Like a huge, slippery snake the Nile winds its way through Egypt to the Mediterranean. It is 4130 miles long; one of the longest rivers in the world. It has often been said, that EGYPT is a Gift of the Nile.

Today its water resource are shared by 11 countries in Africa. Before the Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970, the Nile overflowed its banks every year. The silt deposits  made the land fertile, allowing it to grow wheat, flax, and papyrus. Still today  most Egyptians life along the banks of the river or in the Nile Delta. The dam allows for new irrigation systems, increasing the amount of land to be cultivated.

There are many ways to cruise on the Nile, with big boats –  small boats – yachts – cruise ships – motor boats – water taxis –  feluccas – and being on any of them will make you feel like the queen or king of the Nile, but a felucca will  let you glide back into the past.  It is a narrow sailing ship  made of wood and it counts on the wind and a strong man to move it up and down the Nile.

In contract to the delicate feluccas that glide calmly through the waters when there is enough wind, the Cruise Ship dominate the scene.

In half an hour I counted 48 of them passing our boat, the Sunboat IV. And when there is not enough room at the pier, they sit next to each other and passengers have to walk through them to reach land.

But when you are not on a Cruise Ship you can use water taxis and motor boats that take you anywhere you  want to go , with a reassuring tuck, tuck, tuck…………….and a smiling driver.

and the sights from the boat make you wish the ride would never end.

What else is there to do on the Nile on a boat? You can dine al fresco – on the upper deck of a boat in Aswan, with a magnificent view of ancient ruins, high up on the hill.

— or stay on a houseboat –  tucked away from the world in a crevice the river has created along its path –

and, as the saying goes,  if you want to come one day, dip your hands in the Nile before you leave!!!

More from Egypt soon

Brigitte