoil of the neighbouring tomb, and hence it was not found until a hundred years ago by Howard Carter. Only the mummy is still present in Tutankhamun’s tomb, with all the artefacts having been taken away when it was famously uncovered. The Temple of Hatshepsut offers wall carvings that you won’t find elsewhere, as they include details of trips made to the Land of Punt, which is thought to be modern-day Somalia. Depictions of sea turtles, huts on stilts, and such things almost act as an ancient postcard. Whilst I think the temple is impressive, it is arguably its setting that is equally impressive. The sheer rock face above and the (usually) bright blue sky make for a brilliant contrast. After our visit to Hatshepsut we paused briefly at the Colossi of Memnon before returning to the ship for lunch. Our afternoon then included a detailed exploration of Karnak Temple (or “temples” as our guides told us it should really be called) as well as a visit to Luxor Museum. I’d never been to the latter before, and was very glad that I have now seen the various exhibits on display. A long day, with much included, but very worthwhile – and we were promised that there would be no early wake-up call the next day!
Excavations continue at the Osirion, to the rear of the Temple of Seti I in Abydos. 7th February 2022.
The following morning was indeed spent ‘at river’ until we arrived in Qena and then set off to Dendera in the afternoon. This is the only place where a depiction of Cleopatra VII exists, although it bore little resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor. This was also the only temple where I have ever known us to venture on to the roof. Many temples, including the likes of Luxor and Karnak, have their columns but no roof. To be inside an Ancient Egyptian temple, complete with its roof, is really something extra special. With our visit completed we sailed on to Nag Hammadi and waited patiently there for the road and railway swing bridges to open to allow us to pass. Later the following morning we docked in El Balyana and set off for the Temple of Seti I at Abydos. This was another temple with a roof, but it had been partly cleaned with a new chemical that removes the blackness of the soot to reveal the stunning original colours underneath. We walked all through and around the temple and then appeared at the rear of the temple where I took the photo shown above. Whilst the temple was very interesting, I liked the scene we stumbled across, where excavation work was continuing using what appeared to be fairly ramshackle wooden ramp and crane, with donkeys and carts ready to take the spoil away. I told all the passengers on the third cruise to look out for this almost medieval set-up, and when we arrived there it had vanished. I gathered that its structure had been dismantled as the archaeologists prepare to move to a different section of the Osirion.
Sunset on the outskirts of Cairo, with brickwork chimneys framing the sun. 9th March 2022.
The following day was a very welcome day ‘at river’, which included the chance to see the steam engines working hard. Naturally, this was one of the highlights for me. It is fantastic to see how these engines are still doing what they were built to do, and clearly the engineers take great pride in them. The focus then turned to tombs over the next couple of days. Visits included the necropolis at Hermopolis, which featured a walk through the catacombs containing mummified baboons and ibises; the Royal Tomb of the rather bizarrely behaved Akhenaten; the tombs of various noblemen at Amarna and Beni Hasan; drinking mint tea in a garden after our climb up and down to the tombs; and enjoyable evening strolls around the bustling cities of Minya and Beni Suef. Equally fascinating was a talk delivered by our guides one evening about life in Modern Egypt. I think the questions from our passengers could easily have gone on into the small hours if they’d had the chance. The last day that we spent time sailing on the Nile was the afternoon after a morning visit to the Pyramid of Meidum. The ‘stepped’ pyramid is even older than the pyramids at Giza, and many of the passengers took the opportunity to go inside and, whilst trying to avoid banging their heads in the narrow passages, reach the burial chamber. Whilst we were all stood within the burial chamber there appeared to be a lot of squeaking noises. I thought it was more passengers coming up the wooden ladder – but when I looked up I realised that we were not alone in the chamber, and that a colony of bats were suspended above our heads! With our visit to Meidum completed we headed back to the ship and sailed the last leg to Cairo, when I recorded the sunset from the ship, as shown above.
A group photo at the Giza Pyramid Complex. 10th March 2022.
The penultimate day of the cruise was the classic day-trip in Cairo: Pyramids, Sphinx and Egyptian Museum. As you can see from our group photo, it was a partly cloudy day. However, I think I preferred that to being out in the hot sun all morning. Sadly, due to delays caused by the pandemic, the new museum is not yet open to the public. However, personally I felt pleased to have one last opportunity to visit the old museum before it closes later this year. The Tutankhamun section was all still in place, and no matter how many times you have seen his gold death mask, you can’t help but be in awe of it. Created in c1323 BC, and only rediscovered in 1925 (as it took three years from finding the tomb before Howard Carter could open the innermost of the three coffins) it is over 10kg (22lbs) of gold and semi-precious stones. An incredible piece of art.
The domes of the mosque of Mohammad Ali as seen from the mosque of Al Nasir Mohammad Ibn Qalaun. 11th March 2022.
Our disembarkation day in Cairo included a visit to somewhere I’d never been before. The Citadel of Cairo (also known as ‘Citadel of Saladin’) sits atop a large hill and commands a dominating view over Cairo. We visited the two mosques, those of Mohammad Ali (completed in 1848) and Al Nasir Mohammad Ibn Qalaun (completed in 1335). As we were standing in the courtyard of the latter, the sun came out from behind a cloud and shone brightly on the domes of the former, and I took the photograph shown above. Our final sightseeing moment of the cruise was stood at the viewpoint of the Citadel, looking out on a clear day across the vast metropolis that is modern-day Cairo. In the far distance you could see the pyramids at Giza, and it seemed a fitting end to a wonderful cruise. We headed back to the ship, packed our bags, enjoyed a final lunch on board, and then Anwar and Sherif took us to the airport for our flight back to London. Upon landing at Heathrow, I waited by the carousel to ensure all the passengers were reunited with their luggage. I glanced at my watch as I left the arrivals hall and realised that it had been less than one hour from when we landed to when I was leaving the airport – if only it could always be like that! And finally… whilst Egypt and our guides and my colleague (thank you Carolyn) were all superb, the star of the show was undoubtedly the ship itself. The only steam ship still in service on the River Nile. It really was a case of stepping back in time, but with all the comforts one would expect of generous hospitality. I am due to head back to “Misr” in November next year, and even though I have now completed the 600-mile voyage from Cairo to Aswan a few times, I am already looking forward to being back on board. I hope you’ll join me!
The 104-year-old SS “Misr” at Amarna, Egypt. 7th March 2022.