We almost didn't go. A trip to Egypt had been on our wishlist for awhile and I had spent some time researching it. I had even reached out to Djed Egyptian Travel for a tentative itinerary and quote. But then my husband saw the Level 3 "Reconsider Travel" advisory for Egypt on the U.S. State Department website and began to have second thoughts. Why would two seniors, one with mobility issues, venture off to a place when we were told by our government to "reconsider" the trip. However, a few weeks after putting our plans on hold, my husband changed his mind, thinking "What the heck, we don't have that many travel years left. It's now or probably never!" So, happily, I went back to planning our Egyptian trip which, after 50 plus years of traveling together, turned out to be one of our favorites.

During those many years, we have always traveled independently, but I knew, with our age-related issues, that travel in Egypt might better be undertaken with a good tour guide helping us along. But which of the many tour companies and Nile cruise options should we choose? An important consideration for us was the option to plan our own itinerary, set our own pace, with the ability to limit any sightseeing that might demand more stamina than we could handle. We never wanted to be the ones holding up a group of fellow tour participants because we couldn't keep up. We also wanted a tour that would be safe and stress free, with no worries regarding logistics, transportation or lodging. Thanks to Progol, with her wonderful Fodor's report on her trip to Jordan and Egypt and the great recommendation she gave Djed Egyptian Travel, we found the perfect tour company for us. Djed provided us with a customized private tour with marvelous greeters, drivers and Egyptologists who guided us safely and seamlessly from the moment we landed in Cairo until we left 14 days later. They booked everything, from our hotels to our domestic flights, our tour guides and all our transfers. They accompanied us into each airport, making sure we knew where to check into our flights. They escorted us to the front desk of each hotel and even managed to get us checked in early on a few occasions. Thank you again, Progol, for your fantastic recommendation, and thank you Djed Egyptian Travel for the perfect trip you planned for us.

We were in Egypt from March 13th til March 26th, a total of 13 nights. Our first three nights in Giza, we stayed at the Marriott Mena House where we splurged on a room with a view of the Pyramids. Arriving at the hotel exhausted after a very long travel day, we stepped out onto our balcony and there, right in front of us, stood the magnificent Pyramids. All our weariness disappeared in that unforgettable moment. It was the perfect start to an amazing trip.

In an interesting side note, my husband's doctor, originally from Egypt, had always encouraged us when we mentioned that we would love to travel there. My husband sent him a photo of the lovely view from our room and he replied that he and his wife were married at the Mena House. Coincidentally, we were soon treated to the sight of a large and very glamorous wedding party gathering on the lawn for photographs. Definitely a gorgeous spot for a wedding!

So much has been written about all the sights on our itinerary that I won't elaborate on them except to say that we were so glad we got to see these ancient wonders with our own eyes. At Giza, we viewed the 3 Pyramids and the Sphinx but opted out of climbing into the Great Pyramid. That same day, after a farmhouse style lunch, we visited Saqqara with its Old Kingdom monuments and the famous step pyramid of Djoser. Our next full day in Giza was devoted to touring the Grand Egyptian Museum, which was not yet fully opened but is nevertheless huge. After 2 full days in Giza, we flew to Luxor for 2 nights where we toured Karnak and Luxor Temples and the Valley of the Kings. Our hotel in Luxor was the Sofitel Winter Pavillon Hotel which was situated in lovely gardens with a very grand swimming pool which we took advantage of on one hot afternoon.

Our trip so far had been wonderful, but the next 5 days, with our 4 nights aboard the Dahabiya Najma, was the highlight. Djed Travel owns several dahabiyas and when we were researching the options for a Nile cruise, it seemed to us that dahabiyas, the traditional wooden sailing boats of the Nile, would be the most attractive way to travel the river. As it turned out, our sojourn from Luxor to Aswan on this beautiful dahabiya was a lovely and unforgettable experience for many reasons.

Candace,
I’m thrilled that you had a great time in Egypt and so happy to hear that you were pleased with Djed! It makes me feel good to know you found my TR helpful. I can’t wait to hear about your dahabiya experience. We absolutely loved it - we’ve such wonderful memories of sailing down the Nile! This was our “pinch me” trip - there were so many times I would say that because we couldn’t believe we were actually in those iconic places. I’m jealous, though, that you got to experience the new GEM - it was “supposed” to be open when we were there, but of course, it wasn’t.

Candace, your trip sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Lovely report!

I've only been once and it was so long ago; your report makes me think about a return visit, and the tour company sounds perfect!

Thank you!!

Thank you for this! I am just trying to plan a similar trip next March for my birthday including a dahabiya cruise. I am just trying to work out to do something more organised like this, or arrange it all ourselves.

