Felucca is a small, primitive wooden sailboat used in Egypt. In Aswan, tourists love to be part of a felucca ride on the Nile River. While observing the exotic nature, maybe singing and dancing with the tour guide and the small crew, they see a curious scene: children in a tremendous effort to approach the boat.
The kids use rudimentary mini boats. Intelligent and kind, they know popular songs from a lot of countries. By paying attention to how a tourist speaks, they spot their origin. Next, they sing popular music from the tourist’s land. For this reason, people call them “the singing kids of the Nile.”
The kids are trying hard to captivate our attention to get some money — a tip, or baksheesh, as we say in Egypt. Yes, it’s a wise strategy, but we can feel the innocence and sincerity involved. Always humble, they don’t want to ask for money, so they appear to offer “a service” in exchange for it.
Pause
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Heart touching.
I ask you one simple favour: to pay attention to them. To see the grace in what they do. And to give them some money. I mean, baksheesh.
Agreed?
There’s a detailed post on this blog to cover felucca rides on the Nile, with photos and tips for your visit. I also talk about the famous Old Cataract Hotel, closely linked to the writer Agatha Christie.
G.P. DAMAS
» I live in the Algarve (South of Portugal).
» My first fiction books, for young adults, were published in the early 2000s in Portuguese — a time travel adventure and a drama about child adoption, both with thousands of readers. I also wrote books and guides about travel and technology. Screenplays are my greatest passion.
» This blog is the English version of my G.P. DAMAS (Portuguese language, online since 2010). English is not my native language.
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