The arts of making coffee (felucca tour)

There are several ideas for felucca tours on this website - apart from the idea, that you can enjoy sailing for hours without needing a destination to go for.

At many places, where you get out to see Nubian Houses, you will feel hassled - worst of all is Gharb Sahel Village (not advised - 90% of all tourists are brought there to make them shop souvenirs.)
But here, at this house, you will be probably be the only guest. You can sit down in the shadow of a tree on some pillows, see boats on the Nile passing by, and watch how the boy makes coffee:

The coffee is roasted on coal. They also add sandalwood to the coals which is responsible for the smoke you see on the top picture, left side.

Then he grinds the coffee and adds spices (see picture left side): ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom. All is mixed in the wooden pot with the roasted coffee, then put in the "Tschabana" with water (see top picture, right side), to be cooked on the coal. In the end he uses some straw as a filter to pour out into small cups, adds the sugar and stirs it well.

This coffee is really good and not only for the taste: I had three cups around 2 p.m. and did not start to become tired until 13 hours later: On this day I went to bed at 4 in the morning!

Before we left, we had a tour around the house behind this beautiful place. See the yard, have a look inside the sleeping rooms and the kitchen. In the middle of the yard, they keep crocodiles in an aquarium - I dont like them too much, even if they are small - but I made a picture anyway (see last photo). They have also a square meter with some jewellery to sell, but it was only there and nobody asked me to buy some (which I appreciate very much!).

There is another house behind: a very quiet place with a stable for goats. Of course I had been shown the rooms again, in the last room were Nubian women sitting, I had not expected to see them and I am not sure, if I had shocked them by suddenly standing in the doorway. Of course I did not make a photo, this is not a zoo, but I left 20 Pounds tip for the boy. He refused to accept the tip and I told him, it would be for the women and he smiled and promised to give it to them.

When we left, I knew this would be the felucca tour I would most recommend on this website!

One felucca
each hour 9 USD

About one hour to sail to there, spend one hour to relax and then sail back (takes longer coming back - about 2 hours) = 3-4 hours

If no wind to sail:

• Motorboat to tear the felucca against the current and then sail back quietly (without motorboat) with the current (relaxing and beautiful):
felucca each hour
13 USD
plus 1x 14 USD for the motorboat

or

• Motorboat only
- if no wind:
cheaper than felucca plus motorboat
(but motorboat is loud, felucca is quiet)
- if you don't have much time (motorboat is faster than the felucca)
each hour 14 USD