Dahabeah

A dahabeah, also spelled dahabeeyah, dahabiah, dahabiya, dahabiyah and dhahabiyya, as well as dahabiyeh and dahabieh (Arabic ذهبية /ðahabīya/), is a passenger boat used on the river Nile in Egypt.

The vessels have been around in one form or another for thousands of years, with similar craft being depicted on the walls of the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs.

Indeed, the name derives from the Arabic word for "gold", owing to similar, gilded state barges used by the Muslim rulers of Egypt in the Middle Ages.

[2] However, Thomas Cook Ltd introduced the steam boat on the river and brought with them the organisational know how to turn a three-month voyage into a 28-day sight-seeing tour.

Sir John Gardner Wilkinson's 1847 book "Hand-book for travelers in Egypt" goes into great detail on how to hire a dahabiya.