Dahabieh (Dahabeya) ship
In the mid-19th century, before Thomas Cook imported modern steamboats from Scotland, Dahabieh (Dahabeya) ship Nile cruises were popular with European travelers to Egypt. Numerous travel guides and travel diaries (“Hand-book for travelers in Egypt” Sir John Gardner Wilkinson – 1847, “The English woman in Egypt” Sophia Lane Poole – 1844, “From A Thousand Miles up the Nile” Amelia Edwards – 1873, “From Egypt La Mort de Philae” Piere Loti – 1909) describe in great detail how such a Dahabeya river cruise was experienced from the point of view of the tourists of that time.
In 1847, Sir John Gardner Wilkinson describes in a very practical way in his travel guide “Hand-book for travelers in Egypt” the extensive preparations that have to be made before setting off. Ships were first sunk to remove bugs and rats, then holes were patched and walls repainted. R. Etzensberger, Keith Johnston describe in their book “Up the Nile by steam” in 1872 that a Dahabiya could stand in one place for up to a week with no wind and under certain circumstances could only be towed further up the Nile by the crew.