Sitting on the side of the felucca, I let my feet drag along the clear, emerald green waters of the Nile. Looking down, seaweed and water grasses sway in the current, and little fishes dart between their foliage. After a quick swim in the waters to cool off, lunch is served. Today, it would be fresh Nile Perch, caught by Nubian fishermen barely hours ago, with a side of rice and a salad of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and arugula. Cooked and served fresh on board, the meal is capped off with Karkady – a sweet delicious Hibiscus flower tea. With a full stomach, the gentle rocking of the felucca as it sails along makes my eyes heavy. Soon, it would be time for a nap. While I drift off to sleep with the sounds of lapping waves against the side of the felucca, I hear the attendant loading the cooler with beer and ice, ensuring that they will be perfectly chilled when I awake. Ah...even Cleopatra never had it this good!
Meeting up with Dairn and Yolanda (Yodi), the Canadians I met in Siwa, and joined by Christa, Yodi's sister, we arranged for a private cruise down the Nile from Aswan to Edfu on a felucca, a traditional wooden sail boat popular in the eastern Mediterranean region. For three days and three nights, we sailed and floated, stopping to swim in the cool, clean waters, visiting remote Nubian villages and islands and marveling at the temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu. The captain of the boat, Morad, a laid-back easy-going Nubian, owns his own felucca and would only take independent travelers on his boat, refusing to work with tour groups and Egyptian guides. Always smiling, he would constantly ask us if everything was good and break out singing the Bob Marley classic, “Everything's Gonna Be All Right" while smoking his sheesha.
All along the banks of the Nile, a lush green belt of palm, fruit trees and papyrus grasses hug the water's edge, slowly giving way to brown, barren, desert hills. Occasionally, ancient ruins would lay crumbled and abandoned along the banks, marking the spot where they have stood for thousands of years! It is not inconceivable to image Mark Anthony wooing Cleopatra with this very same view while on a romantic cruise down the Nile.
Being a Nubian, Captain Morad would stop at various Nubian villages along the Nile to visit his friends. Greeting us with a welcome party of village kids chanting “Hello!...Hello!”, the friendly villages would invite us on shore for a picnic lunch of stewed fish and bread, and show us small facets of traditional Nubian life, including their baby pet crocodiles! These little farming communities grow a variety of fruit crops, from mangoes to bananas, and various vegetables – still relying on traditional farming techniques such as cow-powered water pumps and donkey-powered plows.
One of the biggest highlights of the trip was visiting the camel market in the town of Daraw. Every weekend, camels are brought in from Sudan to be sold and traded to buyers all over Egypt! Hundreds, possibly thousands of camels lie waiting in herds while their owners huddle with potential buyers, negotiating and bargaining for the best possible prices. Those animals that get sold are led off in long caravans on foot, or loaded onto trucks to be driven to their new homes (or to the slaughterhouse).
Looks like a Stamped Must!
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