In talking with my friend Chris Fulghum about his business trip to Cairo, he said/texted that we had to go on a Falucca on the Nile. I had never heard of one, but Chris was pretty adamant that it was a great thing to do. He described a Falucca as a certain type of sailboat on the Nile that was used for local trips, and now is a big hit with tourists.
When the itinerary came in, I noted that a Falucca ride was in the works, but instead of in Cairo, down in Aswan.
For those of you who never saw the word Falucca until, oh, just now, much less knew what it is (I'm betting that's about 99% of you, and the one percent who had, such as Chris, can strut their stuff on a victory lap now.
We'll all wait a moment whilst you strut.
Okay, back to the blog. The online Oxford dictionary definition is:
- "a small boat propelled by oars or lateen sails or both, used on the Nile and formerly more widely in the Mediterranean region."
I did not see one Falucca propelled by oars, but my guess those aren't for tourist use, because there is no romance in about a rowboat unless it is a painting by Homer Winslow.
So we got out on the Nile pretty early on our Falucca, and it was fabulous. I had positive hopes given Chris's endorsement, but was a little worried it would be kind of boring. Far from it, as we took a nice Falucca cruise/ride/sail -- not sure of the right word -- around famed Elephantine Island.
Editor: If it's so famous, how come I've never heard of it before. Writer: Because your awareness of Egyptian history until this trip was pretty much limited to "King Tut" by Steve Martin, "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles, and "Call me Cleopatra, 'cause I'm the Queen of Denial" by Pam Tillis.
Anyhow, the trip was fantastic. Sam pointed out what we were seeing, which included the famed Aga Khan mausoleum, the hotel where Agatha Christie was inspired to write "Death on the Nile," egrets, ibises, beautiful trees, famous houses, and sundry other sights.
Aga Khan's mausoleum dominated a massive hill right next to the river, but there were many graves of former governors in the hillside as well. That is where former governor of Aswan go when they die, just as former governors of Illinois go to prison when they are out of office.
Speaking of politics, Neil asked if he could steer the boat, and the captain let him. Others of us got the opportunity. The log that controls the rudder is big and heavy, so it was good fun taking a shot at steering.
Another highlight was watching the three man Nubian crew raise the sails, sail the boat, and then, at the end, lower the sails.
Also noteworthy are the two kids (estimated 12 years old) who hand-paddled themselves to our boat, latched onto the boat, and then serenaded us with some songs, including Frere Jacques. It was fun the first time, so a number of us tipped them (which is why they do it), but each time other kids did it along the river, the renditions of Frere Jacques sounded worse and worse. I felt like the captain in the great movie Airplane walking into the airport.
(Look, it's only 27 seconds long. Watch the YouTube clip!).
Beyond that, it was beautiful day, the sun beat down, I felt so good, like anything was possible. We all felt like kings and queens of the Nile. Trivia for you -- Cleopatra and Julius Caesar were the first two to take a Nile River cruise as tourists. Many have followed in their footsteps.
There was some hassle getting the Falucca back to its docking point, as a couple of boats were where our captain and crew expected to put in, but after some near collisions and some entertaining maneuvering, we made it to dock. Surprisingly, none of us on the tour were allowed to steer the boat during that fun.
After the sail, everyone was raving about how much they enjoyed the fantastic Falucca fun.
I am going to share more Falucca fotos than I would have expected, but, hey, it's my blog and I had fun on the Falucca. (It's also a fun word to say -- say it now, Falucca -- it rhymes with Bazooka or Palooka. See, told you it is fun to say!).
The captain trusted me enough
to steer the ship that he
took his eyes off what I was
doing. Not sure why
he trusted me, but it all
worked out no problem.
Photo by Carol.
Glen and Mary deep in conversation.
Photo by Carol.
Nile River selfie.
Our captain.
The crew was working
the ropes in a big way!
Neil and Mary as we are leaving shore.
A fellow Falucca,
The Aga Khan mausoleum.
We were in good hands.
Our serenaders, they earned
their tip. Those who followed,
did not.
Hi! Biscus!
The sail.
The group.
Neil working hard. Or hardly working?
A close-up of the Aga Khan
mausoleum, mostly to show
off the Zoom on my camera.
A very cool plant by the side of
the River Nile. Hopefully Sam
will see this and let me know what
it actually is.
Rushes on the side of the Nile.
I expected to find the baby
Moses adrift in a basket.
I did not, but it gave me
something to look for.
These four palm trees could only be
better if they were in the shape of a "W."
IYKYK.
I believe this is a Western Little Egret,
based on the blue beak, but I'm
open to correction.
It's a ruin, but probably not an ancient one.
A crew member looks
contemplatively into the future.
A signal tower along the river.
Awesome way to spend a morning.
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