Revelling on the River Nile, Egypt
June 1995
The intermittant tourist shootings of Fundamentalists had caused the booming Tourist industry to collapse from within. Noone wants to get shot at on holiday. Consequently, packages were being given away and for £400 plus the occasional excursion with 'Jules Verne', you could get an all in, one week cruise down the Nile with all the culture you could take. It was cheaper than I could do it on my own.
Monday June 19th
Flight from Gatwick at 11.30am. As we reached Egypt, there were hundreds of miles of yellow, dusty landscape beneath us. The flight was busy, but anyone I talked to was on the other cruise. I was in shorts, so when the heat hit the passengers, I was ready for the sweat cascading off the forehead when we arrived five hours later, plus two hours ahead local time (6.30pm). We were taken to the sparten arrival lounge where we queued for visas and customs. I tried out a few words of welcome in Arabic and got a good reception. Most of the tourists looked bewildered. I was impressed with the honesty of an Egyptian porter who waved around a lost carton of cigarettes at the tourists.
I boarded the bus along with others, and we were welcomed by Manal, our female student Egyptian guide. We drove into Aswan across one of the dams to the Nile where our boat - the MS-RA was moored. This was a comfortable vessel - that could house 150 passenegers. There were only 52 in our party and we were all upgraded to better bedrooms. I had a twin room to myself on the third level. The boat had a huge restaurant and lounge, but the top deck became my home with a swimming pool and jacuzzi. I became "Jacuzzi Man" because of the time I spent in it. You could sunbathe in water and watch the countryside pass before your eyes. It was like a floating hotel. We had our first evening meal. The meals were huge - lots of different courses - usually soup, then fish and salad, a meat and veg course, a sweet and fruit if you wanted. The bar bill was put on credit until the end of the week. Local beer was about £2, a bottle of wine £5 and mineral water 50p. The bill mounted steadily during the week as the partying got going. After the meal, I walked around Aswan on my own. The town was manic with a wedding celebration, and all traders open. Locals called out to me as I trawled the backstreets.
Tuesday June 20th
I awoke at 4.30 as the boat pulled away heading north. The Nile was a millpond all week. You did not feel any motion. Watching the sunrise on deck, I then went down to the captain's house and met some of the crew. Homosexual suspicions were aroused by some later in the week, but I just got a cup of Chi (tea). The red globe of the sun rose rapidly behind the palm trees. The Nile was awesomely wide, with flat banks and occasional small sandy hills bordering it. It was also very clean at this point.
At breakfast, I met a New Zealand couple from Glendean, Auckland, where I had pumped gas in 1986. After breakfast, we had a "welcome" speech., where I first met a couple of Welsh brothers - Steve and Paul Harris. We became a terrorizing posse for the rest of the week, hellbent on having a good time and game for anything.
At 10.30am we moored at Edfu and clambered aboard horse and buggies which took us to Edfu Temple. The driver let me steer the horses along the dusty, crowded town streets. The Rough Guide said that "The provincial town of Edfu boasts the best preserved cult temple in Egypt dedicated to the falcon headed god Horus. Though actually built in the Ptolemaic era, this mammoth edifice respects all the canons of pharaonic architecture, giving an excellent idea of how most temples once looked." What we got when we arrived was a blazing sun, unbelievable heat and lots of dust. We approached the sandstone enclosure walls and towering pylon of the Temple of Horus, which lay buried until the 1860s. I explored the site on my own and avoided the guided tour, trying to follow the Rough guide. It was indeed impressive and preserved very well. Avoiding the husslers outside, I found little of interest in the town and returned to board the buggy at 12.30.
During lunch, we sailed north to Esna, a large village on the West Bank of the Nile. Esna holds the origins of the cult of Khnum which beheld great celebrations. A huge pit in the centre of town exposes part of the Temple of Khnum - the Roman section dating from the first century AD. The tradesmen were more agressive here, and it took a lot of haggling to get two gowns at £5 a piece. I had already been wearing my African gown on board. At dinner, Steve and Paul arrived in full costume which broke the ice. People started to mix and dance. The drinking started. The young couples or singles started to bond together.. We had been prevented from leaving the boat because of violent locals - probably as a result of my haggling techniques.
Wednesday June 21st.
