Qwhen Agatha Christie conceived the plot of Murder on the Nilewas traveling in Egypt on a slow cruise ship which suggested one of the most famous stories to the author and contributed to make the charm of a holiday on the river timelessif not the longest in the world, certainly the richest in history.
The placid rhythm of the Nile
Its generative rhythm, its coming out of its banks at the command of the moon and covering the surrounding plains with fertile silt is today dictated by Aswan Dam and the great Lake Nasser which control its overflow. The charm of this Great Old Man remains intact, which collects 5000 years of history, was born in the heart of Africa, crosses seven nations and then dives into the Mediterranean: for millions of years it has flowed unchangednavigating its ancient course, so important that it rose to the status of divinity among the Egyptians, is like crossing the sphere of time.
Archaic suggestions, which can all be felt on board the Eyaru, the dahabeya on which the tour operator Kel 12 offers a cruise full of charm and surprises. The dahabeya (in Arabic means “golden boat”) was a sailing vessel that transported goods and travelers in the 19th century. The start of tourist cruises and the ever-increasing demand for seats put them aside a bit. The Eyaru (the name evokes the paradise of the Egyptians) takes up tradition, has small dimensions, a single deck and 8 cabins, for a maximum of 20 travellers.
Eyaru, the dahabeya of the Kel 12 tour operator.
Scents of ancient wood, leather and cinnamon waft in the common room where it is nice to be while sailing, sunk between Egyptian cotton cushions: the river is a slow embrace, on the banks, the vegetation explodes with palm treesmango trees, sugar cane, children play, adults bathe in their clothes, someone takes tame cows out to pasture and haughty gray herons let themselves be carried by the current onto islands of branches and branches.
Respect for tradition
On board, the cruise director and an Egyptologist await guests, the expert whose presence characterizes the voyages of Kel 12. The ship’s details are striking, from the fabrics the color of the Nile vegetation to the lamps inspired by the tall braziers of Tutankhamun’s tomb, to the menus which, studied by the on-board chef, they “repudiate” international cuisine: even at the table you can breathe Egypt and traditional dishes arrive steaming: koshari (a pie made of pasta, rice and lentils), falafel, babaganuch (aubergine cream), bamia (stew with okra), pigeon stuffed with green wheat, solar bread left to swell in the sun on the bow of the boat…
Egypt, from Luxor to Aswan
The Karnak Temple complex in Luxor. In the foreground, the Sacred Lake where the priests purified themselves before the rites. (Getty Images)
On the west bank, in front of the Eyaru docking station, the spectacle of the Valley of the Kings bathed in golden light is unparalleled. It appears like a suspended cloud, a promise of wonders, fulfilled on the day of the excursion. Departure at dawn, according to a program designed in time to visit all the sites at times with little crowding. While the sky turns pink, you arrive at the place where, a thousand years before Christ, the funerary temples of 63 pharaohs of ancient Thebes, today Luxor, were excavated. The rulers of the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC) were trying to find a different burial place, with the aim of protecting their sarcophagi and their belongings, and ensuring an undisturbed journey to the afterlife.
The Journey of Ra
Do not disturb, in fact. Guides are not allowed to enter the tombs of the kings, there is no talking or making noise, the place is respected. Admiring the decorated corridors in silence, going down with wide-eyed eyes to the rooms that contained the sarcophagi plundered over the centuries by grave robbers, is pure emotion that questions this people dominated by the consciousness of death, yet so attached to life that they conceive complex rituals to ingratiate themselves with eternity.
Seti I’s tomb is known as the Sistine Chapel of Egypt11 rooms with perfectly preserved paintings in bright colours, scenes taken from ancient texts, from the Litany of Ra and the Book of the Dead, and representations of the rite of opening the mouth, to allow the deceased to eat and drink after death.
In the tomb of Ramesses VIthe sarcophagus of the pharaoh who escaped the sacking communicates his power, on the walls the divinities accompany his deeds in life and Nut, the goddess of the sky, arches very long around the earth: she swallows the sun at sunset and gives birth to it at dawn, symbolizing a cycle of death and rebirth. She is found in many temples, lying on astronomical ceilings, “mother” of Ra, the king of the gods, the creator god and central figure of the complicated Egyptian pantheon, represented with the solar disk on his head.
He appears associated with the god Amon to whom the temple of Luxor is dedicated, at whose entrance pillar two colossal statues of Ramses II welcome visitors. A corridor of sphinxes almost three kilometers long connected it to the Karnak Temple complex, the most important site in Pharaonic Egypt, built over 2000 years. A collection of sanctuaries, pylons, obelisks and the astonishing Hypostyle Hall: 134 columns arranged in 16 rows with papyrus-shaped capitals, an imposing and wonderful forest of stone. In the background, the Sacred Lake, where the priests purified themselves before the rites. Among the more prosaic curiosities is the ladder up which the killer in the film climbs Murder on the Nile by John Guillermin (1978).
