Added: 12/21/2005 |
River Cruises ? An Exciting Vacation Alternative!River cruises offer a unique opportunity for travelers to make stunning discoveries and experience incredible feelings. River cruises place a traveler in a very specific world of a comfortable ship with perfect restaurant service, swimming pools, small churches and many other very nice things... But if you prefer extreme river cruises there is a big choice of river rafting trips as well.
Among the great variety of river cruises and river rafting trips offered by travel agencies, there is one that is continuously sought out year after year: a trip along the Nile River! This river was in the past and remains now the source of life for all Egyptians: practically all population of the country is living in the narrow vale of the river. The Great majority of the most famous ancient civilization monuments are located along the river banks.
That explains the great popularity of Nile river cruises among the tourists. Nearly 250 motor ships are employed in the tourist industry, 150 of which are buoyant 5 star river cruises compete with comfortable staterooms and restaurants, bars, disco clubs, promenade decks and swimming pools.
River cruises are routed from Luksor, which has a magnificent open air museum, to Aswan - which was the most southern city of Egypt during Pharaoh times. River cruises can also include a visit to the great Pyramids and the Sphinx in Cairo.
River cruises along the Nile include visits to the main sights of Upper Egypt. Except Luksor and Aswan, during such cruises the tourists can see and enjoy the temples of Esna, Edfu and Com-Ombo.
The great river valley is stretched out for one and a half thousand kilometers from the south, from the border with Sudan, towards the north, to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, dividing the eastern Arabian Desert from western Libyan Desert. The width of the "life band" along the Nile is varied from one kilometer in the south to 20-25 km in the region of Cairo. The desert itself makes an incredible impression: sand dunes, numerous shades of colors -- from yellow to ochre to purple - the real name of which is available only in the language of the nomads.
Esna is located in a distance of 53 km from Luksor towards the south. During ancient times Esna was the greatest city of Upper Egypt. Here trade caravans from Sudan and Central Africa used this route to ship their goods. Here is a very well preserved temple of Hmun God, which was built during the Ptolemaic epoch.
Half-way between Luksor and Aswan there is a Khora temple in Edfu, which was also built during the Ptolemaic ages in 237-57 years B.C. Here as legends tell, the God named Set with his brothers-in-arms marched off against the God named Khora, who defeated them but they come back in the images of crocodiles and hippopotami.
Com-Ombo is now an inhabited locality which is situated in a distance of 43 km from Aswan to the north. This area appeared in the period of golden ages of trade on the ways between Red Sea and the Nile valley. One of the most important articles of trade was African elephants which were used as man power in Ptolemaic army.
Have a nice trip!
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