R I V E R S U T R A

Anita Limaye had a sense of floating down the centuries as she took a cruise on the Nile on her first evening in Cairo

   MY WEEK-LONG vacation in Egypt in May with my husband was a dream come true for both of us. Never in our wildest dreams had we imagined that during his service in the Army, would we get a chance to visit the land of the pharaohs, the very fountainhead of settled civilisations. But thanks to his posting to a UN Mission in Lebanon, we finally set off to see Egypt. After much meticulous planning and research, we finally settled on a tour which included Giza, Cairo and Alexandria.
   First off, upon our arrival in Cairo was the Nile Cruise, possibly the most eagerly awaited part of our itinerary! More so because of the much talked about belly dancers on board! We opted for a two hour dinner cruise on the Nile on the 5-star Nile Crystal. The two-deck ship was entirely air-conditioned, with a buffet dinner complete with eye catching carvings made from vegetables and fruits.
   With groups of tables and chairs all around, we could sit anywhere, so we picked a nice spot next to the huge glass windows to enjoy the view of the sunset on the Nile. As the ship set sail, we were informed that the buffet was ready so we could help ourselves and then go to the deck outside to enjoy the night lights of Cairo. The last 45 minutes were reserved for the entertainment show — including the belly dancer!
   Starting with a mocktail called Pink Lady (which my son and I shared, while my
husband tried Egyptian wine!) we helped ourselves to bits of everything on the buffet including fish, chicken, pasta, stir fried potatoes, salads and breads, not to mention strawberry soufflé, pastries, ice-cream and fresh fruits!
   Through dinner, an Egyptian singer crooned Arabic songs. He sounded totally off-key to me but no one seemed to mind as everyone was having such a good time! Out on the deck, a wonderful breeze had begun blowing along the Nile, wide and almost overflowing. We were awestruck by the fact that we were actually seeing the lifeline of the world— the place where civilisation began centuries ago. We saw the Cairo Tower in the distance, along with a multitude of hotels right on the bank of the river. The lights shimmering in the distance were breathtaking and words still fail me when I try to describe how we felt then.
   We quickly made our way downstairs to find seats in a prime location, to see the entertainment. First came the orchestra with their traditional musical instruments like a stringed ukulele and conical drums. Then — finally — the belly dancer appeared, in a stunning white costume! She was beautiful, with delicate features and long blonde hair which touched her waist. A sheer net cloth went over her revealing bustier till her waist and a long skirt made also made of net swished around touching the floor, making all her movements very graceful.
   She seemed to enjoy the show as much as all of us tourists around her! Very gracefully she pulled up people from individual tables and coaxed them to dance with her. She also posed with people on each table as a photographer captured the moment — for posterity, but for a price, as we discovered!! As this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, no one wanted to miss out on taking home their moment with the belly dancer, so everyone bought the photographs, including us!
   Next came another traditional Egyptian dance called the Sufi Tanura, and the performer was actually more mesmerizing than the belly dancer. He did the entire 20 minute sequence rotating constantly, like a Turkish dervish. Indeed, like them, he wore a three layered skirt and carried what we call daflis. While revolving, he did tricks with the daflis, sometimes revealing all 6 and sometimes showing only two or three.
   Then he loosened one layer of the skirt and removed it from above his head, discarding it after he had wrapped it to resemble a baby. When the second layer came off, he held it high above his head as he spun around, and even swished the third skirt with one hand! He too was game for photos with all of us and we complied with alacrity as we were truly mesmerised by the fluidity of his movements and the fact that he didn’t seem to be in the least bit dizzy after all that rotating! A couple of more dances followed, but none as good as these two.
   Thus ended our first night in Cairo, fittingly with the Nile serving as the link between ancient Egypt, today’s Arab Egypt and we as travellers from another antique land....