SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

When I first went on board, the day before our first passengers arrived, I was enchanted. One goes straight into the salon, which is delightfully furnished and surprisingly for a new boat (dahabiyya), there is already a certain ambience about it.

From the salon, you step down to the corridor with six cabins, all differently furnished, as in the old days. The other end of the corridor leads up to the deck, which is spacious with comfortable wicker chairs and chaise longue.

 

Breakfast and lunch are served on deck and, in the summer dinner also. There is a serving table in the centre where tea, coffee and soft drinks are served throughout the day.

 

I also met the delightful and ever smiling crew. The ‘Reis’ and three sailors, the engineer, the chef and his assistant, the housekeeper and the waiter, all eagerly awaiting their passengers for this the first cruise. The bed in my cabin was comfortable and gave me a good nights sleep. The cabins, throughout were compact with enough storage / wardrobe space, and en-suite toilet and shower.

 

I welcomed our very first group on board at 9am and after being shown their cabins, it was not long before they all made their way up to the deck where they soon totally relaxed in the chairs and the chaise longue, some reading and some dozing off after what had been an early start. 

 

The dahabiyya is different from the other boats on the Nile in its mooring, which is always in a quiet and peaceful place away from the hubbub of the large boats which are all moored by towns such as Luxor and Aswan. This was much appreciated by the group who really enjoyed their peaceful evenings and nights, giving them a chance to unwind and relax.

 

Our mooring in Aswan is at one of two islands which are opposite each other. On one island is a young male water buffalo called Marbruk and on the other a young female water buffalo called Muzica. It will be interesting to see what happens when they mature and become aware of each other. Remember they are water buffalo! There is a guardian on the island who feeds them and who tends the vegetable and herb gardens on each side; these enable the dahabiyya chef to serve fresh vegetables.

  

On our second day we left early in a motor boat for Aswan where we were taken by private mini-coach to the Island of Philae, which was reached by another boat. Though very interesting and worth a visit it was crowded, which made the group appreciate their peaceful mooring even more.

 

Our motor boat from Aswan actually passed the dahabiyya and went on through the attractive maze of islands, where there is an abundance of birdlife – a bonus to those ornithologists in the group and of interest to us all. On returning to the boat we were amazed to find a barbeque spread out on the opposite island. A long table groaning with food, a barbeque, tables and chairs set out and, much appreciated, cool cans of Stella (the local lager). A lovely surprise and a delicious meal.

 

After this, some of the group summoned up the energy to visit the Botanical Gardens, led by Raafat our knowledgeable and ever helpful guide. Others relaxed on deck and all joined up for the traditional tea and ‘English’ cake in the afternoon.

 

As the dahabiyya does not have a licence, Bales supplies the beer and wine and suggests that the passengers stock up at the duty free if they wish to have gin, whisky, etc. On this first sailing there was a regular format for the evening, the ladies dressed up a little and the men were more relaxed in what is called ‘smart casual’. Everyone brought their supplies of duty free to the salon, where it was shared amongst everyone and we all sat round and talked before dinner which was usually at 8pm and was invariably a delicious four course meal. The evening always ended with a gathering on the deck, for coffee and liqueurs (supplied by the passengers).

 

This was a sample of how our days were spent. The most popular days were Monday and Tuesday which were mainly spent sailing, sometimes with the sails and sometimes using the engine, which was so quiet one could  hardly hear it. At our next two moorings we were able to go ashore, accompanied by a sailor, and stroll across fields generally occupied by goats, cows, buffalo and donkeys and usually with several friendly dogs around. The local people were also friendly and greeted us with courtesy.

 

We visited Kom Ombo on the Monday and Edfu (early on Wednesday morning) before we sailed on to Esna Lock where, as was usual, we had to wait a while before sailing through.

 

Everyone took advantage of those two relaxing days as there was much more to see as we approached our mooring near Luxor. Most people are keen not to miss anything but two or three had already been to Egypt and opted to relax on deck instead of going on excursions to make the most of those  days at the end of their holiday.

 

We have weekly dahabiyya sailings, each carrying from two to twelve passengers. It is the ideal sized boat for a group of friends or family who wish to travel together and a few dates are available for sole charter at a bargain price of £7,500 exc flights and drinks.