Posted by on December 20, 2019 4:23 am
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Categories: µ Newsjones

The steamship Sudan is the last of its kind. 

Built as a gift for King Fuad I of Egypt in 1885, the vessel eventually changed hands and was recommissioned as a Nile passenger ship by British entrepreneur Thomas Cook in 1921, just in time to capitalize on the golden age of Nile cruising. For over a decade, the Nile swelled with an influx of such steamships. It was the best way for well-heeled travelers to escape dreary British weather for a month or more in order to sail leisurely between the archaeological sites of Upper Egypt. At the time, the Sudan was considered one of the Nile’s most luxurious vessels. Its original decor features all the Belle Époque comforts—dark wood-paneled walls, sturdy brass bed frames, wall-mounted telephones, ceramic bathtubs, sweeping carved wood staircases, rattan deck furniture, a bar lounge filled with chesterfields, so forth—a floating palace of British imperialism.

In its heyday, the ship hosted numerous dignitaries, socialites and other notables, perhaps most famously Agatha Christie, whose 1933 voyage on the Sudan inspired her novel Death on the Nile. The corresponding 2004 ITV adaptation for Agatha Christie’s Poirot (starring a young Emily Blunt) was filmed on location on board the Sudan.

Read more at The Daily Beast.