Along a little further, farmers tend buffalo as donkeys graze on lush riverbank grass and white cranes hunt for breakfast among the reeds.
This is part of the picture of life in upper Egypt as day breaks over the River Nile, and I'm watching it from the comfort of my cabin bed as we cruise from Luxor to Aswan in the upper reaches of this vast waterway.
Little did Cleopatra know what trend she was setting when she first set forth in her royal barge on the Nile in an effort to impress Julius Caesar.
For now, more than 2000 years later, cruising down the Nile is the second most popular tourist activity in the land of the Pharaohs – after a visit to the Pyramids at Giza.
Cruising the Nile has been a popular pastime since the Middle Ages, but the ships have never been as stylish as they are now.
The latest vessel to ply the river is Abercrombie & Kent's refurbished Sun Boat IV, guaranteed to rekindle the romance of adventure inspired by Agatha Christie's murder mystery.
Fitted and furnished in a rich, but contemporary art-deco style, its five decks offer maximum comfort and great panache. Public areas are spacious, some have a warm, clubby feel with dark wood panelling, chrome trim and leather chairs; others are more opulent and elegant – with Italianate chandeliers, plush velvet furniture and atmospheric murals of Nubian scenes.
Cabins are roomy, with floor to ceiling windows, double curtains with reflective glass for privacy, plenty of wardrobe and storage space and compact yet practical closet bathrooms. Fresh fruit and flowers, silk cushions, stocked mini bar, endless bottled water and flat-screen TVs add pampering touches.
Only 80 guests travel in the 36 luxury cabins, two presidential suites and two royal suites with balconies, ensuring maximum service from the crew of 65.
We board in Luxor where, in the peak season, up to 250 cruise ships undertake the three to four-day cruise between this ancient city of Thebes and Aswan, 205km upstream.
Today dozens of large cruise ships are lined up against the eastern bank. Ours is distinctive, with stylish white Middle Eastern shade tents on the upper sun deck by the pool.
Our first visit is to the extraordinary Karnak Temple with its lotus-topped columns, and images from the attempted murder scene in Death On The Nile come instantly to mind as we enter the great hypostyle hall of Tuthmosis III.
We marvel at its size, and understand how this area is one of the largest open-air museums in the world.
To ensure we absorb the rich culture of this remarkable land, we have on board knowledgeable Egyptologist Methad A. Monem, who has helped bring to life the romantic and complex history of the ancient Greeks and pharaohs for cruise passengers for some 10 years.
We soon learn that at 6680m and one of the longest rivers in the world, the Nile is indeed the lifeblood of Egypt. Prior to the construction of the Aswan Dam, the annual floods brought silt to the river valley and provided fruit and vegetables to help feed the country's many millions of inhabitants. The river also aided construction of the ancient temples – enabling workers to float down stone and granite from nearby quarries with relative ease.
A gaily painted wooden boat ferries us across the river to the west bank to visit the extraordinary temple built by Egypt's first female ruler, Hatshepsut, and some small, elaborately decorated workers' tombs at Deir el-Medina.
We descend into the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Some of the lesser known ones are best, we decide.
Then it's back to the town and a visit to the Luxor Temple, whose stone pillars and statues are a soft pink in the setting sun. Our visits to sites seem to be programmed in reverse order to the masses and we often find we have the monuments to ourselves.
On board, a kitchen brigade of 25 produces exceptional fare, baking outstanding pastries, breads and cakes daily for morning and afternoon teas as well.
Dishes might include carpaccio of beef with parmesan or smoked salmon salad to start followed by a tasty grilled Nubian-style chicken or excellent groper from the Red Sea.
One night we are treated to an Egyptian-style banquet with guests dressed in long-flowing galabiyyas, beaded headdresses and scarves wrapped like turbans.
We sail through the night, via a lock at Esna, to our first stop at Edfu. Here we do battle with eager stallholders keen to sell us their colourful wares, as we make our way to the ancient site dedicated to the falcon god Horus.
It's the best-preserved and most complete of the ancient Egyptian temples. One can just imagine a performance of Aida being acted out through its impressive entrance and vast open court.
Next day we sail on to Aswan, with some passengers sunning themselves by the pool, and others immersed in a good book on sun lounges. After lunch, we view the high dam and later visit the bazaar with its colourful array of spices.
As we enjoy our last evening on board, feluccas sail past, the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer and the sun sets over Mohammed Shah Aga Khan's ornate mausoleum in the sandy solitude.
Except for a few modern hotels and the proliferation of cruise ships, the leisurely paced lifestyle in the Nile Valley has changed little over the centuries, indeed perhaps since Cleopatra pushed off in her first royal barge.
- The writer travelled courtesy of Emirates and Abercrombie & Kent.
The Sunday Telegraph
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