Waiting on the Banks of the Nile in Egypt

The famous river Nile was one of the world's first interstate highways. The ancient Egyptians were fortunate that while the current flows one way (of... more

by Mark Tisdale

Title

Waiting on the Banks of the Nile in Egypt

Artist

Mark Tisdale

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

The famous river Nile was one of the world's first interstate highways. The ancient Egyptians were fortunate that while the current flows one way (of course), the prevailing wind is normally in the opposite direction. This means that Egyptians could sail in one direction, and use the river current to travel in the other. Forget rowing! And so it's only in more recent years when river travel has become the province of tourism and Nile cruises a pastime rather than a way of life.

Perhaps that added to the romance of traveling on the Nile in a traditional sailboat, known in Egypt as a Felucca. Unless you're big into sailboats, it may not be obvious with the sails furled that these aren't your typical sailboats, but if you check out other images in my Egypt gallery, you'll see more examples and how exotic these boats are.

I'm not entirely certain I would have chosen this way of travel rather than a more typical Nile cruise to get from Aswan to Luxor, but I didn't have a ton of options for the time I wanted to go and I'm thrilled with what I chose. Sailing as the Egyptians did until relatively recently added a whole other level to the trip. And in the picture you see, our boats were moored on the banks of the river as we prepared to spend the night here near Aswan on the first night of our Nile Cruise. The number of boats may make you think many people go this route, but the bulk of the boats were day trippers and only a few stayed for the night. What an amazing way to experience the ancient and natural landscape of Egypt!

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January 12th, 2013