Telling the Truth

How about a cruise up the Nile? In January 2010, D and I took what will likely be our only tour up the Nile. We wanted to see the grandeur! Which we did.

Like others in the Presidential Nile Cruises fleet, our hosts focused on outstanding on-board services and tourist guides. Our own guide, for example, had studied in seminary and knew both Christian and Egyptian theology. Here’s our cruise ship. We began the tour in Luxor.

All photos below focus on what we saw while cruising the Nile–not on tourist attractions. I was prepared for natural beauty. I wasn’t prepared, however, for some of what we saw.

Here it is. A life-giving river along which lush green trees
and human life coexist with the vast desert and mountains beyond.
Without the Nile, there would be no Egypt as we know it.

This photo proves I was there and blissfully happy!

Below, we’re still close to Luxor, from which we sailed.
It takes an effort to keep the banks from eroding.
The second photo zooms in to show several young people
just above the eroded bank.

The next two photos show contrasts in life on the Nile.
To the far right in the first photo a gorgeous
woven rug is in process. Electrical wires run behind both houses.
Don’t miss the black goats  grazing on the bank,
and the minaret in the background.

The following two photos capture reality–women’s work
along the Nile. Sometimes men were sitting nearby,
smoking or talking; sometimes they just sat alone.
I rarely saw women along the Nile who weren’t engaged
in manual labor. Most often in groups such as this.

In the photo above, a woman watches us float by
and holds her hands to her back. Perhaps it’s aching?
Laundry hangs out to dry; a rug hangs on the right for beating.
Don’t miss the lush greenery on the other side of the house,
or the satellite dish and electrical lines on the roof.

Here are several scenic shots taken in the later afternoon.
How many banana trees can you spot?

Finally, the end of the day–taken from our room.

That’s all for now, folks. Thanks for coming along.

Elouise♥

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 16 February 2016
Photo credit: DAFraser, January 2010