The River Nile is Egypt's lifeline. In ancient times, annual flooding left rich soil deposits and life-giving water, turning the desert into farmland. But the annual floods could occasionally rage, destroying homes and taking lives. Today’s Nile has been tamed by the Aswan Dam, but as in ancient times the precious Nile waters are used in vital irrigation schemes. And they are also used to carry tourists on cruises that visit the great antiquities sites of ancient Egypt.
The banks of the Nile were home to the great Pharaonic civilizations, and their remains – temples, tombs, and necropoli – are strung like pearls along the necklace of the river. It is along the Nile, and even on the Nile, that most tourists in Egypt spend most of their time.
Nile Cruise Boats
More than 200 cruise boats ply the Nile, cheerfully honking to each other as they pass along the river or line up to go through the locks. The benefits to seeing Egypt this way are obvious: First of all, of course, is the convenience. There's a huge difference between being transported via a bouncing bus versus a comfortable private room on a cruise ship (not to mention not having to pack and unpack every day). The range of cruise boats is from moderate to luxury five-star, but all of them have comfortable rooms, dining rooms, and an upper deck for watching the shoreline float past. A typical itinerary is four or five days, but can be longer or shorter depending on where you embark and disembark. The Aswan to Luxor run is popular, because both cities have airports; there is also an airport at Abu Simbel, near the Sudan border.
Note that lock maintenance can affect itineraries, particularly during June and the first part of December, when the Esna lock is closed to cruise boats.(A bus detour is provided). Note that waiting for a spot in a lock can also take several hours during the busy season.
Nile Cruise Ports and Itineraries
It would be impossible to list all the sites in the Nile River Valley without writing a book. But here are the most popular, and the sites most likely to be visited on a Nile cruise.
Abu Simbel. It's almost impossible to believe that the two enormous temples of Ramsses II and Nefertari were actually moved to their present position, but they had to be relocated when the Aswan Dam was built, or end up underwater. Several foreign governments helped with the daunting project, and the Egyptian government gave several smaller temples as thank-you gifts. (It's even more unbelievable that smaller temples – no matter how small – were transported across an ocean!) The U.S. received the temple of Dendur, which now stands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Midnight flights leave Cairo, and are scheduled to arrive at Abu Simbel in time to see sunrise over the Sahara – although flight delays sometimes disappoint sleepy tourists.
Aswan. Aswan is at the lower (northern) end of Lake Nasser, which was created by the Aswan Dam. Aswan itself doesn't have many temples; most notable is the temple of Philae, which was also relocated when the Aswan Dam was built. The area is known for bird watching, and tours can be arranged if you are stopping in Aswan. Yours are also offered to local Nubian villages, though these can be disappointing, with more souvenirs offered than culture shared.
Kom Ombo. About 25 miles north of Aswan, Kom Ombo was once an important stop on caravan routes carrying gold. The Kom Ombo temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Haroeris and the falcon god Sobek. A collection of crocodile mummies was found here, some of which can be viewed.
Edfu. About 60 miles south of of Luxor, Edfu was a commercial and religious center. Its temple is one of Egypt's best preserved ancient sites. It dates from the Ptolemic era (305-30 B.C.)
Luxor and Karnack. The temple complexes of these two adjacent cities are almost overwhelming in scale and scope – not to mention trying to absorb the many centuries of culture and history that are represented here. Karnack is the largest largest open-air religious site in the world, and it was built over nearly a thousand years starting in about 1600 B.C. Hundreds of sphynxes once lined the 2.5 kilometer road between Luxor and Karnack. The temples lead one into the next into the next into the next, spanning centuries and dynasties. Hieroglyphics are everywhere, and occasionally in a dark protected corner, you can see remnants of some of the original colors and imagine the complexes as they once were, painted in brilliant hues. Note that the sites can be extremely crowded in the high season, especially during school holidays.
Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. This is the same port stop as Luxor and Karnack, but these sites are located on the other side of the river (which is also where you'll depart for a hot air balloon ride. It's well worth the 4 a.m. wake-up call!) in the Valley of the Kings. The tombs of the pharaohs lie beneath the sere desert sands. Not far away, the Temple of Hatshepsut (Egypt's female pharaoh) sits as though carved into a mountainside.
Squeezing into some of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings can be an exercise in claustrophobia: The passageways are narrow and dark with low ceilings, and the crowds can be unnerving. Tutankhamen's is one of the most popular, but not nearly the most ornate. Traditionally, tombs of the pharaohs were painted when they ascended to the throne, but the boy king died so young that his tomb was very simple. The treasures, however, made up for it. In the ornate tombs of pharaohs who lived to a ripe old age, the brightly colored hieroglyphs are in rich hues of blues, reds, golds, and greens; they look almost as though they were painted yesterday. Indeed, a challenge for the Egyptian government is keeping these treasures accessible to tourists, yet protecting them from the effects of too much human traffic (CO2 and water vapor from breath damage the fragile ancient colors, so the tombs are opened and closed in a rotation. Don't worry: There are too many to see in one visit, no matter which is closed.)
A visit to Egypt is, quite simply, overwhelming. You can't see it all, not understand even a fraction of it. Some reading done in advance, especially about the major pharaonic periods and the gods, will help you understand the guides a little better.
Author's Note : Taking pictures of any kind is strictly prohibited in all the interior tombs and inside most temples, and tripods are not allowed anywhere, inside or out. The lead photo for this article was taken with special permission from Egypt's Department of Antiquities.
Karen Berger - Karen Berger is the author of 15 books. Please click on her name to read her full bio.
