| Everyone at some time dreams of travelling along | | | | privileged experience. If it is a privately charted |
| the Nile River, but unfortunately, most of those | | | | boat, it is possible for the captain to consider the |
| who get to fulfil their dream, choose one of the | | | | group's requests to change the itinerary to suits |
| large smoke-belching, fast-moving floating hotels | | | | its particular needs. |
| that cater to mass tourism. These steamers | | | | 2. Because of its size and leisurely movement, the |
| often travel in convoy in the late afternoon or at | | | | dahabiyya can sail close to the shore and give a |
| night to get from pint A to point B in the fastest | | | | water-level view of rural life along the verdant |
| time possible, and when they arrive at their | | | | river banks as it continues in in its ageless way. |
| berthing point, they are moored in rows some | | | | This is also great for a close up of the local bird |
| three or four deep. More adventurous tourists, | | | | life: flocks of egrets and ibises pecking away on a |
| usually backpackers, opt for the felucca or sandal | | | | spit of sand. |
| (a larger felucca) with their tall masts and | | | | 3. Like the smaller feluccas, the dahabiyya can |
| triangular sails. Although romantic and cheaper, | | | | stop for the night among leafy date palms, |
| these are far from comfortable. | | | | mango trees and river grasses beside an isolated |
| The best way, if you have the extra cash and | | | | Nile island or near some obscure village, but unlike |
| wish to travel in the leisurely style of the 19th | | | | the felucca, there is no sacrifice of comfort. |
| century European aristocrats or the Egyptian | | | | 4. Fresh food and ingredients are purchased daily |
| monarch of the early 20th century, is to choose | | | | from local farmers, traders and fishermen and |
| one of the elegant two-mastered wooden | | | | miraculously transformed into delicious meals by |
| sailboats called dahabiyyat (pl. for dahabiyya). For | | | | the boat's chef. Staff will organize picnics on |
| five days and six nights they ply the river | | | | islands, a barbecue on a beach under the stars, or |
| between Luxor and Aswan. Generally decorated in | | | | a special party. The chef is happy to cook |
| colonial style with oriental touches, they comprise | | | | breakfast on the upper deck if requested. |
| an upper deck with awning where meals are | | | | 5. As the staff to guest ratio is very high, service |
| taken and where guests can relax in rattan deck | | | | is excellent. Crew Staff are also happy to provide |
| chairs and among colourful cushions and carpets. | | | | after-dinner entertainment in the form of Nubian |
| Here they can lie on day beds in the sun, read, | | | | songs, drumming and dancing, or even organize a |
| play cards and back gammon and spend the | | | | soccer match with locals. |
| cocktail hour listening to the lap of water against | | | | 6. Visits to ancient temples can generally be timed |
| the hull, the breeze in the rigging and the call of a | | | | to avoid the tourist buses, and guests get a |
| muezzin from a distant mosque. On the lower | | | | chance to see rarely visited sites. They can |
| deck is a comfy communal lounge and usually | | | | ramble at their own pace through the 'real' Egypt |
| from 6-10 double and single cabins with en-suite | | | | of humble villages, fields of sugar cane and canals, |
| bathrooms. | | | | experiencing the friendliness and hospitality of the |
| There are a number of companies providing | | | | local fellaheen. And after a shore excursion, the |
| dahabiyya tours varying in luxury and cost. The | | | | boat's staff wait to revive you with cold towels |
| original, and possibly the best is Nour El Nil. | | | | and fresh fruit juices. |
| Apart from the disadvantage of the expense, this | | | | Travelling the Nile on a dahabiyya provides an |
| form of travel has many advantages. | | | | excellent balance between luxury, intimacy, leisure |
| | | | and a landscape that has changed little since |
| 1. It caters for only small groups (nine to twelve | | | | ancient times, an experience that is a reminder of |
| people on average, possibly twenty at the | | | | a more gracious era. |
| outside), which means a much more intimate and | | | | |