Egypt: On the Nile
The Mystery of the Nile: a cruise from Abu Simbel to Aswan takes in rescued Pharaonic temples, the landscape of Nubia and the Old-World elegance of an Agatha Christie novel
Deanna MacDonald
Montreal Gazette, January, 2005
I couldn’t decide which way to look. Behind me rose the ancient temples of Abu Simbel and their colossal stone statues of Pharaoh Ramses II and his Queen Nefertari shimmering in the ochre glow of the setting sun. And in front of me floated the art nouveau-styled M.S. Kasr Ibrim in the warm blue waters of Lake Nasser. Designed to evoke the elegant leisure of a Nile cruise of the 1920’s and 30’s, I could almost picture Hercule Poirot in a linen suit and tiny moustache upon its deck.
I was certainly feeling like a character from an Agatha Christie novel, with my hair blowing in the desert breeze as our small launch made its way towards the 55-room ship that would be home for the next three nights. The Kasr Ibrim would make the 310-mile journey from Abu Simbel north to Aswan on Lake Nasser. This vast lake lies in southern Egypt near the Sudanese border and is surrounded by the rocky desert hills of Nubia, which are dotted with ancient temples and tombs we would visit on route.
Our journey began at one of the most spectacular of all: Abu Simbel. The Kasr Ibrim was picturesquely moored before these great temples. My shipmates and I, after enjoying a tour in the brilliant afternoon sun, would also have the opportunity to visit the temples at night (for a ‘son et lumière’ show) and again in the early morning as the sculptures emerged in the soft dawn light.
Dating to1274-1244BC, Abu Simbel was literally forgotten under the sands for centuries until a Swiss explorer stumbled across them – with only one head visible above the sand -in 1813. Imagine the amazement as the sand was removed to reveal the façade of the Temple of Ramses II, lined with four mammoth figures of the Pharaoh with diminutive statues of his wife, mother and children clustered round his feet. Inside, the walls are lined with remarkably coloured relief sculptures of gods, goddesses and the magnificent Ramses astride his chariot conquering his enemies who fall before him. The neighbouring Temple of Hathor - the goddess of love and pleasure who is often depicted as a cow - is dedicated to Nefertari, whose giant figure in the guise of Hathor is carved into the facade. Inside the pillars of the hypostyle hall are crowned with capitals of the beautiful, broad-faced goddess.
So awe-inspiring are the temples that one could easily forget that these – like all ancient monuments found on the man-made Lake Nasser – were moved and reconstructed in the 1960’s-70’s after the creation of the Aswan Dam, which flooded large parts of the southern Nile, creating Lake Nasser. A gargantuan international effort lead by UNESCO stepped in to save some of the hundreds of ancient monuments that would have been submerged under the waters. Abu Simbel was their biggest project and the temples were literally hewn out of solid rock and, piece by piece, over four years, moved 65 metres higher than the original sight. Dining on the ship’s upper deck that evening with the surreal vision of Abu Simbel illuminated before me, I was grateful for those near super-human efforts.
We set off after our dawn visit to the temples and life onboard began. Not your average cruise ship, the Kasr Ibrim is named for the sole ancient Nubian site that still stands in its original location. Dating back to 1000BC, the original Kasr Ibrim was at points a Pharaonic fortress, a temple of Isis, a Coptic church, a mosque and today, an archaeological site, unfortunately closed to visitors but still viewable from the ship’s deck.
The floating Kasr Ibrim is one of only 8 ships that cruise Lake Nasser, making for a pleasantly calm and solitary voyage (compare that with the over 250 ships on the much narrower Nile River between Aswan and Luxor). With cabin space for a maximum of 126 passengers, it is designed to evoke a more genteel age and was in fact inspired by the ships described in Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile” (1937). All that was missing was a body and a Belgian detective. This was clearly part of the ship’s attraction as I noticed several of my fellow passengers – mostly Europeans from around 30 to 60 – reading just that novel in a variety of languages.