We had sailed onto Luxor and moored for two nights. Again I was up for the sunrise. I seemed to be the first up and the last to bed throughout the week. In the morning we visited the temple complex of Karnak which beats every other pharaonic monument but the Pyramids of Giza. Built on a leviathan scale to house the gods, it comprises three separate temple enclosures, the grandest being the Princinct of Amun, dedicated to the supreme god of the New Kingdom and a structure large enough to accomodate ten top league cathedrals. Karnak's magnitude and complexity owes to 1300 years of aggrandisement. The site was packed with tourists. Again I explored it on my own, occasionally catching some of the tour guide's speil. There was a lot to take in. The Great Hypostyle Hall is Karnak's glory, a forest of gigantic columns covering an area of 6000 square metres - large enough to contain both St Peter's Church in Rome and St Paul's Cathedral in London. A series of impressive pylons and avenues lay either side. The temples of Amun was once the religious centre of Thebes and Upper Egypt. We were then taken to a Papyrus factory, but I did not buy anything.Finally we visited Luxor Museum which was very small, most treasures residing in Cairo, but the exhibits were very interesting and enough to take in with the detailed explainations that Manal gave us.
After lunch, Mike, a fellow passenger and I decided to walk into the centre of Luxor in the claustrophbic heat to try and find some locals my parents had met. It was a good two mile walk to Luxor Temple. We sat down in a stall and talked to a local who then charged us a fortune for the tea we had imbibed. We explored the market stalls and visited a Coptic church where the priest gave us a tour and explanation for some "Bakeesh" ( a tip). Everyone wanted some Bakeesh. Unable to find the locals, we ended up walking back - probably coverting 6 or 7 miles as only "Mad dogs and Englishman" would in that heat, while the rest of the boat had sunbathed all afternoon..
In the evening, a coach load of us drove back to Karnak to see the "Light and Sound" show. It was a new experience for me, adequate if lengthy. The Welsh boys and me ran around in our element. Back at the boat the partying continued. We had aloud disco while the rest of boat prepared for an early start. Steve and me were up until 3am talking and telling jokes
Thursday June 22nd.
We were up for breakfast at 4.30 and off by 5am headed for the Valley of the Kings at Thebes in an attempt to try and see it before it got too hot and crowded. A local boat took us across the Nile to the West Bank and a coach took us on to the site. Situated in a secluded area of the west bank, the Valley of the kings contains 62 excavated tombs, mostly Royal but some belonging to members of nobility. Contrary to the practise of the pyramid builders of the Old Kingdom, the Pharoahs of the 18-20th Dynasties hewed tombs deep into the rock. They followed a similiar pattern od steep corridors leading to tresure chambers, and finally the burial chamber for the mummy. The walls and ceilings were painted with scenes and inscriptions full of mysterious spells and creatures designed to assist the king in his journey through the underworld to acheive his destiny with the sun god.
The Tomb of Amenophis II (1450 - 1425BC) is one of the most impressive and best preserved in the valley. The star spangled blue ceiling and papyrus yellow walls with scenes of the sun god's voyage through the underworld convey strongly the awe inspring atmosphere of ancient Egypt. I visited the Tomb of Tutankamun alone - a very small chamber full of mystique but surpringly unimpressive when you visit it. Paul and I scampered around the valley taking in other tombs and views along the way. It was very hot.
We moved onto the Tombs of the Nobles. Whereas royalty favoured concealed tombs in secluded valleys, Theban nobles and high officials were ostentatiously interred in the limestone foothills overlooking the great funerary temples of their masters and the city across the river. We visited the Tomb of Ramose, where the heat was unbelievable. I nearly passed out inside.
On the way back to the boat we visited the Colossi of Memmon, rearing nearly sixty feet above the fields. These gigantic pair of enthroned statues originally fronted a temple which was plundered by later pharoahs. After lunch, we relaxed on the boat, sunbathing, drinking and reading. I had built up a wicked suntan which beat everyone. A couple of the group had come down with bad diarrhea and were bedridden. Untouched, I proudly boasted that copious amounts of duty free gin had kept the system clean.
