(Newswire.net — June 25, 2019) — One of the most attractive plans imaginable to discover Egypt, (land of pharaohs, ancient civilizations, mysterious legends and spectacular temples) is to navigate the waters of the Nile, the second longest river in the world. The tour is commonly called the Nile Cruise. Only the Amazon exceeds its 6,497 kilometers in length, surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape dotted with monuments that mark its progress to the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.
Around this majestic river the Valley of the Nile unfolds, a prosperous Eden of green color in which the old is mixed with the modern. For information, the banks of the Nile have several important monuments related to large civilizations thousands of years ago. Walking along the Nile is not only along the longest river of Africa but also along the ancient African civilization!
Navigating the Nile to discover the history of Egypt
Traveling to Egypt and navigating the Nile on the barges that offer cruises is an incomparable experience: contemplate the succession of temples on the banks of this great river, observe the stars during night sailing, enjoy the wonderful sunsets … The cruise through The Nile is the perfect excursion, especially for a first trip to Egypt, because it allows the traveler to understand the intimate link between the river and the millenarian civilization that developed around it.
This experience, suitable for all audiences, usually lasts four nights. Traditionally we set sail from Luxor to conclude the trip in Aswan or the itinerary is done in reverse. Everything depends on what is most convenient for the travel program and the days that are available.
If the tour begins in the majestic city of Luxor, the ancient Thebes, travelers have enough time to visit two of the most spectacular temples in Egypt, the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor. In front of this city, towards the high mountains, the Valley of the Kings opens. In this necropolis are the tombs of many of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (Tuntankamón, Ramses I, Amenhotep II, Siptah, etc). On this bank of the river are also the beautiful temple of the great pharaoh Hatshepsut, carved in limestone rock, and the Colossi of Memnon, two gigantic statues representing the pharaoh Amenhotep III.
The cruise is making stops so that passengers can get off and know the places of greatest interest. One of them is the city of Edfu, where you visit the Temple of Horus, the second largest in Egypt. This magnificent monument is dedicated to the God Hawk and in him the mixture between the Egyptian art and the Greek architecture can be appreciated. On the eastern bank, 40 kilometers north of Aswan, tourists have the opportunity to visit a temple built in honor of the gods Sobek and Horus the Elder, Kom Ombo, which is a tribute to the mystical relationship that both gods shared. In this monument are preserved from crocodile mummies to clay coffins, it is worth spending some time to the spectacular reliefs of its walls.
The tour of this emblematic river ends in Aswan, the southernmost city of Egypt, called Swenet in antiquity. To control overflows of the Nile – which enriched the lands with silt, making them fertile, but which sometimes also ruined crops – two dams were built in Aswan, because this is located at the height of the first waterfall of the river: the High Dam and the Low Dam.
A historical curiosity
When the Alta Dam was being built, whose works began in 1952, the archaeological community warned that numerous monuments would be under water once the dam was completed. To avoid this artistic catastrophe, UNESCO launched a rescue operation for monuments at risk, including the spectacular Temple of Abu Simbel, which was moved stone by stone to a secure location.
The countries that collaborated with Egypt in this rescue of works of art received the donation of some monuments as thanks. Spain, for example, was given the Temple of Debod, which since 1967 is next to the Paseo del Pintor Rosales in Madrid, on the small hill where the Cuartel de la Montaña used to be.
Finally, we can’t conclude our cruise without visiting another of the great Egyptian temples famous for their beauty, Philae, consecrated to Isis. It is currently on Agilkia Island, since as it happened to Abu Simbel had to be moved from its original location, on the island of File, due to the construction of the Aswan Dam.