Virtuoso Insights - August/September 2008 - (Page 44) O Bougainvillea blooms grace the banks of the Nile. n our final day in the Nile Valley, we tour the island Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis, the Egyptians’ “great mother” whose tears for her dead husband, Osiris, flooded the Nile each year. Later, when we visit Lake Nasser and its massive hydroelectric dam in Aswan, I think back to my first morning in Cairo. There, 600 miles downstream, standing on my terrace at the Four Seasons Hotel, I listened to dawn’s call to prayer intoned from a nearby minaret as a galaxy of city lights sparkled before me. The mighty Nile is still the lifeblood of Egypt, this time flowing in the form of electrons that deliver power to its people. For our last outing, Sherif takes us on a breezy felucca ride around Kitchener’s Island. Home to the Aswan Botanical Garden, the island was a gift to Lord Kitchener, who moved here to indulge his passion for horticulture after his successful campaigns in the Sudan. Today, the Edenic garden harbors exotic flora from around the world, and as we approach its fragranced banks chiming with birdsong, I empathize fully with Adham, the primary character in Children of the Alley, who declared: “The garden and its singing inhabitants, and water, and sky, and my delighted self—this is life.” Your Trip of a Lifetime Resurrect yourself on the River Nile with Big Five tours & expeditions. boasting impeccable service, impassioned guides, and an inspired collection of 9- to 14-day sojourns, big Five promises an exquisite experience in the world’s cradle. Indulge in the Four seasons hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza and the Mena house Oberoi overlooking the pyramids; sail the storied Nile in style aboard the Oberoi Zahra; and explore Egypt’s unrivaled antiquities and modern wonders from Cairo to aswan and beyond. For detailed itineraries, 2008 and 2009 departure dates, and up-to-the-minute pricing, contact your Virtuoso travel advisor today. The River Nile • The world’s longest river, the Nile spans 4,160 miles; its two main tributaries, the blue Nile and the White Nile, begin in the highlands of Ethiopia and Lake Victoria, respectively, and merge in Khartoum, sudan. • The Nile Valley and Delta occupy only 6 percent of Egypt’s landmass, though they support some 99 percent of its population. • The River Nile supplies 95 percent of Egypt’s total water needs. • Nearly all of ancient Egypt’s cultural and historic sites are situated on the banks of the Nile. I NSI DER TI P: apprehensive about traveling in Egypt? Don’t be. bolstered by the U.s., the Egyptian government devotes copious resources to ensuring visitors’ safety, including assigning police escorts to tour groups and surrounding temples with multiple security perimeters. 44 Virtuoso insights
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.