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nights with dress-circle balconies above
the Nile. Taw feek and Ber to's contacts and
experience ensure that touring the megacity's
main sights is as hassle-free as possible in a
notoriously pesky place.
On day three we fly to Luxor to board Viking
Ra. The ship is not simply transpor t; it's a
sanctuar y from the noise and boisterousness
of Egypt, somewhere we're guaranteed great
food, the good company of fellow passengers
and staff, downtime in the lounge bar or on
the pool deck, and a sound night's sleep in
spacious river front staterooms.
Executive chef Leonidas Kritharas and his
team are a highlight of our days. Break fasts
and lunches are buf fets of fresh, delicious
of ferings (fresh mangoes and figs, terrific
pasta made to order, salads with oregano
from his home in Kalamata), while dinners
are multi- course af fairs. A standout is his
family-st yle Middle Eastern banquet with
a stop en route by Kom Ombo temple to
admire its classical form illuminated beside
the river.
Between shore stops we're kept constantly
enter tained with cooking demonstrations,
lessons on hieroglyphics and Arabic and
a wheelhouse visit with Captain Nafady
Mohamed. Does he have a favourite stretch
of this shape-shif ting river? "The whole Nile
is beautiful," he says.
THE ATR IUM , V I K I N G ATO N
