Travel: Egypt

Egyptians are among the most friendly people on the planet. Step onto Egyptian soil and within seconds you’ll be surrounded by people wanting to be your friend and, if you buy a little something from them, no doubt they would be your friend for life – or at least until they’ve moved on to the next customer.

Street vendors have probably been an Egyptian institution since before the pharaohs threw up the pyramids, temples and tombs along the length of the Nile, that great, green spine of this desert nation. They were certainly ever-present in the 1930s when Agatha Christie based herself at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan and penned her classic Death on the Nile on its sumptuous terrace. Indeed, Hercule Poirot, her little Belgian detective, became quite adept at brushing off their attentions.

Modern tourists have to do the same, unless, of course, they want to buy guide books, ornamental scarabs, fake papyrus rolls, white cotton shirts, the ubiquitous full-length galabiyas as modelled by the vendors themselves, wooden crocodiles or just bottles of water for which negotiations are still of Byzantine complexity. Is “five,” five Egyptian pounds (roughly 50p) or five English pounds? Making this clear in the literal heat of this cacophonous pavement marketplace is not always as simple as you might think when just entering into “discussion” appears to be a moral contract to buy.

The worst are possibly the kalabash drivers who want to entice you aboard their horse (bony) and carriage (usually rather moth-eaten) for a trip around town. They will sleep on the pavements at night while their horses wait patiently, eating bundles of grass gathered from the banks of the Nile, so their owners can catch customers as dawn breaks over the river.

So much desperation found so close to some of the world’s greatest cultural treasures, at a time when Egypt is supposedly embracing democracy, is heart-rending, but the political turmoil has had its spin-offs on the tourism industry on which modern Egypt survives. With a drastic fall in the number of visitors to this awe-inspiring destination – only around 50 big cruise boats are currently working the Nile compared to the normal tally of around 300 – it is unsurprising that vendors feel the need to be more persistent than ever. Even inside the gloomy magnificence of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, with their still colourful hieroglyphics, the “guards” will want a little “baksheesh” for pointing out the images of the Gods. The trick is to choose your guard and make him work for his money. They have the knowledge, you have the cash. Everyone’s a winner.

It’s a situation you have to accept and rise above; everyone develops their own coping strategies. What it should not do is put you off visiting an extraordinary destination. Our trip began with a couple of days of real rest and recreation at the Luxor Hilton, a beautiful oasis on the banks of the Nile. It’s five-star luxury in a unique location where you can look across from the infinity pool outside its spa suites to the glories of the Valley of the Kings and the jaw-dropping last resting place of Queen Hapshepsut, the greatest female pharaoh. It’s a fantastic way to acclimatise to the Egyptian heat before heading for the boat that will take you up the Nile.

We took the Royal Viking, a relatively new addition to the Nile fleet that plies its trade between Luxor – the ancient capital (Thebes) – and Aswan, where the High Dam was built to regulate the flow of the great river and avoid the devastating annual floods of the riverside communities. On the east bank at Luxor are the once-connected great temples of Karnak and Luxor, where the pylons (entrance gates), giant columns and abandoned obelisks still inspire wonder at the architectural prowess of the ancient Egyptians. Our guide, provided as part of our package, was Mohamed, who, after studying Egyptology at university, knew his Osiris from his Anubis and his Tutankhamun from his Ramses III. A natural, enthusiastic storyteller, he brought the people and the events of his ancient country to life on every step of the four-day cruise.

And what stories there are to tell. The small river port of Edfu may have a rather scruffy appearance from the riverfront but – taking a kalabash through the teeming streets – probably the most complete temple in Egypt can be found at the back of the town. From the extreme rear of the complex, it’s possible to stand in the gloom and peer out to where the common people once gathered to worship the might of the pharaohs and to pray for the bounty of the gods. The priests could see out, but the hoi polloi couldn’t see in.

At Kom Ombo, as the sun began to slip down behind the west bank dunes, Mohamed led us onshore to the temple where the once-prolific Nile crocodiles – the dam and hunting wiped them out north of Aswan – were once revered as gods. The pit where they were worshipped and fed is still there and the blackened mummified remains of some of the creatures – some up to four metres long – are on display in the temple museum.

Aswan is the base for a visit to the temple of Philae, which now bakes on its own island in the Old Aswan dam, and the (rather pricy) trip to Abu Simbel, the masterwork of Ramses III, which had to be moved from its original location when Lake Nasser, the biggest reservoir in the world, was created by the building of the new dam in 1952. The painstaking operation is admirably chronicled in the site’s museum and Abu Simbel is now rightly regarded as one of the finest of all the ancient Egyptian monuments. But if you’re “templed out” – a common Egyptian affliction – then the 3am start as part of an armed convoy to get there might not be worth it.

Back in Aswan, there can be no finer place to restore tired limbs and to rehydrate than the terrace on which Christie wrote after making the same trips to Philae and Abu Simbel. From there you can see Aswan almost as Christie did, with the mysterious ruins of Elephant Island spread out before you. It’s a timeless view that sweeps across the feluccas still plying their trade in the river to the sandy hills beyond which hold their own networks of ancient tombs and the magnificent mausoleum of the Aga Khan. Hidden in between is Kitchener’s island, given to the great British general by a grateful Egyptian nation, and which is now a peaceful botanic garden.

Take afternoon tea on the Old Cataract under the whirling fans of Christie’s beloved terrace and you’ll get a feast of savoury and sweet treats in a location that brings an understanding of why Aswan – and Egypt – has beguiled visitors for centuries and continues to fascinate to this day.

THE FACTS Discover Egypt (0844 880 0462, www.discoveregypt.co.uk) offer a year-round programme to Egypt with a variety of itineraries including Nile cruises that can be combined with a hotel stay in Luxor and the Red Sea beach resorts. A three-night B&B stay at the Hilton Luxor with a Nile cruise plus eight excursions with an Egyptologist, flights and transfers, starts from £1,099 per person. Departures every Monday from London Heathrow to connect from most Scottish airports.