Oases of Egypt Map of the Western Desert and Fayoum

In the second half of the 19th century, Egypt 

became the main destination for European

tourists in search of adventure, exoticism and the

mystery of its origins, following in the footsteps

of great writers such as Flaubert, Gérard de

Nerval, Pierre Loti and Agatha Christie. The

first cruises on the Nile were organized using

large sailing boats called dahabeya. A famous

French writer said, “Going up the Nile! These

two words meant the most ideal journey a man

can undertake.” It was the English entrepreneur

Thomas Cook who, around 1880, introduced

the use of the first steamboats to go up the Nile

and be able to visit the monuments of Pharaonic

Egypt more quickly. Even today, sailing on

the great river that crosses the country like a

major road remains the best way to visit the

extraordinary archaeological sites of Egypt.