About 5pm we were driven to Luxor Temple which stands aloof in the heart of the town, ennobling the view from the waterfront and tourist bazaar with its grand colonnades and pylons. Built by Amenophis III (1417 - 1379BC) on the site of an earlier temple and enlarged and beautified by Ramesses II (1304 - 1237BC), the most beautiful parts of the temple are the colonnade and Court of Amenophis, its colums crowned with lotus bud capitals. I cannot remember what we did in the evening but a lot of alcohol was probably involved. The friendly waiters would usually start up some drumming and singing and before you knew it everyone was dancing. Excellent value.
Friday June 23rd.
Up again at 5pm and off to the Valley of the Queens where we visited the newly restored and exquisite Tomb of Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II. Only 6 people could visit the tiny chamber at once but the murals were superb in detail. We moved on to the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari , the only woman ever to reign over Egypt as Pharoah (1503 - 1482 BC) .The Rough Guide said AOf all the sites on the West Bank, none can match the breathtaking panache of Deir el Bahri. Set amidst a vast natural amphitheatre in the Theban Hills, the temple rises in imposing terraces, the shadowed verticals of its colonnades drawing power from the massive crags overhead. Its great ramps and courts look modern in their stark simplicity, but in ancient times would have been softened by gardens.It is unlike any other temple in Egypt.
We were expert at haggling by now, even though I was buying nothing. We were taken to an alabaster factory where after a brief demo we were invited to browse.Paul bought a statue of a god with a huge penis. As we crossed back across the Nile, Luxor's banks were full of empty passenger boats redundant due to the boom of tourism drying up. More sunbathing and drinking and lapping up the party atmosphere.
Tonight was "Egyptian Night" where everyone was supposed to dress up. My little group had been dressed up all week. We had heard that the other party had been given an Egyptian play to act out. Not to be outdone, Paul and me devised our own play called "Up The Pharoah's Back Passage". The idea was to get as many piss takes as possible out of the group. The other group did a very professional job, but they had rehearsed the script. Ours was off the cuff leaving it to various characters to do their own thing. I was the tour leader called "Banal". Dressed in Manal's hat, sunglasses and flag I lead a group which charged into the lounge in the search of King Er Lingus. As I blabbed on, various members of the party would rush off to the toilet yelling in pain. The yelling got louder as Paul playing the haggler tried to sell his Penis statue to the audience. Finally, someone in too much pain called for a doctor, where upon Steve appeared as a Proctologist and after an excellent ad lib inserted a camera tripod up his arse. It looked painful, but brought the house down. We were congratulated on our spontaneous performance. This was followed by the local entertainment - dancers and musicians and belly dancers. We were invited to dance with her and strutted our stuff. The second belly dancer was very attractive. When she finished Paul, Steve and me dropped to our knees crying "We are not worthy". It was a great evening.
Saturday June 24th.
The boat had departed Luxor heading north back to Aswan. We moored at Kom Ombo, 26 miles downstream from Aswan to see its Ptolemaic Temple that dates from the second century BC. The arid hills of the Eastern Desert recede from the riverbanks and bumper crops of sugar cane were harvested on reclaimed land. Exceptionally, the Temple is dedicated jointly to two gods. Haroeris, a form of Horus, and the crocodile head god, Sobek. Each divinity has its own chapel. There are some excellent wall paintings here and at their best in the outermost of the two corridors that run around the temple.
We sailed on to Aswan, and later in the day boarded a coach to visit the famous High Dam (al-Sadd al-Ali). Just upriver from the First Cataract stands the old Aswan Dam which we crossed when we first arrived. Built by the British (1898-1902) and subsequently twice raised to increase its capacity. Once the largest dam in the world, it stands 50m tall, 2000 metres long , 30m thick at the base and 11m at the top. There are 180 sluice gates which used to control a semi natural flood cycle. Now used to provide hydroelectricity.
In 1952, it was apparent that the Aswan dam could no longer satisfy Egypt's needs nor guarantee security from famine. Nasser pledged to build a new High Dam, six km upstream, that would secure Egypt's future, power new industries and bring electricity to every village. It was built between 1960 and 1971. The most visible consequence of the High Dam is Lake Nasser, which backs for nearly 500km, well into the sudan. Over 180m deep in places, with a surface area of 6000 square km, the lake is the world=s largest reservoir. The Egyptians are rightly proud of this construction which has saved the country from famine on many occasions. The water was sky blue.
