So it came about that we found ourselves leaving England’s Manchester Airport
one cold, wet miserable morning in the mid-winter and arriving in the warmth of Egypt’s Luxor Airport,
some five and a half hours later, just as the sun was setting in a clear cloudless red sky. Yes,
and I do mean red.
The head-spinning bedlam of immigration and customs
control
scurried past and we were ushered on board a coach, to be scared witless by our hectic driver on the way to the Corniche,
the riverside boulevard, where our cruise boat awaited us.
Which side of the road do they drive on here?
Any side they want to. Whoa? Believe me. The custom is to drive at night without lights
until one sees an another vehicle, and then one puts the headlights on to
full beam. Wrong side on the road and no headlights ...
Whoa?
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Let's all go gaga together
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It’s scary, at first, and the passengers at the front of the
bus went white, but as everyone in Egypt seemed to
be playing by the same rules we were in good hands and hastened on our way whilst honking the horn with relish at each and every pedestrian we
saw as is the custom to let them know that danger is
approaching, or so they would have us believe. I think it's just letting off
steam. This of course, was 1989 when the airport was a tin shed and the roads
were little better than country lanes, with their fair share of potholes.
(I am pleased to say the 2009 airport and roads
into Luxor are now first class.)
The
Corniche (River Side Boulevard) and Luxor Temple at sunset.
On route we are sternly lectured by the Tour Rep to drink only Bottled Water and to wash one's teeth with it and under no circumstances were we to drink the tap water.
We must wash all of our salads and fruit in bottled water, or else, Pharaoh's Revenge would descend upon us, with a vengeance,
and as it turned out she wasn't joking, and a lot of my fellow travellers caught it.
(I am pleased to say that by 2009
hygiene standards have vastly improved.)
The Reception area on board the Queen Isis
On board the boat,
in the reception area, we were horrified to be presented with trays of bright red home made Karkadi
Hibiscus Juice as a "Welcome to Egypt Courtesy Drink".
After some persuasion that it was perfectly safe
to drink, we found it to be something akin to Blackcurrant Juice and it was very
tasty. On further trips to Egypt when the rookies baulked at the gesture .. we
drank theirs too ... thank you very much.
Karkadi Hibiscus flowers, sun dried, sorted by
hand and made into delicious Karkadi
We
settled into our air-conditioned
cabin with its river view, twin beds, en-suite shower, WC, radio
mini bar and laundry service. We were conveniently situated
within a few paces of the spacious well-appointed Lounge,
all-night reception area, the Gift Shop, filled with colourful
cotton goods and 18ct gold jewellery, and the Restaurant, which is already open for our first evening meal on board
the Queen Isis.
Restaurant Staff 1989
Sandra and Chef Hassan
Kitchen Staff 2000
We are scheduled to have our evening meal whilst the ship gets under way heading downstream, which means going north and that takes some getting used to, for an overnight
sail to Qena and the fabulous Great Temple at Dendara where Indiana Jones would feel at home.
Our adventures in Upper
Egypt includes visiting .. the Temple of Dendara, the Temple of Luxor, the
Temple of Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Valley
of the Workers, the Temple of Hatchepsut, the Temple of Edfu, the Temple of Kom
Ombo, the Town of Aswan, the Unfinished Obelisk, the Great Dam, the Temple of
Philae, Ballooning over the Nile and much more including the belly dancers and
other Egyptian friends.
So on to the Restaurant where
we were overwhelmed with the vast quantity
and
the quality of food on offer, and then those colourful Egyptian pastries, so
many, so tempting, so calorific, so eat them, so we did.
The food was delicious and the
friendly waiter service was second to none. French-Trained Chef Hassan saw to
that - his Bread and Butter Pudding or Oom Ali (Mother's Milk), was to die for
with its never-ending layers of bread and butter, raisins, cream, and chocolate,
more cream, and more chocolate, and more raisins, and even more cream, and
topped off with a huge bright red cherry. It took me half an hour to eat it,
with great relish.
The meat selection was huge with cuts of meat in a multitude of colourful
shapes. It was all described as beef, because the English only eat beef? Beef,
camel, goat, lamb, who cares?
Throughout the cruise the food was truly excellent and many a happy hour
was spent lazing on the covered sun deck, sleeping off yet another exquisite
meal, by the swimming pool.
The holiday of a lifetime to just eat, drink, sleep,
and be merry, plus a few visits to some of the world's
most unforgettable archaeological sites.
I mentioned to the captain that I used to work on ships and before I knew what was what
I was spirited down below to the Engine Room, at the behest of the
Chief Engineer, to see his beloved new diesel engines, lovingly cleaned
and polished and happily pushing the ship along at a steady 16 knots. The
crew obviously loved their ship and it showed in a thousand ways. It didn't take long for the
passengers to feel the same way.
The Chief Engineer Clear skies and
smooth sailing on the millpond which is the Nile
There was regular evening entertainment on board with a Disco Lounge and Bar or one could use a reclining deck chair on the Upper Sun Deck and just watch the world float by in the cosy warmth of a
pleasant balmy peaceful evening. Wintering in Upper Egypt is most pleasant. The days are not too hot, but it is still advisable to wear a hat and sun cream, as the red faces in the group photo can testify to
the sun’s heat even in winter.
Audience Participation Night is great fun when one can buy or hire costumes and pretend to be
Pharaohs and Queens of Ancient Egypt. Everyone has a great time accumulating
memories to last a lifetime.
The evenings are cool, but not chilly and as for rain, most locals have never seen rain in their life. There are very few mosquitoes about in winter so one can stroll around the
open decks in comfort. Evening entertainment is colourful and brash. Nubian folk dancers strut their stuff and encourage the tourists and crew to join in
with them for some good clean fun. Pantomime Horses and Wild Men from the Jungle pursue the squealing young ladies with enthusiastic gusto.
Nubian Band
Whirling Dervisher
Belly Dancer fun
Tanoora, the Whirling Dervisher can spin in circles for half an hour
with his twirling skirts
without getting dizzy. The Egyptian national
pastime of Belly Dancing is usually confined to hotels but beware
of being dragged on to the dance floor if one has knobbly knees.
Sandra with the friendly crew
Sandra with AmR and Sam
Let me introduce the magnificent staff who will cater to your every need and last, but by no means least, let me introduce you to the excellent resident Egyptologist AmR (Ammar) who lead the excursions to the many tombs and temples that we visited on our cruise and also to Sam (Essam Serry) the Managing Director of Isis Travel.
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