Theres no better immersion into the wonders of ancient Egypt than a sailing along the Nile.

Uniworld’s opulent new river ship is a journey for the ages.

The sunbaked temples and tombs on the banks of the Nile River are books penned in stone.

Two photos from the Karnak Temple Complex, one showing the back of a man as he looks at the ruins, and one showing a Ramses statue

From left: The Karnak Temple Complex, in Luxor, dates back to the 21st century B.C.; a statue of Ramses II at Karnak.Emli Bendixen

You do not pass through them as mere physical spaces.

These walls are legible, carrying missives from another world.

But I had also come to fulfill a childhood dream of exploring the relics of ancient Egypt.

Two photos of the Uniworld Sphinx Nile river cruise ship, one showing the boat’s exterior, and one showing cocktails on board

From left: Cruising down the Nile; cocktail hour on the Sphinx.Emli Bendixen

A river cruise, among other things, is a study in repetition and rhythm.

There is a dignity to this river that is palpable, yet difficult to explain.

But the rivers dignity is also conjured just by the sound of its name.

Two photos from Egypt, one showing a man and his son on a traditional boat, and one showing sunset over the Nile River

From left: A sailor and his son aboard a traditional Nubian felucca; sunset over the Nile River, between Karnak and Dendera.Emli Bendixen

TheSphinxis billed as a floating five-star hotel.

El-Sayed is the ships manager, and together they launched theSphinxin September 2021.

(TheSphinx also offers four Royal Suites, which have separate living rooms that are fit for entertaining.)

Two photos from Egypt show a fisherman in a small boat, and a temple at Philae

From left: A fisherman checking his nets near Luxor; the Temple of Philae, near Aswan.Emli Bendixen

Is your husband coming down?

he would ask Bendixen with concern if she arrived at the table before me.

Meals were served on the first-level deck, which came with arresting water-level views.

Two photos from Egypt show a Colossus at Memnon, and boys on a rock cliff by the Nile River

From left: One of the Colossi of Memnon, near Luxor, completed in 1350 B.C.; locals frolic along the banks of the Nile near Aswan.Emli Bendixen

For me, it was blissful relief.

A river cruise, among other things, is a study in repetition and rhythm.

Occasionally, the ship becomes a portal through which time travel seems genuinely feasible.

Two photos show a hotel in Aswan, Egypt, and two men at a table on the deck of the Uniworld Sphinx ship

From left: The Old Cataract Hotel, in Aswan; Sphinx ship manager Sameh El-Sayed and Egyptologist Hazem Khalaf on the sundeck.Emli Bendixen

It consists of two 59-foot-high seated statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which have stood since 1350 B.C.

Ruined and effaced almost beyond recognition, they nonetheless convey an almost supernatural severity Id never experienced before.

In Egypt it happened over and over again.

A view of the Nile River from the Uniworld Sphinx river cruise ship

A view of the Nile from the Sphinx, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ newest ship.Emli Bendixen

(Nubia was an early northeastern African civilization that ruled over parts of modern-day Egypt and the Sudan.)

We went bird-watching one morning among the islands.

When you take the boat against the wind you have to tack back and forth, Khalaf explained.

Steering a felucca on the Nile is like driving in Cairo!

On one side of the river the steep, velvety dunes of the Sahara fall dramatically into the water.

ASWAN REPRESENTED the climax of the cruise, and after that we retraced our route to Luxor.

Upon landing in Cairo, political realities reasserted themselves.

Its good that the Pyramids and their hypnotizing, noseless guard arrive at the very end of the voyage.

I can think of nothing that could fairly compete.

I smiled at her and continued toward the immense mounds of stone.

It demands precisely such a reaction, I thought, as my own eyes began to well.