Playing on nostalgia for a by-gone age, tea was served at five and some of the crew wore red fezs. The spacious cabins and public spaces are done in a playful art nouveau style with Nubian and Egyptian motifs. But even without the ship’s charm, the scenery would have been enough of a draw. With endless sky, sapphire waters, golden sands and ancient temples on offer, I spent a lot of time just soaking in my surrounding from either my little balcony (every room has one) or the upper decks.
The most exciting part of the whole experience was the several trips off-ship to visit the ancient monuments found along Lake Nasser’s shores. This was, after all, the land of Ancient Egypt. At appointed times all those interested would climb into the launch (dawn departures usually only saw about a dozen or so early-risers) and head for shore with the guide and two or three armed guards. From the government department of “escorts,” the presence of these friendly but well-armed men is required by the Egyptian government (whether absolutely necessary or not), which takes great efforts to make sure its tourists, who count for over 30% of the country’s economy, feel safe. I certainly did.
We saw several of Nubia’s best surviving monuments, all of which had been moved and rescued by the UNESCO teams, such as the Temple of Amada. Dedicated, like many temples in sunny Nubia to the gods Amun-Ra (the Thebean sun god) and Ra-Harakhty (a combination of sky god, Horus and sun god, Ra), it dates form the 18th-dynasty (ca. 1550-1295 BC) and is covered with some of the best relief carvings in the region. A line of sphinxes in the sand led to another temple, Wadi as-Subua. Dedicated to the ubiquitous Ramses II, it later became a Coptic Church and today 13th-century Christian frescoes mingle with Pharaonic images, creating unusual sights such as Ramses II bringing offerings to St. Peter!
The days flew by and we soon arrived at the port next to the Aswan High Dam. After saying good-bye to the genial staff, I paid a quick visit to this impressive feat of modern engineering and continued on the city of Aswan. On the way, I did what travellers to the area have been doing since the 7th-century BC and paid a visit to Philae. The walls of this island temple complex of Isis testify to its layers of history with Greco-Roman-styled temples, the last known hieroglyph (dated 394 AD), an 1799 inscription left by Napolean’s Egypt expedition as well as the graffiti of Victorian tourists. Philae was also rescued from the floodwaters of the Aswan Dam, but not until it had spent several years being partially submerged and water marks can still be seen on its temple walls.
On the banks of the Nile, Aswan is one of Egypt’s most laid-back and attractive cities. If its location, beauty and history (dating back to 3000BC) weren’t enough, it also has a myriad of fascinating sites such as Elephantine Island - a working archaeological site that has been constantly inhabited for over 5000 years - and one of the best museums in Egypt - the newly renovated Nubian Museum. It also has one of Egypt’s liveliest souks (markets), which during Ramadan (when I was there) stays open well past midnight. But one of its greatest draws has to be the Old Cataracts Hotel.
The Kasr Ibrim was a very good replica but the Cataracts is the real thing – a colonial gem that really did see ladies with parasols and men in pit helmets walking along its airy corridors. Its design is a picturesque reflection of the 19th-century travellers vision of the exotic east – Moorish arches, arabesque lamps, oriental rugs and all. Built in 1899 by Thomas Cook, the pioneering tour operator, for the well-to-do Victorian tourist, it soon became the place to “winter” in the Orient. The Old Cataract's guest list includes royalty, heads of state, archaeologists and at least one mystery writer, Agatha Christie, who came here with her archaeologist husband. The fabulous Moorish-styled “1902” Restaurant was built to celebrate the first Aswan Dam and opening night was attended by, among other luminaries, the King of Egypt and a young Winston Churchill.