Temples moved from island to island
The navigation continues, the light seems to come from the water while a kingfisher modulates his whistle and the Nile displays its jewels. Stop at the island of Philae, with its temples dedicated to IsisHorus and Athor.
Trajan’s Kiosk, in the Philae temple complex. (IPA)
From here, the obelisk was removed in the 19th century which, together with the Rosetta Stone, was used to decipher the hieroglyphics. And here, the first spectacular work of transferring the temples from one island to another: with the construction of the Aswan dams, the monuments of Philae risked being submerged. In the 1960s, the company, under the aegis of UNESCO and an Italian project: the temples were dismantled and rebuilt on the nearby, more stable island of Agilkia, 550 meters awaywhere they are still found today.
Same pharaonic work that made the Abu Simbel temple: to protect it from the rising waters of Lake Nasserthe temple dedicated to the glory of Ramesses II was dismantled, numbered and rebuilt piece by piece.
In the village of Bissau
Dams today control floods, necessary engineering, without a doubt, which removes the aura of fatalism from the life once marked by the lord of the waters. Traces of how it was in ancient times are preserved in the village of Bissau. A handful of pink and blue colored houses, perched on an island in the middle of the river, open-air farmyard animals and unfriendly-looking buffaloes for visiting citizens. Sayed welcomes us, a large plane is painted on his blue house, a sign that he has made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Inside, living rooms and bedrooms embellished with bows and silver cushions. Outside, on the sofas where they take the fresh air and drink tea, there are the families of his brothers, wives, daughters and an elderly uncle, one of the 10 wise men of the village. He leads a Council made up of 8 men and two women, the latter competent in women’s issues. They are curious about our world and we about theirs, linked to a peasant culture which, 5000 years later, still bears traces of wishes of the god Nile, harnessed but not tamed: the floods controlled by the Lake Nasser dam “give away” temporary pieces of land every year, which become submerged a few months later. Sayed’s family grows vegetable products there that grow quickly, before the land is swallowed up by the waters again.
The river god of Egypt
So let’s meet this river god: his name is Sobek, he is represented as a man with the head of a reptile, symbol of the Nileassociated with fertility, the power of the Pharaoh and protection against the dangers of the waters. At the Kom Ombo temple dedicated to him on the east bank, crocodiles were raised and worshiped as his incarnations.
Bas-relief of the god Horus and the crocodile god Sobek (right) at the Kom Ombo temple. (IPA)
In the courtyard, next to a small museum of mummies of crocodiles, there are the remains of the breeding tank and of a structure, the “Nilometer”: a system of canals and cisterns with water level indicators to calculate floods. The temple, dedicated to the crocodile god but also to the falcon god Horus, to whom Sobek is linked by accessing the most influential triad composed of Horus (now Sobek-Horus) and his parents Osiris and Isis.
The inscriptions regarding medicine inspire great curiositywith the tools used to practice it thousands of years ago, including a birthing chair. Built and expanded during the Ptolemaic dynasty, the temple features bas-reliefs depicting Ptolemy XII, the father of Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic queen. And the thought goes to her beauty that enchanted Caesar and Antony, to the asp curled up in her breast so as not to succumb to lost love, but perhaps more so to the Roman Empire. It goes to Hollywood, to Liz Taylor’s violet eyes… And to the desire to wear a long, flowing dress for dinner on the Eyaru. Queen for an evening.
What to admire
Grand Egyptian Museum Kafr Nassar, Al Haram, Giza
The GEM, the largest Egyptian museum in the world, was officially inaugurated on November 4th. On a surface
of 500 thousand square meters, it houses more than 100 thousand finds including the Tutankhamun collection. Virtual and augmented reality, children’s galleries, restaurants, shops, Congress Center and Auditorium complete this pharaonic work.
Where to Eat
Zooba
16 26 July St, Al Gabalayah, Zamalek, Giza Street food cooked in a refined way in this place that has moved from Cairo to Manhattan and also has a location in the GEM. Flavored broad bean purée, sandwiches stuffed with meat, puff pastry with sweet or savory fillings…
What to buy
Caravanserai
Medinet Habu, Luxor. Khairy and her family manage this treasure of Egyptian objects, mostly produced by communities of disadvantaged women: ceramics from the oases, Siwan embroidery, hand-woven scarves, bags.
Info
The Kel 12 tour operator offers two dahabeyas, the Eyaru and the Nebyt, for an unforgettable cruise on the Nile.
From Luxor to Aswan and vice versa following the flow, seven nights of navigation with excursions to sites not included in standard trips. Kel12.com; Doveclub.it