Dervish

    Our final night aboard the Amwaj-Livingstone, we were treated to a belly-dancing demonstration followed by a whirling dervish. A dervish is a devout Muslim practitioner who, as part of his prayer ritual, may break out in energetic spinning as part of his worship.

    I showed up late to the party in the lounge, but as I joined my group, the young man started his performance. He wore a bright red costume with a broad skirt of many colored panels. Accompanying him were two percussionists and a synthesizer keyboard. The music started fast-tempoed and just picked up speed, as if on a dare. The dancer spun on his bootheels for a solid 20 minutes, doing juggling and balancing tricks with five, soft tambourine-sized discs. 

    Soon the lights dimmed and his whirling skirt lit up with dozens of tiny LED lights in the fabric. Then his skirt floated up like a flying saucer, up to his head, revealing another colorful skirt underneath, and he's whirling two skirts simultaneously. Then he takes his second skirt off and twirls it over his head like a six-foot pizza pie, and then takes it for a walk among the audience, whirling it over our heads as he strolls around the room. Through his regimen, he kept a smile on his face with a playful grace. The whole act was really spectacular. To be honest, I can guess how he felt. I'll try to keep it brief.

    Tuesday our boat docked at the village of Kom Ombo, so we could explore the remains of the temple of the same name. You'd think looking at Egyptian ruins day after day would become boring, but it's really just the opposite. Each ancient site holds special meaning, special artwork, special place in the incredibly long history of early Egypt. And the amount of chiseled artwork and hieroglyphics that exists at each site is astounding. And Hany's description of the significance of it all keeps our group equally parts spellbound and enlightened.

    Kom Ombo (with the mummified crocodiles museum!) on Tuesday.

    A trip through the locks at Esna early Wednesday, viewed from the comfort of the bow railing.

    The sprawling temple complex at Karnak in Luxor late Wednesday, with the third item on my bucket list: obelisks.

    The Valley of the Kings and King Tut's tomb (with his mummified body!) outside Luxor on Thursday, followed by the temple of Hapshepsut.

    Throw in a pre-dawn hot-air balloon ride above the Valley of the Kings, and various transfers between luxury riverboat to 5-star hotel to a return flight to Cairo to another 5-star hotel, and it's easy to imagine that my little group has been whirling non-stop like a ... well, like something that moves endlessly and effortlessly and, above all, spectacularly.