Secrets of Egypt & the Nile: Q&A with Nova Vista's Founder, Becky Olson (Part 2)

Your next stop was Edfu. What did you do and see there?

Yes, the next day we sailed down to Edfu and visited the Temple of Edfu, or the Temple of Horus as it’s often called. It’s best known for being one of Egypt’s most remarkably preserved temples, built in 230 BC. It has two huge pylons at the entrance, which are essentially these gigantic gates flanked on either side of the entrance. Many of these temples have figures on them that have been chiseled away at and look sort of faded. Our Egyptologist explained that this is partly due to sand build up over the centuries, but also because people of different religions would come in and intentionally chisel away the meaning of whatever the figure or image was trying to convey. The size of the temple left you in awe. Through the main gateway there are huge pillars and a courtyard. It was spectacular. And would learn that this was far from being the largest of the temples.

What was your experience like in Aswan?

On one of our itinerary days most guests from our ship traveled to visit Abu Simbel. This is an optional add-on with AmaWaterways at a fairly minimal cost relatively speaking. Those who opt to do it take an early morning flight to Lake Nasser and visit the Abu Simbel temple, which has been moved from its original location, but is still in amazing condition. It’s certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity that I would highly recommend to the average traveler. As someone who works in the travel industry, I have the privilege of traveling quite frequently and plan to come back to explore more parts of Egypt, so I opted not to go this time around.

Instead, for the few of us who stayed behind, we had the option to relax on the ship or take a leisurely visit into Aswan to wander the local market. We pretty much shopped till we dropped! The market wasn’t in a touristy spot, more off the beaten path, so the goods were much more authentic than many we had encountered at the entrances to various exhibits. This is where I purchased a lot of my nicer gifts for family and friends.

In the afternoon we experienced a felucca ride around Elephantine Island. A felucca is an Egyptian sailboat with long, tall sails. The ride was led by Nubians, and they were singing, dancing, and selling their handmade items on the boat, so it was incredible to get a small glimpse into their culture. They took us to the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Hotel, where Agatha Christie lived for a year while she was writing Death on the Nile. We enjoyed the afternoon tea there out on the lawn with the most stunning vistas. After tea we got a quick tour of the Cataract Hotel, which was lovely.

The next day we went to a Nubian village. They put us on these crazy little motorboats and sailed us over to the village where we passed the Philae temples, which are dedicated to the goddess Isis. Once we got to the village the locals served us peanuts, dates, and pomegranate tea. They greeted us with singing and dancing, and we all went to sit down but they wanted us to get involved. So, we were all singing and dancing, too! They are a very lively culture of people. We got to see some of the traditional houses in their village, which was eye-opening because there’s a lot of poverty. It was nice to see them showcasing such jovial behavior, but it was a little hard to know their history and the way they live. People support them through buying their handmade goods and there are programs set up to assist with caring for their houses, etc. It was really a very emotional experience. On our way back to the ship from the village, we stopped at the temple for Isis on the island of Philae. Our Egyptologist told us stories through demonstrations with our group about all the different ways Isis, the goddess of love, was represented. It was fascinating.

Sailing back up the river, we stopped at the Temple of Kom Ombo. We toured this temple at sunset, which was picture perfect. There was even a bonus exhibit of mummified crocodiles! The Egyptians had a deity called Sobek, who was an ancient crocodile god. Crocodiles, like cats, were so important to them that they would mummify them out of respect.

Where did you cruise to after Aswan?

After Aswan our ship cruised back up to Luxor. Once there, we disembarked and went to the Karnak Temples. It’s the largest religious complex in Egypt, and one of the largest in the world. It was built over a period of 1300 years! We wove through multiple temples and massive columns and ventured down the avenue of sphinxes. A 1.7-mile-long avenue to be exact – lined with sphinxes all the way from the Karnak Temples to the Luxor Temple at the other end! A visit to the Papyrus Institute concluded our day. We watched a papyrus making demonstration and were able to do some shopping for authentic papyrus paintings. It would have been easy to take home every piece.

Your last stop was to Qena. What did you do there?

Yes, that was honestly probably the prettiest part of sailing the Nile for us because there were no other ships out on the river, it was just the AmaDahlia. So quiet and peaceful. Some people would shout and wave at us from the shore as we went by. It felt like a more authentic view of Egyptian life on the Nile during that portion of sailing.

We went up to the Dendera Temple, which includes the Temple of Hathor. This temple isn’t as old, but it’s one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. The colors are truly unbelievable. They’re just so blue and vivid! There is a lot of active restoration still happening inside, so you could see the stark difference between parts of the temple that have been cleaned and restored and those that haven’t. All the tops of the columns in this temple are of Hathor’s face. There’s also a lot of zodiac symbolism in there, so everyone was trying to find their signs on the ceiling, which was neat. We thought we’d be tired of temples by this point, but each one brought something unique and jaw-dropping.