We caught a boat to the isalnd of Philae and its Temple of Isis which was constructed during the Ptolemaic times. The dam caused the waters to submerge the temple at various times and UNESCO arranged (1972-80) to relocate its temples on nearby Aglika Island. We explored the temple and Paul and I managed to bribe a guard to let us up on the roof to get a great view over the complex. Throughout the holiday I had attempted to do the same at each site.
After dinner a group of us visited the Old Cataract Hotel famous as the location for "A Death On The Nile", but the place was dead and expensive. I didn't stay long with the minimum £3 charge. The evening followed the usual routine of partying with the friendly waiters whom we had nicknamed according to their appearance ( Freddie Mercury was head waiter), drinking, telling jokes and looking forward to the morning's early excursion. I still didn't get to bed until 2.30am.
Sunday June 25th.
We were awoken at 3.30am and tumbled into a bus at 4am heading south towards the Sudan and the great Temple of Abu Simbel. We crossed vast stretches of desert. As the sun came up, we stopped and had our breakfast on the sand as camel trains galloped past. A memorable experience. We arrived at Abu Simbel about 8am well ahead of the tour groups.
The great Sun Temple of Abu Simbel epitomises the monumentalism of the New Kingdom during its imperial heyday when Ramses II was in charge (1304-1237 BC). To impress his power and majesty on the Nubians, he had four gigantic statues of himself hewn from the mountainside, from whence his unblinking stare confronted travellers as they entered Egypt from Africa. The Temple he built was precisely orientated so that the sun's rays reached deep into the mountain to illuminate its sanctuary on his birthday and the anniversary of his coronation. The Temple covered in sundrifts was discovered in 1813.
It was the prospect of losing Abu Simbel to Lake Nasser that impelled UNESCO to organise the salvage of Nubian monuments in the 1960s. The entire monument was reassembled 210m behind and 61m above its original site, a false mountian being constructed to match its former setting. It is still being paid for but is generally accepted to be the highlight of any Nile cruise. Too true.
The temple facade is dominated by four enthroned Colossi of Ramses II whose twenty metre height surpasses the Clossi of Memnon at Thebes We spent a couple of hours throughly exploring the Great Temple and Smaller temple and inside the false mountain. Paul and I climbed it to watch majestic African Eagles catch thermals very close to us. On the way home we stopped to view a mirage. It was great to see the Egyptian desert and brought back memories of Australia.
After lunch we boarded a felucca (traditional Nile boat) and sailed (well towed) up river to visit Agha Khan's Mausoleum - nothing special. Paul and I avoided the camel rides and jogged to the top. Back at the boat I haggled for a drum. I had already bought a great white gown and a drum was the only other thing I wanted. Local kids in tiny homemade boats would paddle up to us singing and asking for Bakeesh.
We sailed onto Kitchener's Island to walk around the scrappy looking botanical islands with dozens of dead white Egress birds laying around, It was too hot to do anything but sit and drink water. I had had bad chest pains since the Friday night and Steve diagnosed it as Pluresy. It was uncomfortable to sleep (what little time I tried - I estimated I had about 20 hours throughout the week), but I tolerated the pain and was thankful I didn't have the "Curse of the Pharoahs".
In the evening after a long day, we had a Nubian Night - our last chance to dress up and dance with the dancers and musicians. Nobody wanted to go home. I don't remember going to bed but staying up for the sunrise, alone as I had most days.
Monday June 26th
Our last day. Paul, Steve (the Kiwi) and me rented a local felucca and sailed it up the Nile and back for an hour catching the sights and sounds of Aswan. I felt like staying on another week and doing the rest of the Nile and Cairo. One week wasn't enough. It had been an excellent array of marvellous sights and culture, friendly people, good company, great weather and exhausting in the nicest way. As my first introduction to an organised tour I was impressed.
We lay around the boat for the rest of the day, while Stanley, a phychologist took his last footage of us larking around. He had had a video camera strapped to his eye throughout the week. Settling the bar bill was nerve-racking and I was guess our immediate group of about a dozen people forked out £1000 for our sins. About 4pm the coach took us back to the airport where we sat around for two hours. Flying up to Cairo to refuel, we got stranded there by delays. It was getting on for midnight English time by the time we arrrived in Gatwick and I still had a 3 hour drive home. After getting to bed at 4am I was back in the office by 8.30am with the best suntan on campus.
