It’s easy to summon the ghost of Agatha Christie at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan — particularly on the softly lit patio as another day fizzles out in a riot of colours over the Nile and the usual suspects assemble for cocktails. This is Hercule Poirot territory. It was here — at one of Egypt’s grandest, most decadent hotels — that Christie wrote her much-loved Death on the Nile featuring the Belgian detective, and it is here that the story begins.
In February UK audiences will be treated to Kenneth Branagh’s Hollywood adaptation of that sweeping tale of death, blackmail and skulduggery, with an all-star cast including Sophie Okonedo, Annette Bening and Gal Gadot, plus Branagh as Poirot.
The film is one of many notable events that will make 2022 a landmark year for Egypt and its tourism industry, also including: the opening of the long-awaited and spectacularly impressive Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza; the 200th anniversary of the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone, which allowed us to decode hieroglyphics; and the centenary of the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time.
The best way to soak it all up is the same way Christie did during her prolonged sojourn here in 1937 — a cruise up the Nile. Not only are all the big tombs and temples within easy reach of the mighty river (they had to be to transport the building materials), but it’s also the most direct route between them — not to mention the most serene and relaxing.
The luxury operator Abercrombie & Kent offers a series of such cruises, including the one I’m embarking on — from Aswan to the ancient capital of Luxor, over four nights. The tour begins with a night at the Old Cataract, which sits on a great granite outcrop above the Nile, with Elephantine Island and its 5,000-year-old ruins just a few hundred yards across the water.
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Much of this grand hotel looks exactly as it did during Christie’s visit, from the restaurant named 1902 (think full white-glove butler service) to the revolving door that features prominently at the start of the novel. Even the author’s favourite rocking chair is still intact, sitting in the lobby alongside the mahogany writing desk where she plotted each move for her moustachioed Francophone hero and his “little grey cells” while gazing out across the Nile.
During my visit almost all the hotel guests — predominantly British and American — are here to embark on a Nile cruise of some description, and I join 31 of them the following morning as we board the sleek, well-appointed Sanctuary Sun Boat IV at a private dock in Aswan. The vessel is capable of housing twice as many passengers, but business is still recovering post-Covid, so we’re treated to extra space on board and smaller excursions.
Each group of four or five is assigned a dedicated Egyptologist for the duration of the trip, and one of the best things about the reduced numbers is closer interaction with these experts. In our case it’s an engaging academic from Luxor named Mohamed Abdel Rehim, a man blending all the brains of Poirot with the archaeological energy of Indiana Jones.
Like Christie and her characters in Death on the Nile, we ascend the longest river in the world at a leisurely pace, stopping at key sites along the way, including the incredible Temple of Isis at Philae on Agilkia Island — which was rescued and reconstructed piece by piece after being flooded by the original Aswan Dam in 1902.
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At nightfall on the first day we reach another magnificent spot: the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek — which we explore by torchlight, adding to the cinematic effect. There are no crocodiles left in this section of the Nile, thanks to the dam forming a permanent barrier, but our guide explains how it used to be full of the reptiles and ancient Egyptians revered and feared them, carefully observing their nests as a reliable barometer for how far the Nile would flood each year.
Today the river is more predictable, travelling straight and true towards Cairo and the Mediterranean beyond, with fewer twists and turns than Christie’s writing (the Nile is one of the minority of rivers in the world that flows south to north).
On the approach to each town the river traffic increases, and the great aquatic highway swells with motor launches, fishing boats and traditional sailing feluccas. Merely being on the Nile — listening to the strange, subtle harmonies of the old waterway as we float past gleaming minarets and crumbling ruins — is a treat, particularly in the soft, slanting sunlight of late afternoon.
As with any Nile trip, the Valley of the Kings — dominated by the pyramid-shaped mountain peak of Al Qurn (the Horn) — is a highlight. Of the 64 royal tombs discovered here to date, nine are open to tourists, including that of Tutankhamun, the Boy King, whose macabre mummy is on display in his final resting place, teeth bared in seeming defiance behind a glass screen.
The good news for King Tut, exactly 100 years after the British archaeologist Howard Carter interrupted his eternal repose and carted off his mind-boggling treasure, is that there is talk about closing his tomb to the public — a case strengthened by the fact that there’s an exact replica of the burial chamber a few miles down the road, at Carter’s former home.
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While easily the most famous, Tutankhamun’s tomb is far from the most impressive in the Valley of the Kings. Such an honour would go to that of either Amenhotep II or Tuthmose III (“the Napoleon of ancient Egypt”), with their deep, multipillared halls and flamboyant hieroglyphics, detailing everything from the birthing of heirs to the smiting of enemies. The artwork in Amenhotep II’s tomb is so vivid and ridiculously well preserved that it feels as though you’ve stepped into the 1400s BC.
Our four-day Nile trip ends in decidedly un-Christie-like fashion. Instead of sitting in a small room as a murderer is unmasked, we meander through the sprawling temple complex of Karnak — an extraordinary open-air network of sandstone sanctuaries, statues and obelisks, representing the second- biggest religious site in the world after Angkor Wat — in the golden glow of sunset.
It is from here that the famed Avenue of the Sphinxes, recently reopened with much pomp and splendour after a 3,000-year hiatus, runs to the equally impressive Luxor Temple, more than a mile and a half away.
You don’t need to be Poirot to see that after a catastrophic 2020 (during which tourism revenues plummeted to £3 billion, from £10 billion the previous year) Egypt has invested huge amounts of cash and effort in what it hopes will be a big comeback in 2022. From the Avenue of the Sphinxes to the much-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, a blockbuster year awaits.
Jonathan Thompson was a guest of Abercrombie & Kent, which has an 11-night Egypt in Style trip from £4,665pp, with full board on the Nile cruise and the rest B&B, including flights, transfers and guiding (abercrombiekent.co.uk)
What are the rules for Egypt?
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All visitors to Egypt aged six or older are required to complete a health declaration and passenger locator form on arrival, and show proof of a valid health-insurance policy.
You must also prove that you were either fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least 14 days before arrival or show a negative result from a PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival in the country (96 hours for those who are arriving from Heathrow).
UK travellers need to obtain a tourist visa, costing £19 for single entry or £45 for multiple entry (visa2 egypt.gov.eg). Facemasks must be worn in indoor public spaces and on public transport.
The FCO advises against travel to the governorates of North Sinai or South Sinai, beyond the Sharm el-Sheikh perimeter and the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta region (gov.uk).
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