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friend Africa Travel Newsletters > Nile Cruises
1. The Nile Cruise - In the Footsteps of the Pharaohs
Egypt is where history first emerged. It is here that we have
the
first pictographic record of events and persons. Hieroglyphics, the
system of writing used by ancient Egyptians can be traced back to about
3200
BC. At about 3180 BC, the nations of Upper and Lower Egypt were
brought under the rule of a single king titled Pharaoh. The first
Pharaoh is thought to
have been Menes, who set his capital at Memphis,
22 km south of Giza in today's Cairo. The Pharaohs established the
systems that brought forth the
highly successful Egyptian civilization.
The
history of Ancient Egypt lasted for about 3,000 years. Ancient
Egypt
declined, was overrun and thereafter ruled by foreign powers. The
Greeks and Romans who ruled after the decline were aware of the
great
similarity between their own gods and those of the Egyptians. They not
only tolerated Egyptian religion, but also expanded existing
temples
and dedicated new ones to existing cults. Some of the new overlords,
Alexander the Great for example, styled themselves as divine
priest-kings in imitation of the Pharaohs.
Emperor Theodosius,
who reigned after Christianity became the state religion in Rome,
extinguished the
last remnants of the living culture. The Egyptians
worshipped hundreds of gods - a great offense against the monotheistic
religions; whose first
article of faith is that there is only one God.
Theodosius decreed in AD 391that all pagan temples in the Roman Empire
be closed. The Arabs, who
brought Islam to Egypt in 640 AD, also had no
time for deities such as Anubis the jackal, Horus the falcon god or
even Amon the king of the
gods.
Ancient Egypt was dead for one
thousand five hundred years, until the French came across the Rosetta
Stone in the nineteenth century
invasion of Egypt by Napoleon. This
priceless discovery was inscribed in both Greek and Egyptian, and it
was the key that allowed the deciphering of
Hieroglyphics by
Jean-Francois Champollion in 1822. The voluminous literature produced
by Ancient Egyptians was now accessible to curious scholars.
This
rekindled great interest in Ancient Egypt in the West that remains
undiminished to this day.
Religion is the common theme
running
through the attractions of ancient Egypt. The diversity of gods found
worthy of worship is astounding. There were over 2,000 of them
of
either sex and they supposedly manifested themselves to earthlings as
animals. There were overlaps and the same gods could be known
with
different names in various parts of the country. There was hardly any
part of the life experience that was not assigned a deity-
digestion,
mummification, sexuality, feasting, childbirth, writing - you name it.
Some gods came and went out of fashion, but those connected with
basic
aspects of life were enduring. Such deities had cults and temples
dedicated to them.
The afterlife was taken very seriously, and
a
lot of the monuments relate to preparation for that glorious time.
Mortuary and burial preparation was so elaborate as to ensure a
painless and
enjoyable afterlife. The custom of mummification, for
example, was seen as necessary for the soul needed a physical body to
occupy in the other world.
There was however great inequality in
preparation for eternal life. The Pharaohs and other royals, nobles and
key officials were mummified and
accompanied by grave goods and great
treasure. The common folk who could not afford the full treatment had
to do with statuettes of
mummies.
The main draw to Egypt is the
legacy of the Pharaohs and the Greeks and Romans who ruled after them.
Basically this legacy is
associated with temples, tombs and burial
places. People in Egypt from the earliest times to present have always
lived along the River Nile and this is
where you find the richest
harvest of ancient monuments. As many travelers will testify, the best
way to experience classical Egypt is by taking a Nile
cruise. The
cruise is a very pleasant and relaxing way to get close to the
attractions of antiquity, most of which are not far off from the banks
of
the river. You also get a glimpse of rural Egypt where many eke out
a living just as their forbearers did thousands of years ago.
The
typical
Nile cruiser is really a floating hotel. Amenities on board
will include lounges, restaurants, bars, swimming pool, discotheque and
shops. The rooms
are rather smaller than those of a land based hotels
but will have air conditioning, TV and enough room for twin beds,
private shower, nightstand and
dresser. The quality of cruisers varies
and they are graded with stars just like hotels. Top end cruisers have
spacious suites and amenities almost
equal to those of ocean cruisers.
Generally, the quality and romance of Nile cruisers surpasses other
riverboats anywhere else in the
world.
Normally, Nile cruises take three, four or seven nights. You will be able to see the
most
important and interesting monuments on the shorter and more popular
cruises that ply between Luxor and Aswan. The longer sail takes you up
to
Dendera. The boats sail both downstream and upstream and on the
shorter cruises, you can embark at either Aswan or Luxor. The more
adventurous
travelers or those on a tight budget avoid the luxury
cruisers in favour of fellucas- the traditional Nile sailboats. Though
amenities onboard fellucas
are very basic, those who can survive them,
visit all the attractions along the Nile at a fraction of the cost of
the cruisers.
At Aswan, the
Nile is deep, calm and is at its
most glorious. It is a good place to embark on your Nile cruise. Aswan
was for long Egypt's southern frontier city
and its gateway to Africa.
This was the region known as Upper Egypt, being upstream of the Nile.
After Aswan, the Nile passes through a section of hard
rock, resulting
in rapids or cataracts. Thus by nature did Aswan attain its strategic
position and it has served as a garrison town for those who have
ruled
Egypt over the centuries. And for this reason, there are monuments here
associated with the Pharaohs, Greeks, Romans, Christian Copts and
Islam.
At
Aswan, make sure to visit the Philae Temple. Ptolemy II started the
temple when the Greeks ruled, and the Romans completed it. It
was
dedicated to the goddess Isis, an important figure in Egyptian
mythology that was worshipped across the Roman Empire. Even after
Emperor
Theodosius ordered all pagan temples to cease operations, Isis
was still being glorified at Philae, until about AD 550 when Emperor
Justinian finally
shut down the temple. The early Christians converted
the temple's hypostyle hall into a chapel. For good measure, they
defaced some of the pagan
reliefs adorning its walls.
Help and More
Information for Egypt!
Planning to go for an Egypt tour and enjoy a luxurious cruise in the Nile and also visit other Egypt historic
sites? Contact us
today and we will assist you in picking and booking the best hotel and
flight,
and all your other Egypt travel arrangements.
Page 2 Article on the Egypt Nile Cruise
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