I will check that your operator out.

It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Thank you, Progol, for your kind reply. I always enjoy reading your informative trip reports and your invaluable recommendation of Djed Travel was spot on.

Schmerl and ekscrunchy, I'm glad you are enjoying my report. Egypt was amazing and we would love to travel there again.

Lisa, I'm glad you are planning an Egyptian trip and have decided on a dahabiya for your cruise. I believe that is absolutely the best way to travel the Nile.

Our trip continued:

So why was our Nile cruise on the dahabiya so delightful? For starters, the boat itself was lovely. The newest of Djed's dahabiyas, the Najma's long main deck had custom made wooden railings surrounding the polished wood floors where antique style seating, some with beautiful inlaid designs, some upholstered, was arranged in various groupings, as were some sun loungers and a few hammocks. A canvas sunshade with hanging antique lanterns covered the entire main deck. Our breakfast was served every day at a table for two near the railings while a long dining table in the center of the deck was set up for lunch. Dinner was served at the dining table in the "saloon", a large multi purpose room with a dining table, a colorful chandelier and some comfy sofas on the first floor. We could have chosen to have our evening meal on the deck or even on the shore, but due to the weather the saloon became our favorite dinner spot. Our stateroom with its brass bed and pretty inlaid furniture was very comfortable. We splurged on one of the two rooms at the rear of the boat that included a balcony. We loved enjoying the scenery from our balcony.

The food at all three meals was remarkable: fresh, plentiful, and beautifully prepared and presented. We learned that Djed's cooks are meticulous about washing produce in filtered water, and while we ate plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables while on board, we never suffered from the dreaded "mummy tummy" that we were warned about before our trip to Egypt. Djed also provides its guests with an abundant supply of bottled water which was much appreciated.

The crew of the Najma was always smiling, and we so enjoyed our young server, Muhammed, and Achmed, the man who looked after our stateroom and delighted us daily with a whimsical towel sculpture. Hesham, the young Egyptologist who was our guide for the duration of our cruise was really wonderful, and so patient when our elderly minds couldn't quite grasp all the information he was explaining to us at the various temples and tombs we visited with him. We learned so much from him, not just about the antiquities he had spent so much of his education studying, but about life in Egypt today and the challenges faced by modern Egyptians. He would join us every night after dinner and we would have interesting discussions involving politics and religion and just life in general. By the end of the cruise, Hesham felt like an old friend!

While the beautiful dahabiya with its outstanding crew set the stage for our Nile cruise, the experiences we enjoyed as we traveled the river, which I will describe in the next segment, are what made the trip unforgettable! And then, incredibly, this trip was made even more special by the fact that we were the only passengers on this particular voyage. To say we were stunned when we first boarded the boat and were told that there were no other guests joining us is a true understatement. And at first we felt awkward, uncomfortable, and a bit guilty about the situation. A 100+ foot boat and a crew of 9 just for us? But Hesham and everyone else seemed to think it was no big deal, and made us feel at ease with the situation pretty quickly. It seems that Djed never cancels a cruise whether it is fully booked or not. So there we were, on our way down the Nile, traveling like Anthony and Cleopatra on our very own private dahabiya. The trip of lifetime! To be continued.

WOW! I can't believe you were the only passengers on the dahabiya!
Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

Amazing, Candace! An entire crew just for you! Funnily enough, the friends who first used Djed had the same experience of being the only passengers on the dahabiya! This is one of the reasons to book with Djed! For others who might be interested, by the way, you can just book the dahabiya and not use their other services (but why wouldn’t you?).

We were on the Nora and weren’t fortunate to have one of the charming suite rooms, but we still loved it and enjoyed being with a small group of other passengers. There is nothing like sailing down the Nile!

Egypt is amazing, isn’t it? I too am one who had high expectations and had those well exceeded. We also had our own dahabiya, although we traveled at the height of COVID (Nov. 2020), so it wasn’t surprising. Good to know that dahabiya operators still follow this practice.

Schmerl, Progol, & Tripplanner - Yes, having this "private" dhabiya cruise on the Nile just made our amazing trip to Egypt even more amazing!

Many memorable moments were part of our dahabiya experience. I will try here to recreate a few of them.

