N
ineteenth-century accounts of hiring a ship
for the journey up the Nile include talk of
taking the ship into the middle of the river
and sinking it to get rid of the rats before
washing it off, loading it up and setting sail. In his
1909 book,Egypt (La Mort de Philae), French novelist
Pierre Loti described scenes of “those three-decked
tourist boats, which make a great noise as they plough
the water, and are laden for the most part with ugly
women, snobs and imbeciles”.
From the perspective of a passenger on the
Sanctuary Sun Boat IV, a five-deck, 40-cabin vessel
operated and recently renovated by Sanctuary Retreats,
the ugly women, snobs and imbeciles are in shorter
supply nowadays, and there are no rats to be seen.
There’s a pool on the top deck, and a winning variety
of places spread fore and aft to lounge and loll.
The cabins are neat, modern and well designed,
with desks and plenty of storage. The combination of
a comfortable bed and floor-to-ceiling glass opening
onto the Nile is pretty special. I can’t say I’m a fan of
the gussied-up international cuisine offered sometimes
at dinner (there are some things the gods didn’t intend
to be garnished with strawberries), but when Egyptian
food is an option, as it is at breakfast and lunch, it’s
happy days. Good salads, fresh vegetables served simply
with olive oil and fresh herbs, and flatbread and dips
made to order in abundance are welcome staples.
The other key piece of kit on the boat is the
Egyptologists. Having an expert on hand to explain
that the face missing from the frieze of Isis at Philae
is now in the Vatican (someone saw a likeness to the
holy Virgin Mary) or to point out the remarkable
medical scenes among the hieroglyphs at Kom Ombo
(saw, scissors, birthing stool and all) is a true luxury.
And then there’s just being on the green ribbon
of the Nile itself, “marvellous and unique, fertile
without rain, watered according to its need... without
help of any cloud”, wrote Loti. It has a cool, deep-green
scent that is entirely comforting. The scenes playing
out on its shore are endlessly variable but barely
changed since antiquity. “Hello!” yells a man from
the banks one afternoon. “Good morning!”
Sailing three nights from Aswan to Luxor is an
immersion in ancient history. The archaeological
wealth in Luxor is hard to comprehend. Within its
bounds lay the ruins of ancient Thebes. On the east
bank, among the living, the Luxor and Karnak temples
sit right in the middle of town, linked by an avenue of
a thousand sphinxes, and dwarfing all around them
with their epic columns and colossal statuary. On the
west bank, it’s all about the other world and the next
life. Being familiar with the term “necropolis” and
walking the streets and tunnels of a city of the dead
are different things.
Of the 63 royal tombs secreted in the hot, barren
range of rocky hills that comprise the Valley of the➤Right: feluccas
on the Nile at
Aswan. Below:
hieroglyphic
carvings, Kom
Ombo. Opposite:
A vegetable seller
in Luxor souk.