From Luxor we got on a cruise down the Nile. The cruise was 5 days and four nights on a dahabiya. A dahabiya is a river sailboat, the one we were to ride on had no motor and relied on its sails or a tug boat to pull it up the river if there was not enough wind. Each day we would sail for a while and also be towed for a piece of the journey, with us mooring on the bank of the river each evening. The boat was absolutely beautiful as it maintained the feel of  by gone era.

Each day we had an opportunity to stop at different archeological sites or markets and then we would spend the rest of the day on the deck of the boat reading, enjoying the sun and eating amazing meals as we sailed down the river. It was a perfect mix of rest and exploration and was the highlight of our time in Egypt. Part of this was due to our guide and the tour company having planned an excellent itinerary and making sure that we did not visit the sites at the same time as the larger cruise ships that go down the river. The other part were the other passengers on the boat.

We got lucky that the other passengers on the boat were an incredibly warm, easy to hang out with family from New York. They had a similar approach to travel and had a plethora of travel experience, making for interesting dinner time conversations. We definitely got a long list of possible future travel destinations.

It was also an added bonus that our guide was a soccer fanatic and managed to wrangle up a couple of pick up games in the towns or villages we stopped in. I don’t usually put a plug for a travel agency, but if you are going to do a cruise go with Djed Travel.

The rest of the experience will be via pictures as I have large number of pictures from these days and I can narrow them down only so much.

Playing soccer on the banks of the Nile. One of the cooler places I’ve played, right up there with playing on the Incan trail.

Another dahabiya from the banks of the nile. Caitlin taking more pictures.

People watching as we wandered through the market, but we weren’t the only ones.

Everyone who played or watched. Crew, locals and tourists.

Shisha bar on the street.

Steering from the back of the boat. Using his fee

One of our crew waiting to anchor the boat on the sand bank.

A friendly butcher who was willing to pose for a picture. They left the tails on the meat so customers knew they were getting the right meat.

Pulling the boat to shore. The ancient Egyptian quarry in the background.

Beautiful cauliflower on display. The chef of the boat did his shopping in the market as we explored and took pictures.

One of the carved rooms in the quarry. It reminded me of a Flintstone’s house.

Doorways are always fun to shoot thro

Camels waiting for market. This town has one of the biggest camel markets but we missed the prime day. The camels are brought up from Sudan and auctioned off.

Caitlin looking good as always.

A ferry that was taking people across the Nile. I assume for work, school or whatever errands they needed to accomplish.

Sunset on the nile

I took so many pictures of sunrise and sunset, the sky and clouds were amazing. Especially having just come from Moscow with the short winter days.

Some of the crew, guide, chef and fellow passengers. The family who we shared the boat with was amazing and made for a great travel group. The chef is holding a big plate of koshari. He was an incredible chef that made some amazing meals.

Checking out the temples.

Caitlin posing for scale.

The walls of Edfu temple were absolutely covered in carvings. This temple was absolutely huge and there was hardly anyone else at the site.

Another picture for scale on the back of Edfu temple.

Still Edfu temple.

Trying to get artistic with the cartouches.

Caitlin in the temple at Edfu

Close up of the carving, far more detailed than I had realized.

On the horse buggy that took us to the temple.

The deck of the boat.

We got to see this lovely lady making the days bread in the morning, as we came back from hiking to visit tombs.

Local vegetation.

The bread being set in the sun to rise before baking I believe.

Sunrise over the nile as we headed out to see some tombs.

Playing football

Caitlin taking pictures as we played.

The back of the boat.

Caitlin sitting on the porch of our room

One of the crew securing the sail toward the end of the day.

Taking in the sights of river life.

Another dahabiya with colorful sails.

Fishermen watching us go by.

More fishermen.

Stopping for a quick chat on the phone. Don’t want to boat and text.

The front sail unfurled.

Esna temple, you can see how far they have gotten in cleaning and restoring.

Our dahabiya as we are boarding near Luxor.

Edna temple columns in the shape of lotuses instead of papyrus.

Edna temple, it was cool to see how much lower the street level used to be.

The entrance to Edfu temple.

The entrance to Edfu temple.