Now owned by Sofitel, its character has not faded and it seems to have avoided the corporate blandness of many chains (although renovations are planned, the new director assured me that this would involve only necessary maintenance and the hotel’s atmosphere would be untouched). Rooms are spacious and filled with charmingly dog-eared antiques. Rooms facing the Nile and Elephantine Island have balconies giving on to one of the most beautiful views on the world. Somehow I managed to tear myself away to participate in one of the Cataract’s famed rituals: sunset drinks on the hotel’s Nile-side terrace. Sipping a glass of Egyptian rosé (by the well-named wine producer, Obelisk) as the sun dipped below the horizon and the last feluccas glide in to moor, I marvelled at my good fortune, the luxuries of the belle époque and the eternal beauty of Egypt.
If you go:
A 3-night/4-day cruise from Abu Simbel to Aswan on the M.S. Kasr Ibrim departs every Wednesday, year-round (the high-season is from October to April). The trip can also be made in the other direction (Aswan to Abu Simbel, which is 4 nights and departs on Saturday.) For one night (so multiply by 3 or by 4 nights to get the cost of the entire trip) a standard twin cabin (occupancy 2 persons) costs US$340 (less in low season), which includes all meals and excursions. Reservation can be made directly at:
M.S Kasr Ibrim, 17, Tunis St., New Maadi, Cairo, telephone (+20) 2/516-9653 fax (+20) 2/516-9646, eugenie@eugenie.com.eg, www.kasribrim.com.eg.
The cruise may also be booked through the travel agency Emeco (2, Talaat Harb Street, P.O. Box 1294, Cairo 11 111 – Egypt, tel:(+20) 2/574 93 60, fax: (+20) 2/574 42 12, egypt@euromic.com) that can also arrange transport to and from Abu Simbel and Aswan.
Old Cataracts Hotel, Sharia Abtal at-Tahrir, Aswan, tel (+20) 97/316-000, H1666@accorhotels.com, website: www.Sofitel.com – doubles, including breakfast, range from US $125 to $638. Do not confuse this with the character-less New Cataracts Hotel next door.
On early travel in Egypt see Alain Blottière’s “Vintage Egypt, Crusing the Nile in the Golden Age of Travel” (Flammarion, 2003) or Fernand Beaucour et al., “The Discovery of Egypt. Artists, Travellers and Scientists,” (Flammarion, 1990).
On travel in Egypt today see the Egypt Tourist Authority’s website: www.egypttourism.org
Deanna MacDonald
Montreal Gazette, January, 2005
I couldn’t decide which way to look. Behind me rose the ancient temples of Abu Simbel and their colossal stone statues of Pharaoh Ramses II and his Queen Nefertari shimmering in the ochre glow of the setting sun. And in front of me floated the art nouveau-styled M.S. Kasr Ibrim in the warm blue waters of Lake Nasser. Designed to evoke the elegant leisure of a Nile cruise of the 1920’s and 30’s, I could almost picture Hercule Poirot in a linen suit and tiny moustache upon its deck.
I was certainly feeling like a character from an Agatha Christie novel, with my hair blowing in the desert breeze as our small launch made its way towards the 55-room ship that would be home for the next three nights. The Kasr Ibrim would make the 310-mile journey from Abu Simbel north to Aswan on Lake Nasser. This vast lake lies in southern Egypt near the Sudanese border and is surrounded by the rocky desert hills of Nubia, which are dotted with ancient temples and tombs we would visit on route.
Our journey began at one of the most spectacular of all: Abu Simbel. The Kasr Ibrim was picturesquely moored before these great temples. My shipmates and I, after enjoying a tour in the brilliant afternoon sun, would also have the opportunity to visit the temples at night (for a ‘son et lumière’ show) and again in the early morning as the sculptures emerged in the soft dawn light.
Dating to1274-1244BC, Abu Simbel was literally forgotten under the sands for centuries until a Swiss explorer stumbled across them – with only one head visible above the sand -in 1813. Imagine the amazement as the sand was removed to reveal the façade of the Temple of Ramses II, lined with four mammoth figures of the Pharaoh with diminutive statues of his wife, mother and children clustered round his feet. Inside, the walls are lined with remarkably coloured relief sculptures of gods, goddesses and the magnificent Ramses astride his chariot conquering his enemies who fall before him. The neighbouring Temple of Hathor - the goddess of love and pleasure who is often depicted as a cow - is dedicated to Nefertari, whose giant figure in the guise of Hathor is carved into the facade. Inside the pillars of the hypostyle hall are crowned with capitals of the beautiful, broad-faced goddess.