How did your trip end?

There was lots of sailing and relaxing coming back, and we stayed in Luxor for one more night before disembarking the next day. Then they flew us back up to Cairo and we went to the Abdeen Presidential Palace, which is modeled after the Palace of Versailles in France - but I think it’s prettier! We had a special lunch there and took a tour of the palace. This was another very exclusive experience through AmaWaterways as most tour companies do not get access to the palace. We went back to the Four Seasons where we’d stayed at the start of our trip and enjoyed our last evening in Cairo. Before settling in for the night, the Ama team provided us with all our necessary information for getting home the next day, so well organized. We went to sleep, got up ridiculously early the next morning, shuttled to the airport, went through security multiple times (a theme of the trip – I’ve never felt so secure in my life), and flew back home. Cue sad face.

What was your experience like onboard the AmaDahlia?

Our experience onboard the cruise ship was absolutely incredible! Our stateroom was phenomenal – plenty of space with a lovely balcony. Every night onboard we had what they call a Sip & Sail Cocktail Hour where we were able to socialize with other people in our group and swap stories about the day’s adventures. One evening we also had an Ama Family Reunion pre-cocktail hour for past Ama guests. There was a toast, and we all went around the room sharing how many AmaWaterways cruises we’d been on – this was my third. For one guest this cruise was their tenth one! Just a testament to this wonderful company and the services they offer.

One afternoon onboard we had a cooking lesson where we made Egyptian style falafel and Egyptian donuts with many dipping sauces, which were all delicious. We also indulged in the alfresco chef’s table dinner, which is something everyone gets to do once during your sailing. Be sure to sign up for your preferred night on day one of being on the ship. The dinner is done for a smaller group of people, and it included a preset menu with multiple courses. There was so much food! There were appetizers, a big meat course with a giant rack of smoking meats, and lots of decadent desserts. It was a fun experience because the dinner was held on the back of the ship outside. The décor was pretty and there were fun lamps and cozy seats. They even had blankets in case people got chilly.

The after-dinner entertainment on the ship was always top notch. One night we had a whirling dervish who came onboard and spun for twenty-five minutes straight. Another night there was a belly dancer. My favorite was “Egyptian Night” where we were all encouraged to wear galabayas and headpieces and all sorts of Egyptian-style accessories. They had a professional photographer onboard so when we arrived to the party we had our pictures taken. They had special music and some games to play, a pass the bottle game, a mummy wrapping competition (my husband and I tied for first place). It was a great time for everyone.

Finally, I can’t say enough good things about our Egyptologists and Crew. Marwa, the Egyptologist, was incredibly knowledgeable. She provided us with so much information throughout our trip, but in a way that we could really absorb and understand all the different time periods and characters. She was a great storyteller and educator, and a genuinely lovely person. Walaa, our cruise manager, kept everything running like clockwork. He took his job very seriously but you knew he really enjoyed being with the guests and cracked plenty of smiles. Rafik and his team took such great care of us in the dining room, in our staterooms, and more. Every single person involved was wonderful, from the servers to bus drivers. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people.

Any final thoughts or words of wisdom to share?

Even though Egypt feels like a once in a lifetime trip, I think you could go back every 10 years and there would still be many new things to see. The Grand Egyptian Museum was partially open when we were there but should be fully opened later this year. There are so many artifacts in the country that they’re working on multiple other museums in Cairo, as well. Everywhere you go there’s an active archeological site, and they’re unearthing new artifacts literally every day. New tombs, new mummies, new sarcophagi, new jewelry, new pottery. New (old) everything! I think there could be lots for you to see each time you go back. Even though most of the country is populated along the Nile, you could also go to Alexandria, which would be a very different experience since it’s more of a Mediterranean feel in that part of the country. There’s just so much to see and do, and even if you had some repeat activities or sights, it would be worth it. This was without a doubt an unforgettable trip of a lifetime, for sure. I’ve loved everywhere I’ve ever traveled, but this one gave me that “pinch me” feeling like I’ve never experienced before.

Join Us! Nova Vista will be hosting a live virtual event on Tuesday, August 29th at 7:00pm ET where Becky will be sharing more photos and stories from her trip alongside one of her clients, Lisa, who traveled to Egypt with Becky. Both will be available for Q&A if you want to learn more about taking your own Egyptian adventure.

If you’re interested in booking a river cruise with AmaWaterways, get in touch! Their Egyptian schedule just opened up for 2025 and they now have two ships – the AmaDahlia and the AmaLilia.