As was stated in the literature we researched before our trip, dahabiyas benefit from the ability to access spots along the river where the bigger cruise boats can't go. We watched the cruisers go by and some were behemoths with dirty black sterns sullied by diesel fume exhaust. We learned that they traveled in convoys of several ships in a row and when the boats arrived at one of the two or three major sights along the way, they docked 2 or 3 abreast. Often those people with balcony staterooms would spend the night with a view of the stateroom next door. In contrast, our dahabiya pulled into picturesque spots on the riverbank to tie up for the night. I will never forget our first morning. We woke up to birdsong and drank our coffee on our balcony watching kingfishers and egrets searching for their breakfast next to the shore. The river in this secluded spot was so still that the green foliage on the bank above us was perfectly reflected on the water below. It was a moment of true tranquility.

Another night, we stopped on the bank below the temple at Gebel el Silsira and along side the path to an ancient stone quarry. Up ahead, beside the path, we could see little square tombs cut into the honey colored rock. When darkness fell, the temple above us was dimly lit, as were some of the nearby rocks. Very atmospheric! The next morning, we toured the little temple and watched as a man in a traditional galabeya robe walked along the path to the quarry using a long staff to scare off any lurking scorpions or vipers. Scorpions and vipers hopefully eradicated, it was a beautiful spot to wander about for a bit.

One afternoon, our dahabiya pulled onto the sandy shore of the island of Maniha, where cows and donkeys grazed and fishermen cast their rods from the water's edge. This was a perfect spot to swim in the river, we were told, but we were satisfied to wade in up to our ankles, just to say we had dipped our feet into the Nile. Another time, we stopped along the shore where a young boy, 10 or 11 years old, was minding a few cattle. One of the crewmen tossed him a mooring rope and directed him to tie it round a nearby tree. The boy eagerly complied and received a big thumbs up from the crewman. My husband asked Hesham if it would be okay to give the boy a tip for his service. No problem, according to Hesham, so we rewarded his efforts with 50 Egyptian pounds. Not a princely sum of money, but the boy gave us a huge smile, ran off, and soon returned with his father and brother. All three gave us a grand send off when our boat pulled out into the river again, waving and shouting goodbye. Fifty pounds isn't much, but Hesham said the boy could surely buy himself some special treats with it, so I think we made his day.

We enjoyed observing the captain of our dahabiya. He was a man of few words, but obviously the boat was in good hands with him in control. He slept on deck and even when we were moored at night in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, we felt very safe with him guarding his craft. When we docked at Kom Ombo to visit the temples of Sobek and Haroeris, we were introduced to his father, who was captain of another dahabiya on the river. Obviously, this is an occupation that is often passed down through the family, maybe through many generations. An interesting high point of our voyage was watching the captain climb the front mast in his bare feet to unfurl the front sail so that we could proceed under the traditional wind power, freed from the little tugboat that normally towed us along. We believe the captain much preferred the wind power to the tugboat.

Besides these special moments during our Nile cruise, we also ventured out on planned expeditions to the major temples along the route with our guide, Hesham, who made sure that we understood and appreciated the ancient sites we were visiting. But we have say, our favorite excursion wasn't to a temple or a tomb. It was the morning we piled into the back of a rickety old pickup truck (my husband got the place of honor in the cab) and drove to the village of Daraw. Our first stop was the camel yard where we were invited in to visit with the camels milling around their enclosure, waiting for feeding time. Camels are comical creatures for sure and fun to watch with their long necks, blunt noses, and big pink tongues. These camels had come from the Sudan, we were told, and soon their owner, an elegant man in a pure white robe and turban, came to supervise their meal and snap his long rod as a cart loaded with feed circled the pen. I don't know how hungry the camels were but they started jostling each other to get at the food and we decided it was time to leave. Our next stop was Daraw's market. It wasn't one of the town's big market days, but there were plenty of stalls set up with everything from produce to butcher stands, falafel booths, candy shops, tailors working their sewing machines, and the famous watermelon man who seemed to be a special friend of Hesham's. Hesham bought a watermelon and his friend treated us to a demonstration of his watermelon carving skills. He was lots of fun. The whole market was lots of fun, with speeding tuk tuks, donkey carts, lots of local shoppers and not another tourist in sight. We felt like we were experiencing Egypt as people lived it in the small towns and countryside away from the cities and we felt we really gained some insight into local life.

After 4 nights we disembarked in Aswan. I will describe our last four days from Aswan back to Cairo, where we would leave Egypt and fly home via Doha, Qatar, to Boston.

Candace, I am REALLY enjoying your trip report. You paint such a beautiful picture of your experiences on the dahabiya.
I am looking forward to the rest of your report.

Thanks, Schmerl. I will try to finish this report up in a few more installments. Originally, I thought my report would be fairly brief, but once I started writing it, I realized there were just so many aspects of this trip that needed to be included.