So awe-inspiring are the temples that one could easily forget that these – like all ancient monuments found on the man-made Lake Nasser – were moved and reconstructed in the 1960’s-70’s after the creation of the Aswan Dam, which flooded large parts of the southern Nile, creating Lake Nasser. A gargantuan international effort lead by UNESCO stepped in to save some of the hundreds of ancient monuments that would have been submerged under the waters. Abu Simbel was their biggest project and the temples were literally hewn out of solid rock and, piece by piece, over four years, moved 65 metres higher than the original sight. Dining on the ship’s upper deck that evening with the surreal vision of Abu Simbel illuminated before me, I was grateful for those near super-human efforts.
We set off after our dawn visit to the temples and life onboard began. Not your average cruise ship, the Kasr Ibrim is named for the sole ancient Nubian site that still stands in its original location. Dating back to 1000BC, the original Kasr Ibrim was at points a Pharaonic fortress, a temple of Isis, a Coptic church, a mosque and today, an archaeological site, unfortunately closed to visitors but still viewable from the ship’s deck.
The floating Kasr Ibrim is one of only 8 ships that cruise Lake Nasser, making for a pleasantly calm and solitary voyage (compare that with the over 250 ships on the much narrower Nile River between Aswan and Luxor). With cabin space for a maximum of 126 passengers, it is designed to evoke a more genteel age and was in fact inspired by the ships described in Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile” (1937). All that was missing was a body and a Belgian detective. This was clearly part of the ship’s attraction as I noticed several of my fellow passengers – mostly Europeans from around 30 to 60 – reading just that novel in a variety of languages.
Playing on nostalgia for a by-gone age, tea was served at five and some of the crew wore red fezs. The spacious cabins and public spaces are done in a playful art nouveau style with Nubian and Egyptian motifs. But even without the ship’s charm, the scenery would have been enough of a draw. With endless sky, sapphire waters, golden sands and ancient temples on offer, I spent a lot of time just soaking in my surrounding from either my little balcony (every room has one) or the upper decks.
The most exciting part of the whole experience was the several trips off-ship to visit the ancient monuments found along Lake Nasser’s shores. This was, after all, the land of Ancient Egypt. At appointed times all those interested would climb into the launch (dawn departures usually only saw about a dozen or so early-risers) and head for shore with the guide and two or three armed guards. From the government department of “escorts,” the presence of these friendly but well-armed men is required by the Egyptian government (whether absolutely necessary or not), which takes great efforts to make sure its tourists, who count for over 30% of the country’s economy, feel safe. I certainly did.
We saw several of Nubia’s best surviving monuments, all of which had been moved and rescued by the UNESCO teams, such as the Temple of Amada. Dedicated, like many temples in sunny Nubia to the gods Amun-Ra (the Thebean sun god) and Ra-Harakhty (a combination of sky god, Horus and sun god, Ra), it dates form the 18th-dynasty (ca. 1550-1295 BC) and is covered with some of the best relief carvings in the region. A line of sphinxes in the sand led to another temple, Wadi as-Subua. Dedicated to the ubiquitous Ramses II, it later became a Coptic Church and today 13th-century Christian frescoes mingle with Pharaonic images, creating unusual sights such as Ramses II bringing offerings to St. Peter!
The days flew by and we soon arrived at the port next to the Aswan High Dam. After saying good-bye to the genial staff, I paid a quick visit to this impressive feat of modern engineering and continued on the city of Aswan. On the way, I did what travellers to the area have been doing since the 7th-century BC and paid a visit to Philae. The walls of this island temple complex of Isis testify to its layers of history with Greco-Roman-styled temples, the last known hieroglyph (dated 394 AD), an 1799 inscription left by Napolean’s Egypt expedition as well as the graffiti of Victorian tourists. Philae was also rescued from the floodwaters of the Aswan Dam, but not until it had spent several years being partially submerged and water marks can still be seen on its temple walls.
