River cruising
Above: The Colossi of Memnon Luxor Thebes, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut – one of many historical landmarks in Egypt.
Opening page: A Nour El Nil boat cruising down the River Nile in 2004.
It’s a sentiment that Miguel Cancino, co-founder of Nile cruise company Nour El Nil, knows only too well. However, before our conversation goes any further, Cancino is quick to point out that steamships on the Nile are a relatively new phenomenon. Rather, the popular retelling of Cook’s tale omits the fact that, for centuries, the waterway was populated by local Egyptians who ferried themselves along the water in dahabiyas or feluccas, simple, triangular-sailed boats carrying between six to eight passengers.
“At the beginning we were the only ones on the Nile for [about] seven or eight years, so it was wonderful, and then they woke up.”
“We are the people who reintroduced the dahabiya to the Nile after a 200-year hiatus,” says Cancino, with noticable pride in his voice speaking about his fleet of hand-crafted dahabiyas.
An invitation to explore
The height of daily temperatures along the Nile between June and August.
Nour el Nil 48 43°C
Established some 25 years ago, with local Egyptian sailor Memdouh and Cancino’s partner Eleonore, the venture has grown significantly since its early days, with a strong fleet of ships emerging to serve a diverse array of guests eager to explore the country by boat. “We said okay, ‘let’s build this dahabiya that once existed’,” Cancino recalls. “That became the Aswan, our first boat. It was only 37m long, but we never anticipated it being packed so we never thought about having a room for us. When it filled up we had to sleep on the deck after everybody went to sleep.” With six vessels offering different levels of luxury and spaciousness, the company markets itself as an
‘authentic way to experience this extraordinary country’ through a concise six-day passage from the merchant town of Esna, near the ancient temple of Khnum, to the desert city of Aswan. “At the beginning, we were the only ones on the Nile for [about] seven or eight years, so it was wonderful, and then they woke up,” Cancino explains. “There was a moratorium on licenses. And at that time, it would cost you $8–10m to buy a [cruise] licence. If the boat rotted, you’d have to build another one. So, basically only wealthy people could do it. Then people began to scratch their head. Even the government had no idea about dahabiyas.” A quarter of a century on, the Nile has acquired more boats and Cancino has more rivals than in those early years, even though as he assures me Nour El Nil retains a unique selling point in the form of its dahabiyas.
While Egypt itself has suffered – particularly since the violent uprising of 2011, which damaged the country’s long-standing image as a popular tourist destination – its great river has held its allure. While Viking cruise lines has operated on the Nile for some time, the addition of AmaWaterways represents new competition, along with renowned travel operator Abercrombie & Kent, which caters to a luxury clientele with ten-day trips costing $7,595 per person. Seeing renewed interest in the region after a pandemic-induced downturn, Viking have delivered a new vessel, Viking Aton, to capitalise on what looks like a growing demand for novel experiences in the land of the pharaohs. “Egypt remains a top destination for many of our guests who are inspired to discover the rich history and beauty of the region,” said Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking. Meanwhile, the AmaDahlia, AmaWaterways’ new Nile River
World Cruise Industry Review /
www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com
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