After our last night on the boat, spent right outside Aswan, we said goodbye to Dahabiya Najma, Hesham, and the crew, and were driven in Djed's van to our hotel for the next two nights. The Movenpick resort sat on a small island in the middle of the Nile. Our room had a balcony with a view of some small tombs built into the hillside across the river. We had a free afternoon, but didn't do much but wander around the resort after having lunch in the main dining room. The next day, we were met by our guide, Besma, who took us via a small boat to the island temple of Isis at Philae and then by van to the famous High Dam. Besma took some time explaining the Nubian culture of this part of Egypt to us, which we found to be interesting. On our way to the temple of Isis, we enjoyed seeing the colorful Nubian houses built among the islands. These little settlements seemed quite exotic and the bright little boats that darted between them added to the effect. That evening, we ate at the Nubian style restaurant at our hotel, trying some of the chef's specialties. I enjoyed my meal but my husband wasn't a fan. The following morning, we were up early to catch our flight back to Cairo, where we met up again with our lovely guide, Hoda, who had been with us in Giza. We visited the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square with Hoda that afternoon. Hoda confided that she had a soft spot in her heart for this museum, as she had studied here while working toward her degree. The tour she gave us reflected that sentiment, I think. The big new museum in Giza is magnificent but this one was easier for us to negotiate with Hoda' guidance and we really enjoyed our time here.

In Cairo, we stayed in the Kempinski Nile Hotel near downtown. At first, I was a little disappointed. The room was attractively decorated but we didn't have much of a view and I guess we'd been spoiled, given that our previous hotels all had balconies, good views, and splendid gardens. Our room at the Kempinski, a city hotel, had none of the type of ambiance that we had enjoyed previously. But, as a small luxury hotel, it began to grow on us, and we came to appreciate the lovely public spaces, the efficient staff, the rooftop pool and lounge, and probably the most sumptuous breakfast we had anywhere on the trip.

During our last day, Hoda took us on a tour of the Old Coptic Quarter and Medieval Cairo, where we visited the Hanging Church and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. From there, we drove to the beautiful alabaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali, where from the courtyard we had a grand view of the city of Cairo with the Pyramids of Giza off in the distance. What a wonderful experience, in our tumultuous times, to enter these three historic buildings sacred to three prominent religions, all seeming to exist together in harmony with each other in this ancient place in the middle of a modern city. Like the religions themselves, similar in many ways but also very different, these places of worship each became part of a special thought provoking experience for us and we came away wiser for it.

The following morning, we left Cairo for Doha, Qatar. The contrast between the cities was pretty extreme. After Cairo's grittiness, Doha was like a futuristic fantasyland. Amazing what all Qatar's oil and gas wealth could do to create a city that almost didn't seem real. Cairo was old and gritty but, to us, more interesting.

We had flown on Qatar Airways to Egypt to take advantage of a good business class price from JFK via Doha. Business class on an overnight flight has become a necessity for us in our senior years. Unfortunately, economy class was the only option on our flight home on Qatar Airways via Boston, but we figured we could manage it during daylight hours. However, we did decide to stop over in Doha for one night to help break up the long trip. On our round the world trip in 2019, we had spent two nights in Doha at the Souq Waqif Hotels and enjoyed our stay. This time, we booked the Hilton Doha in the diplomatic district and had some experiences that made the experience less than great. We were upgraded as Hilton Honors members to a rather luxurious suite with 2 balconies. But upon entering the suite and discovering a "Happy Anniversary" swan towel sculpture with rose petals on the bed and a "Happy Anniversary" chocolate ganache cake on the dining room table, we figured we were given the wrong room. When we called the front desk, we were told "no, it's okay, enjoy the room and eat the cake". Wow. We wondered who cancelled their big anniversary celebration. Sort of creepy.

Candace, I am still loving your report.
Too funny about the anniversary swan and cake.

Very nice TR!

We had a cruise stop in Qatar in 2022 and yes it's a beautiful city. I can see how it contrasted to Cairo for sure.

We do hope to get to Cairo one of these days though given the present political climate in that region it'll probably be no time soon.

Nice 'mistake" about your room.

Schmerl, it was too funny, and the cake was really good! Jacketwatch, Doha is amazing but in such a different way from Cairo.

