Hello again. I have been pondering what to share with you this month and then decided to share from my heart. My first journey to Egypt in 2011 brought so much personal growth and healing of fears and phobias for me that I just knew I needed to bring people to Egypt to experience some…
Goddess Tours are healing tours, with the intention of opening your Heart to give and receive more Love. We move into a space of Divine Love, or Heaven on Earth. Goddess Tours are unique in that we have special permission for Private Visits, to the Sphinx, the Pyramid and Isis Temple.
The further south we travel, the more beautiful the lush countryside becomes. Lofty date palms and mango, fig and lemon trees line the banks, interspersed by thickets of reeds from which an occasional ibis rears up, spreading its snow-white wings.
Virtually all the temples in Upper Egypt are built from sandstone from Gebel el-Silsila. The big Nile cruisers do not bother to stop at Egypt’s most important quarry, but the Abundance draws up there directly at the spot.
Esna, the starting point of our journey. Several dahabiyas are lined up along the city’s pier in the morning sun; the Abundance stands out as particularly inviting with its gleaming wooden deck, sparkling white hull and colour-coordinated textiles. An eight-strong crew is on hand to take care of the ship and the guests.
Sailing Cruise in Egypt. The joys of the Nile. Heading down the river. Board a traditional dahabiya and you’ll find an escape from the mass tourism that is so dominant here; instead, you can explore the culture, the country and the people from a personal and individual perspective.
Life in Upper Egypt is calm these days. As everywhere in this world there are recommendations and measures like masks and distancing rules; yet the Egyptians stay relaxed and trust life. Inshallah – God willing, as people say here. A relaxed attitude, perhaps more beneficial to health than fear and worries. Our family and our…
by guest writer Mina Megalla Alexander the Great’s legacy in Egypt is often remembered with the founding of the city of Alexandria, his trip to the Oracle Temple of Amun in Siwa and his crowning as a Pharaoh of Egypt in Memphis. But how about ancient Thebes? (todays Luxor) What connection did Alexander have with…
by Iris C. Meijer At Sail The Nile, we love offering our discerning guests unforgettable Nile cruises through Upper Egypt on our luxurious Dahabeya ABUNDANCE – or on our felucca A NEW LIFE for our more intrepid travellers: slow travel, off the beaten path, comfort, your own pace, delicious fresh food, amazing sights and fabulous…
A wonderful thing you see on the streets here at breakfast time during Ramadan are rows of tables set out every day, for people to come and eat their break-fast or ‘iftar’. Everyone can just go and join a table, and people eat together for free – all is donated by the businesses hosting this.…
Ramadan was ordained in the Koran and as such, is a duty for every Muslim who is old enough and healthy enough. Some people are exempt from fasting: for example, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with illnesses like diabetes that do not allow fasting, etc. Islam is a very practical religion like that, and does…
One of the most important periods in the Islamic calendar is the month of Ramadan, the month of fasting. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it has a huge impact on all of society. Working hours and opening times of shops and sites are adjusted, and families and communities draw together…
On our Dahabeeya Abundance, we like to immerse our guests in beauty and style as they enjoy the luxury only a voyage on a dahabeeya can give. One of the ways we love to do this is by displaying original artworks in our salon – we call it “Art on the River”. As a kind…
As we leave the shaded medieval alleys and magnificent Temple of Khnum in Esna behind us, Captain Mohamed unfurls the splendid sails of the Dahabeeya Abundance. Dahabeeyas need to be pulled by a strong tugboat when there is no wind. Captain Mohamed though is a traditionalist and a passionate sailor. He loves nothing better than…
After our first taste of the dreamy luxury of sailing on the Nile from Luxor on the beautiful Dahabeeyah Abundance, we pass through the powerful locks that regulate the strong flow of our eternal River Nile at Esna. There, we disembark for our first stop on our magical journey up the Nile.
Gone are the days of posh and garish exaggerations, of bigger, better, faster. The luxury we offer to our guests is authenticity, simplicity, time for reflection. Sailing on a dahabiya, a traditional Egyptian Nile sailing ship, is the ideal vessel to travel slowly and experience peace and tranquility.