SAILING the ENIGMATIC NILE

Shikha Shah explores how slow cruising the world's longest river offers a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of the pharaohs and uncover the mysteries of Egypt

- Shikha Shah

MUDBRICK HOUSES AND TALL MINARETS poke out of grassy banks sprinkled with palm trees gently swaying in the cool breeze. An old-fashioned dahabiya (traditional wooden sailing boat) unhurriedly glides down the glistening waters while two men paddle a small boat piled with fishing nets. I am transported back in time as I gape at the mystical riverine scenery from our spacious cabin aboard Mayfair Cruise's M.S.

Mayflower moored by El Watania dock of Southern Egypt's Luxor. The elegant vessel boasting Ottoman-meets-modern interiors is our home for the extraordinary seven-night voyage-a round trip between Luxor and Aswan-along the iconic Egyptian waterway. After all, en-Nil or the Nile, stretching over 6,650 km and snaking its way through 11 countries, has been indispensable to Egyptians since time immemorial. The life-giving natural resource has been offering its waters not only for bathing and drinking but also for trade, transportation and farming, thus forging a flourishing civilisation in the otherwise arid landscape.

No wonder the Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the "Gift of the Nile".

Our journey to witness its time-honoured treasures begins in the ship's Sultan Bar and Lounge, where our guide Adel Gerges gives us a lowdown on the itinerary before ushering us off the boat, to the east bank of Luxor.