002 - A Journey on the River Nile

On board of Steamship Sudan

Dear friends,

Time flies, 2 weeks into this newsletter experiment, I’m amazed by the warm welcome you’ve given this space. It’s great to see so many of you here, lots of familiar faces & names whom I know have been following my work for years, and a big bunch of new people.

Over the course of the next year, I’ll hope to slowly build a new way of engaging with my work here, see it as a fortnightly dinner conversation about photography and life. Sometimes I’ll share lessons learned, unique behind the scenes access to projects, travel stories, or tips to improve your own story-telling. A bit of everything.

To see more of this work, check it out here.

This edition I’d like to speak about a recent assignment I’ve embarked on in Egypt, exploring the length of the River Nile for Voyageurs de Monde on board Steamship Sudan last December. As a kid, I grew up reading cartoons and watching films about ancient Egypt on repeat, mesmerised by pharaohs, pyramids, secret civilizations, hidden treasures, and of course by Cleopatra.

Getting married to my own Cleopatra last August, therefore seemed like a perfect opportunity to invite my beautiful newly-wed wife and excellent writer Jess, to join me on this journey back in time on the Nile.

For this journey to Egypt our eyes fell on Steamship Sudan, a historic, early 20th-century paddle steamer that cruises along the Nile River. Built in 1885 for the Egyptian royal family, later transformed into a cruise ship by Thomas Cook, and nearly lost to time before being painstakingly restored, the Sudan is a vessel from another era and from the first minute I discovered it, I was obsessed with one-day doing a story about it. The dream was to shoot the entire story on my 53-year old Mamiya RB67 camera and Voyageurs de Monde agreed that this was the best way to do it, and assigned the story to us, and so it began.

Stepping on board, I felt it immediately - the way history clings to its corridors, the way the river hums softly beneath its hull. Unlike the modern cruise ships that ply these waters, and seem totally out of place to me, the Sudan is smaller, quieter, more intimate. With its polished wood, and old-world charm, it belongs to a time when travel was an art form, and when Egypt was the stage for grand archaeological discoveries and story-telling. We are lucky to sleep in the Odilo suite on the upper sun deck, just behind the captain’s bridge.

Egypt is a land of contrasts, a vast desert split by the life-giving Nile, turning its banks into a green oasis. But it’s so much more than just a river, it connects ancient civilization with the increasing complications of modern life. Aside from seeing the countries rich history everywhere you go, traces of European colonial influence are apparent in every part of society too. Religion is the dominant force in everyday life, in the same way it has been for thousands of years, but modern-day issues like water scarcity, overpopulation, climate change, and an ongoing diplomatic debate on river dams, are on the rise.

Each morning, we start our day on the deck, sipping strong Egyptian coffee at the break of dawn, while chatting to captain Salem. Palm trees drift past in a blur of green, and veils of hazy smoke drift across the water. On the banks people are burning wood, and morning prayers echo in the distance. Children splash in the shallows, fishermen cast their nets. It feels exactly like how I imagined this place to feel in my childhood fantasies.

Inside the ship, time slows down further. Men in linen suits play backgammon in the salon, glasses clink, and the deep melodies of the ‘oud’ - a traditional Egyptian stringed instrument- fill the air. An impeccably dressed waiter greets me with a “Bonjour, habibti.” Family-style tagines and lentil salads are served on monogrammed china and French toast with homemade hibiscus jam is served. Everything suggests we are in the 1920s - except we are not. The Sudan, carefully restored, keeps the past alive.

For 10 days I photograph the entire experience, on board, and on land. We meet the people that live on the banks of the river and listen to their stories. Stories of change, but also stories of holding on to the olden days, as change is perhaps coming too fast.

It makes me contemplate on how the river has shaped Egypt for millennia, not just in geography, but in spirit. It is so much more than water, it is a thread that stitches past to present, myths to reality, people to place. I think of weavers and tapestries, of pyramids, temples and steamships, of names forgotten and names remembered.

I got a little taste of Egypt’s soul: a place where time folds, and faith, ancient and contemporary, flows together as seamlessly as the Nile itself.

If you would like to see more of this work, check it out here.

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In 2 weeks from now: Why I am shooting film?

In the next edition, I’ll be sharing why I believe shooting analogue film is fostering more creativity and understanding of photographic story-telling, and why it helps you more than anything in finding your unique voice, and therefore why you should ultimately consider trying it.

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Where Else Can You Find Me?

• Website: www.pieaerts.com

• Instagram: @BecausePeopleMatter & @PieAerts

Let’s build something meaningful together.