With the Dahabiya from Luxor to Assuan: "Welcome home" on the Cleo

What actually is a Dahabiya?

In short: pretty much the opposite of what most people understand by a Nile cruise.

A Dahabiya is a traditional sailing houseboat, with which European travelers sailed up the Nile as early as the 19th century, often for weeks and with their own crew. Instead of several decks, a pool, and a buffet for a hundred guests, there are a handful of cabins, a large sun deck, and a lot of tranquility. The Cleo has exactly ten cabins.

Anyone who has ever seen how the large Nile ships dock in rows next to each other in Luxor and walks ashore over the neighboring ship quickly understands why this number makes all the difference.

From Luxor to Assuan

The classic route, just at a completely different pace.

We boarded in Luxor and traveled upstream towards Assuan. This is the classic route through Upper Egypt, where the large ships are also on the way. Along the way are the lock of Esna, the Horus temple of Edfu, the ancient sandstone quarries of Gebel el-Silsila, and the double temple of Kom Ombo, which stands right by the water. A Dahabiya also stops where the large ships simply pass by, and it is exactly these little stops between the big names that make the route so special.

Shoes off, slippers on

The first moment on board already says a lot about the next days.

Before I even see my cabin, I am asked to take off my shoes. There are slippers for this, and from then on, one walks around the ship just as one would shuffle through their own home. That sounds like a small matter, but it is quite a clever trick: With the shoes, a piece of everyday life stays behind on the shore. After two hours, I no longer thought about it. After two days, it seemed rather strange to me that one even wears shoes on land.

A crew that remembers how I drink my tea

Yes, I know, "the crew became family" is in every second travel report.

I write it anyway because it is simply true here. The crew and tour guides on board anticipated our every wish, answered the many questions I, as a trained archaeologist, had, tailored the program to our needs, and never made us feel that anything was too much.

On the second morning, my drink was on the table before I had ordered it, and it was exactly the way I had drunk it the day before. With ten cabins, this is not a magic trick, one might say now. True. But that is exactly why ten cabins are the true luxury: you get to know each other, the crew knows their guests, and the guests know their crew.

5:30 PM: Tea time on deck

My highlight on every single day, and I would have never thought that beforehand.

At exactly 5:30 PM, birdsong comes from the speakers. This is the sign that tea, coffee, and small snacks are waiting up on deck. I would have never believed that a hot tea would calm me down in this heat, but what is served here is a traditional recipe made from local herbs, and the name Cleopatra fits the feeling I have when I gaze at the lush banks of the Nile and take a deep breath.

With the cup in hand watching the sun slowly disappear behind the palms on the west bank was my personal highlight of the day.

An evening in Galabeya

The evening when the crew exchanged their shirts for Galabeyas.

One of the most beautiful evenings was the one the crew organized just for us. Instead of in shirts and classic evening uniforms, they suddenly stood before us in traditional Galabeyas, served us dinner, and then brought us to the deck with music and dance. Whether we made a good figure in the process, I will leave open at this point.

It was beautiful to see how they celebrate, how they dance, and how naturally they share this joy with us. One of those evenings that cannot be found in any program and yet is never forgotten.

Does it rock? No.

My greatest concern before the trip, and it was completely unfounded.

When we decided on the Nile, one of my first questions was how it feels on the water. Does the boat sway? Do you get seasick? We were assured from the very beginning that you hardly notice this on the Cleo, and I believed that about as much as the statement that traffic in Cairo is actually quite relaxed.

In the end, it was true. The Nile is a calm river between Luxor and Assuan, and the Cleo lies so stable in the water that at some point I simply forgot I was even on a boat.

No harbor, no noise, just stopping wherever it is nice

The biggest surprise of the whole trip had nothing to do with temples.

The large Nile ships must dock in the harbors in the evenings, usually closely packed and right in the city. The Cleo does not. It is small enough to just dock where it is nice: at a quiet bank spot, a few palms, nothing else. No buzzing from the neighboring ship, no music from the promenade, no city. When you go to bed in the evening and wish nothing more than absolute silence, it is a gift that can hardly be measured with money.

The Nile from the sun deck

Where to even begin?

With the endless green along the banks, which abruptly transitions to desert after a few hundred meters as if someone had drawn a boundary with a ruler? With the animals cooling off in the river? With the fishermen and farmers for whom the Nile is not a postcard motif, but a workplace and lifeline? Or with the temples that appear along the route by the shore as if someone had strung the history of Egypt like pearls on a thread?

Honestly, I can't decide.

Full moon over the Nile

The one image that remains.

If I close my eyes today, I see no temple relief, but the moon on the water. We were lucky to be on the way during the full moon, and that evening the whole landscape lay in a light I had never seen before. The water, the moon, the silence, and the Cleo lying quietly at the shore. One of those moments when no one needs to say anything.

Would I do it again?

Immediately. And as often as possible.

In the end, it is the little things: the slippers, the birdsong at half-past five, the tea with the name of the ship, the waiter who knows how I like my drink, that turn a beautiful trip into something that gives you a bit of homesickness as soon as you disembark. The Cleo became my home for a few days. And it is well known that you don’t stay away from home for long.

The Cleo at a glance

• Ship type: Dahabiya, traditional Nile sailing houseboat
• Cabins: 10
• Route: Luxor to Assuan or vice versa
• Stops along the way: including Luxor, Assuan, Esna, Edfu, Gebel el-Silsila, Kom Ombo
• Overnight stay: at quiet bank spots instead of in the city harbors
• Ideal for: Travelers who want to experience Egypt on the water in a personal and private atmosphere and enjoy

Here I was home for a few days:

Hotel Recommendation

Cleo

The Cleo is the perfect way to experience Upper Egypt in peace, whether as the centerpiece of a round trip with Cairo, the pyramids, and Abu Simbel or entirely on its own. We know the ship and its crew personally and will tailor your Nile journey to suit you.