A slow boat down the Nile

A Nile Cruise is a must if you are in this part of the world. The name conjours up images from Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile." In our case, the only death would have been if Gilleasbuig had managed to catch his brother on any number of occasions when tempers boiled over.

We hired a felucca to take us from Aswan to Kom Ombo. The felucca is a local sailing boat with a very simple yet efficient design. One of the reason that the Nile was able to be so effectively used as a trade route is that the prevailing wind is a north wind which allows boats to sail upriver and against the current. We often forget now how important geography and nature are in history.


We spent two lazy days on the boat, reading, playing cards, watching the children playing gogos (if you don't know what they are, ask any child), fight and then make up, and catching up on diaries and post cards. The captain was wonderful with the children and a great cook. We ate like kings, enjoying freshly prepared local dishes of chicken, fish, bread, rice and pasta. After our evening meal, we all stretched out under blankets on the deck and slept like logs.


On the last morning we visited a camel market, in a small town near the Kom Ombo temple. It looked very exotic, but it reminded me straight away of the mart at Dalmally in Argyll where we used to go as children with my uncles who farmed in Glendaruel. Animal markets are the same across the world, from the pens, open areas and selling rings, to the place where after it is all over, the men get together for a drink or smoke.