Egypt is synonymous with the Nile River. The country was created by the river, and millions of Egyptians for thousands of years have depended on the river for water, agriculture, and life itself. We knew that during our trip to Egypt, the Nile would always be close by (95% of the population of the country live along the river bank), but our trip with On the Go Tours offered an especially unique way to experience this important river: two nights on a traditional felucca sailboat.
When I booked the trip, I was imagining falling asleep under the stars, listening to the sounds of (I don’t know) frogs or birds. It all sounded very romantic. The real experience was not quite that picturesque, but we still had fun (mostly) sailing along the Nile from Aswan to Kom Ombo.
Aswan
As part of our tour, we took an overnight train from Cairo to Aswan, at the very bottom of the country. The train was not the most luxurious experience of my life, but it was fine. Then we spent two days exploring the temples of Aswan before boarding our felucca.
I already wrote a post about visiting Abu Simbel, which you can read here, but the other temple we visited in Aswan was Philae Temple.
Philae Temple is located on an island in the Nile, and was actually moved there from another island and reconstructed during the construction of the Aswan Dam. The main temple is dedicated to Isis, though many other ancient Egyptian gods make appearances on the temple walls. Most of the structures that remain come from the Ptolemaic Era, very late in ancient Egypt’s history, but this means they are in very good shape compared to some of the other temples we visited.
On the Felucca
After exploring Aswan, we boarded our felucca in the early afternoon. A felucca is a traditional wooden sailboat that typically holds about ten people. The plan was for us (and the rest of our group) to spend most of the day on the felucca and sleep there, and another boat (with an engine) would follow us. That boat was where we stowed our bags, plus there was a bathroom, kitchen, and eating area. The motorized boat could also pull the felucca if there wasn’t enough wind to actually sail.
The felucca itself was nothing fancy, but perfectly nice. Delicious traditional meals were provided for us for the two days we were on the felucca, and I have nothing negative to say about the felucca itself. Was it the most luxurious way to travel? No. But it was an experience, and I love unique travel experiences.
The first evening on the felucca, we watched the beautiful scenery as we sailed by, and it was mostly lovely.
Unfortunately, my felucca experience was somewhat dampened by two things. The first had nothing to do with the felucca itself: I was sick. I had caught some kind of bug while in Cairo, and was feeling very weak and tired. It was nice that there wasn’t much to do on the felucca because it meant I could rest, but my body wanted a soft bed and a shower, neither of which were available.
The second issue was the mosquitoes. There was a mosquito net covering the felucca, but let me say, those little jerks got me anyway! When I woke up the next morning, I literally looked like I had chicken pox, my arms and face were so covered with mosquito bites! It was… not ideal, to say the least. So I was sick, itchy, and didn’t sleep very well. Not exactly the romantic night on a sailboat I had envisioned.
Our second day on the felucca was very relaxing. We didn’t have any planned activities, just lounging on the river. We had the chance to swim in the Nile, and I spent the whole day napping and reading. In the evening, we witnessed one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever seen. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I still wasn’t feeling very well.
Kom Ombo Temple
After one more night on the felucca, we disembarked near Kom Ombo Temple. It’s funny to look at a map because we did not actually make it very far in a full day and a half of sailing!
Kom Ombo Temple is another Ptolemaic temple, this one dedicated to Sobek and Horus. This was the first temple we saw that still had some paint, which was very exciting! There is also a small museum filled with mummified crocodiles included with your ticket. We got to spend a few hours exploring the temple, and then it was on to Luxor.
Overall, I would say sailing the Nile on a felucca was an adventure. Next time, I will probably opt for a more luxurious river cruise, but it was fun to do something new and exciting. I think I would have enjoyed myself a lot more if I hadn’t been feeling sick (and if I had brought some bug spray!), but sometimes rough travel days make for the best stories, and at the end of the day, it’s hard to feel too bad about lounging around on a sailboat while you journey between amazing historical sites.
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