By the time we got into our special suite, it was getting late and we were starving so we decided to order room service. Easier said than done. We just couldn’t make the phone app work to download the menu and no one in the lobby, from the concierge to the receptionist at the front desk, could supply us with a printed menu or make the app work either. Finally, someone delivered a paper menu to our room and wished us a happy anniversary, as did the man who brought us our dinner. We didn’t bother correcting them - it just would have been too complicated to explain that it was not really our anniversary. Another problem we encountered in our palatial suite was the fact that it was freezing and we couldn’t figure out how to adjust the temperature. Eventually, in desperation, I put on the heavy terry cloth robe provided in the closet and that kept me warm. The biggest issue we faced during our stay at the Hilton Doha, however, was the notice we received when we first walked into our room. A paper lying on the dining room table was an announcement informing us that from midnight until 6:00am the next morning, all the water in the hotel would be shut off. Because we had to leave for the airport at 5:00 am, this was not a good situation. Oh well, we dealt with it, and at least we got some sleep in preparation for our long economy class flight to Boston where again we had reserved a room for the night before our final flight home to Syracuse. That flight the next day via American Airlines, was delayed three times due to mechanical issues. And then, wouldn’t you know, we had avoided “mummy tummy” successfully in Egypt but something about the hotel breakfast in Boston attacked my husband as we waited at the airport for our delayed flight to finally take off.

Eventually, we finally made it home, and we both agreed that despite a few bumps in the road at the end, this trip to Egypt was one of our favorites ever. In my next and final segment, I will try to explain the reasons why we felt it was it was one of our best!

“Mummy tummy” That’s cute. . Reminds me of “Delhi belly.”

Following.

Why did our trip to Egypt turn out to be so memorable for us? I think experiencing a culture so different from our own was a big factor. Much of what we saw was, to us, exotic and unusual. Beyond just a sightseeing opportunity, the trip became an exciting and thought-provoking adventure. The monuments we saw were part of the adventure. The temples and tombs built thousands of years before, the endless golden treasures, the alabaster relics, the towering statues, the mummies of men, women, crocodiles and various other creatures that filled the museums, were almost overwhelming. Our dahabiya boat cruise along the fabled Nile, where many places along the banks appeared to us as they must have appeared centuries before, was definitely an adventure. The people of Egypt we encountered along the way, especially the children, were so ready to smile, although often we wondered if life might not be so easy for many of them. One bright young boy, 10 or so years old, stands out in my memory. He latched onto us at the Crocodile Museum, obviously looking for a handout. Of course, we had been told not to reward begging, but he was so downright charming that I was tempted. And even though we gave him nothing but some friendly conversation, he waited for us to board our boat, then ran along side the bank, waving with great enthusiasm as we pulled away into the river. Three other boys driving their donkey cart along the river’s edge could have been part of the same scene in rural Egypt hundreds of years before. They stopped to wave at us as we floated by before taking off at breakneck speed, showing off as boys have always been prone to do. Children are the same everywhere, but seeing the challenges some of these kids are facing was definitely thought provoking.

Traveling in Egypt during Ramadan was also thought provoking, and opened our eyes to aspects of the Muslim faith that were totally unfamiliar to us. Observing the fast from sunrise until sunset during Ramadan requires a commitment to self denial that is impressive. Most of the Egyptian people we came into contact with were fasting, neither eating nor drinking during those long daylight hours. It must be especially difficult, we thought, to go without water on those days when the temperatures reach ninety degrees but they did it, seemingly without complaint. Then every evening after sundown, the call to prayer was especially celebratory, and at every hotel, and even on the banks of the Nile, grand feasts would be laid out, with music, lights, and lots of decorations. Breaking the fast that way must be really joyful to the participants. Of course we realized that the minarets broadcast the call throughout the day and we watched as the faithful took time to pray. To us, living in our very secular world, such devotion made an impression and had us thinking frequently about mankind and religion. On a side note, my husband and our guide, Hesham, would often have deep discussions about religion, God and heaven. After one such conversation, my husband asked Hesham, “Where do you think I’ll go when I die?” Hesham answered, very firmly, “I have no idea!” An honest answer, and one my husband will never forget!

The great interaction we were able to have with our guides, one on one, was another wonderful aspect of our trip. Because there was just the two of us for each guide to interact with, we got to know them pretty well, and felt really comfortable asking them questions about their lives in modern day Egypt. All that we learned from our guides beyond the monuments and history of Egypt added a special layer of information and experience to our trip that really made it special.

Finally, I just want to say that a trip to Egypt is a wonderful adventure. If you have the opportunity to go to that amazing country, just do it!

I definitely want to go there too. Friends who have gone there have loved it as well.

I am leery now due to the political climate in the area but hopefully one day we can get there.

Thank you for your excellent TR!

We are glad you enjoyed our trip report, Jacketwatch, and hope you are soon able to feel comfortable traveling to Egypt. I see that you are a seasoned traveler to Asia. Our next trip is, hopefully, to Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. We are hoping to find a tour company similar to the one we had in Egypt. As seniors with some mobility issues, we would like a private tour like that one where logistics are handled for us and we can set our own pace.