On the banks of the Nile, Aswan is one of Egypt’s most laid-back and attractive cities. If its location, beauty and history (dating back to 3000BC) weren’t enough, it also has a myriad of fascinating sites such as Elephantine Island - a working archaeological site that has been constantly inhabited for over 5000 years - and one of the best museums in Egypt - the newly renovated Nubian Museum. It also has one of Egypt’s liveliest souks (markets), which during Ramadan (when I was there) stays open well past midnight. But one of its greatest draws has to be the Old Cataracts Hotel.
The Kasr Ibrim was a very good replica but the Cataracts is the real thing – a colonial gem that really did see ladies with parasols and men in pit helmets walking along its airy corridors. Its design is a picturesque reflection of the 19th-century travellers vision of the exotic east – Moorish arches, arabesque lamps, oriental rugs and all. Built in 1899 by Thomas Cook, the pioneering tour operator, for the well-to-do Victorian tourist, it soon became the place to “winter” in the Orient. The Old Cataract's guest list includes royalty, heads of state, archaeologists and at least one mystery writer, Agatha Christie, who came here with her archaeologist husband. The fabulous Moorish-styled “1902” Restaurant was built to celebrate the first Aswan Dam and opening night was attended by, among other luminaries, the King of Egypt and a young Winston Churchill.
Now owned by Sofitel, its character has not faded and it seems to have avoided the corporate blandness of many chains (although renovations are planned, the new director assured me that this would involve only necessary maintenance and the hotel’s atmosphere would be untouched). Rooms are spacious and filled with charmingly dog-eared antiques. Rooms facing the Nile and Elephantine Island have balconies giving on to one of the most beautiful views on the world. Somehow I managed to tear myself away to participate in one of the Cataract’s famed rituals: sunset drinks on the hotel’s Nile-side terrace. Sipping a glass of Egyptian rosé (by the well-named wine producer, Obelisk) as the sun dipped below the horizon and the last feluccas glide in to moor, I marvelled at my good fortune, the luxuries of the belle époque and the eternal beauty of Egypt.
If you go:
A 3-night/4-day cruise from Abu Simbel to Aswan on the M.S. Kasr Ibrim departs every Wednesday, year-round (the high-season is from October to April). The trip can also be made in the other direction (Aswan to Abu Simbel, which is 4 nights and departs on Saturday.) For one night (so multiply by 3 or by 4 nights to get the cost of the entire trip) a standard twin cabin (occupancy 2 persons) costs US$340 (less in low season), which includes all meals and excursions. Reservation can be made directly at:
M.S Kasr Ibrim, 17, Tunis St., New Maadi, Cairo, telephone (+20) 2/516-9653 fax (+20) 2/516-9646, eugenie@eugenie.com.eg, www.kasribrim.com.eg.
The cruise may also be booked through the travel agency Emeco (2, Talaat Harb Street, P.O. Box 1294, Cairo 11 111 – Egypt, tel:(+20) 2/574 93 60, fax: (+20) 2/574 42 12, egypt@euromic.com) that can also arrange transport to and from Abu Simbel and Aswan.
Old Cataracts Hotel, Sharia Abtal at-Tahrir, Aswan, tel (+20) 97/316-000, H1666@accorhotels.com, website: www.Sofitel.com – doubles, including breakfast, range from US $125 to $638. Do not confuse this with the character-less New Cataracts Hotel next door.
On early travel in Egypt see Alain Blottière’s “Vintage Egypt, Crusing the Nile in the Golden Age of Travel” (Flammarion, 2003) or Fernand Beaucour et al., “The Discovery of Egypt. Artists, Travellers and Scientists,” (Flammarion, 1990).
On travel in Egypt today see the Egypt Tourist Authority’s website: www.egypttourism.org
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