RIVER CRUISING
Travelling theNile in
Historic Style
Gary Buchanan goes in search of history and culture along the timeless miles of the Nile aboard a Dahabiyya
T
wo and a half thousand years ago, the Greek historian Herodotus tried to describe the breathtaking sights of Egypt. Since then, legions of foreigners have been drawn to this land of tombs and temples.
By the time the Suez Canal opened in 1869, tourism to the Nile was the province of intrepid souls who made their own arrangements with boatmen and interpreters. But that year Thomas Cook escorted his fi rst tour of Egypt, making all the necessary arrangements for his clients and securing a steamer with acceptable standards of cleanliness and cuisine. This enterprising Baptist from Derbyshire was the
fi rst to establish exclusive independent travel and, as a result, opened up exotic Egypt to the masses. To cater to this travel phenomenon, Baedeker pub- lished the fi rst tourist guide to the country in 1885. Today there’s a veritable armada of riverboats,
ranging from the kitsch to the compact, that sail in fl otillas along the Nile, offering three and four-night sailings from Aswan or Luxor, as well as seven- night, round-trip departures from these epicentres of antiquity.
76 WO D OF CRU NRUISING I Summer 2010 WORLDOF CR SINGI Summ WORLD OF CRUISING mmer 20 201 010
Offering something quite different to hectic dashes from tombs to temples in the company of polyglot tongues, a voyage aboard a Dahabiyya is a quintessential journey through time and tranquillity. When Queen Cleopatra sailed from Egypt in 41BC, intent on seducing Mark Anthony, her royal
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92