SAILING THE NILE IN A DAHABYIA

OCTOBER 2015-PART 3

Dearest Friends and Family,

All dahabyias must be tied up on the west bank of the Nile across from downtown.  This is a great advantage as a short motorboat ride takes one right into town by Luxor Temple, the Mummification Museum and the Bazaar.  Only a few cruise river boats dock in that location now and soon all of them will be miles out of town. This means to get into town a motor vehicle is needed instead of just walking off the ship to get everywhere on foot. This is a directive of UNESCO so as to not disrupt the view from the Nile of the Luxor Temple site.  Plus with the dahabyia tied up to the west bank there are wonderful views of Luxor Temple lit up at night AND it is a short car ride to see the hills in front of the Valley of the Queens and Kings also lit up at night.

Hills Of West Bank

That night Ahmed, Guenther, Renate and I took a van to see the lights on the west bank. It was a surprise and a delight to see the driver of the van was Noubi the driver who took me to Abydos earlier this year. We had a lovely adventure there as those of you who read that blog know.

Deck 

In the morning after our arrival in Luxor we boarded a motorboat to take us a short journey down the Nile to our new home for the next 6 nights.  This one, as I mentioned, was built in 1998 and is much larger and more opulent in decor. Down below were the rooms and a large salon for relaxing in the air-conditioning during the day or at night away from the flying critters that manage to escape the zapping machines hanging on the deck above.

The cabins were lovely, furnished with twin beds raised up to allow for luggage storage and a clever storage drawer for clothes on rollers underneath. The bedding was snow white with a shiny gold throw pillow for color. Each cabin was air-conditioned and since it was still HOT that was a boon.  I chose cabin 6 since that number plays a prominent part in my life in many different ways.  There was one suite at the end of the corridor that takes up the back of the ship from side to side.  It comes with a huge bed, chaise lounge, loads of room and its own balcony. 

After settling in the 4 of us (me, Ahmed, Guenther and Reate) began our journey back to whence we came passing by the palaces of King Farouk and the school full of the curious, friendly and boisterous children as well as loads of wonderful scenery along the way.  After lunch Ahmed departed to go back to Luxor and retrieve the other 4 travelers arriving that night.

Traditional Fishers & River Cruise Boat

The three of us were left behind to enjoy the balmy moonlit night and the quiet peaceful sail (OK pulled by the motor boat-sigh)to the spot closer to Esna than the day before where we tied up to the river bank and some sturdy trees. 

Donkeys and cows grazing on an island in the Nile. In the background is the ancient ruins of a workman village for a sandstone quarry.

Early the next day we set off to go through the locks at Esna. I have done this on numerous occasions on the various cruise boats over the years.

Towards The Locks

To be pulled by a motor boat and put in position without a motor on the dahabyia was a very new experience and gave me a real sense of the expertise needed by both the tug boat captain and the dahabyia captain and crew.  After docking on the other side of the locks we waited for Ahmed and the rest to arrive.

In The Lock

Doors Opening To Let Us Out

Ahmed told me Gabriele spoke English, but he wasn’t sure how much Uwe, Heike, and Doerte knew.  So I was prepared to learn some German and use loads of sign language.  After all this journey was designed for them, Ahmed’s primary language after his native tongue is German and I was the tag-a-long guest. I was just so happy to be having this journey it was no big deal to me to be the only native English speaker on board. Having the last name of Waldheim wouldn't hurt either.

All of the new guests returned my greeting with warmth and a huge smile. I just knew it was going to be a fun time.  Our first laugh of many came when Uwe said thank you in English when I handed him a bottle of water and I answered welkkomen (which is probably not the right word for that kind of you’re welcome…).  

As soon as they got settled and had a rest we started off in the heat of the day for a stroll to visit Esna Temple, a small gem of a temple dedicated to the god Khnum.

Esna Temple

He is possibly the oldest god of ancient Egypt and may have even been a predynastic god.  He is the god of procreation and the guardian of the source of the Nile.  There are many scenes of him, but I particularly like this one of him and his consort the goddess Neith in her Lion Headed form also called goddess Menhit.

Menhit & Khnum

Ahmed gave a wonderful explanation of the various parts of the temple, the story of Khnum, scenes on the wall and a constellation of the zodiac on the ceiling. This all in German and when he was finished he asked me if I understood what he said. I paused for a moment and said “every word” which caused everyone to crack up laughing.

Much Love To You All,

Sara/Mom/Grandma Syrup