Quick answer
Agatha Christie knew Egypt well: she spent a winter in Cairo as a young woman and took a Nile trip in the 1930s, staying at Aswan's Old Cataract Hotel, before publishing Death on the Nile in 1937. The 1978 film was shot on location, using the paddle steamer Sudan, the Old Cataract, Karnak, Abu Simbel and the Giza pyramids. Today you can stay at the hotel, sail on the Sudan and see the same temples.
Did Agatha Christie really visit Egypt?
Yes, twice that matter: as a young woman she spent a winter season in Cairo with her mother, and in the early 1930s she travelled up the Nile, the trip that inspired Death on the Nile.
The Cairo winter, around 1907–08 by most accounts, was spent at dances and polo matches at the height of the British social season, and gave her the setting of her first, unpublished, novel, Snow Upon the Desert. She returned in the 1930s, by then married to the archaeologist Max Mallowan, and is generally said to have cruised the Nile and stayed in Aswan in 1933. Egypt kept appearing in her work: a Poirot story set around a cursed tomb in the 1920s, a Parker Pyne short story also called "Death on the Nile", and Death Comes as the End (1944), a murder mystery set in ancient Thebes. Exact dates of her visits vary between biographies.
Her second husband's work mostly took her to Syria and Iraq rather than Egypt, which is why Murder in Mesopotamia and Appointment with Death are set further east, but Egypt was where her taste for archaeology and travel began.
The Old Cataract Hotel, Aswan
The Old Cataract is where Christie stayed and where the novel's characters gather before boarding their steamer; it still stands above the Nile and trades proudly on the connection.
Built by Thomas Cook and opened in 1899, the hotel's terrace looks across the river to Elephantine Island and the granite boulders of the First Cataract. Today it is the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract, with a suite named after Christie and a terrace that is the classic place for afternoon tea at sunset. Non-guests have usually been able to visit for tea or dinner by reservation, sometimes with a minimum spend; check before you go. It features on our Luxury Egypt in 14 days journey, and our guide to Egypt's historic hotels covers its rivals.
The steamship Sudan
The Sudan is a historic paddle steamer from the Thomas Cook era of Nile travel; it played the novel's steamer, the Karnak, in the 1978 film and still carries passengers between Luxor and Aswan.
Sources differ on its exact building date, but it dates from the early decades of the 20th century, and its owners say Christie herself sailed on it. With a small number of cabins, wood panelling and a slow, steam-era pace, it is one of very few ways to recreate the 1930s experience. If you would rather have the same intimacy on a sailing boat, compare it with a dahabiya in our Nile cruise vs dahabiya guide.
Where does the novel's cruise go, and can you follow it?
In the novel, the Karnak sails south from Shellal, above Aswan, to Wadi Halfa at the Second Cataract, stopping at Abu Simbel; almost all of that stretch now lies under Lake Nasser.
When the Aswan High Dam was completed around 1970, the Nubian Nile valley was flooded for hundreds of kilometres. The temples were moved: Abu Simbel was cut up and rebuilt about 65 metres higher, and smaller temples were regrouped on the shore. The closest modern equivalent is a Lake Nasser cruise between Aswan and Abu Simbel, which arrives at the temples by water as Christie's passengers did. Our Lake Nasser and Abu Simbel journey follows that route.
Where was the 1978 film shot in Egypt?
The 1978 Death on the Nile, directed by John Guillermin with Peter Ustinov as Poirot, was filmed largely on location in Egypt, which is a big part of its lasting appeal.
Scenes widely reported to have been shot in Egypt include:
- The Giza pyramids: the couple climbing the Great Pyramid, which visitors are no longer allowed to do.
- Karnak: the near miss with a falling stone among the columns of the hypostyle hall.
- Abu Simbel: the passengers' visit to Ramesses II's temple.
- Aswan: the Old Cataract's terrace and the river around Elephantine.
- The Nile: the Sudan, as the Karnak.
The cast included Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Mia Farrow, David Niven and Angela Lansbury, and Anthony Powell won the Academy Award for its costumes. Exact scene locations are based on published accounts and may not be complete.
What about the 2022 film?
Kenneth Branagh's 2022 version was filmed mainly on sets in England, so its Egypt is largely recreated, including its Abu Simbel.
Some aerial and background footage of Egypt was reportedly used, but the main cast did not film at the monuments in the way the 1978 production did. If the newer film is your inspiration, the real places are still there: Abu Simbel, the Nile at Aswan and the temples of Luxor. Our guide to Egyptian cinema covers other films shot in Egypt.
How do you plan a Death on the Nile trip today?
Stay at the Old Cataract, sail the Nile on a historic steamer or dahabiya, and reach Abu Simbel by water if you can.
- Cairo: stay at a historic hotel near the pyramids and see the Great Pyramid that Linnet and Simon climb in the film.
- Luxor: Karnak at opening, and a drink on the terrace of the Winter Palace, which opened in 1907 and was the base for Howard Carter's backers in the 1920s, when Christie's Egypt-obsessed era was at its height.
- The river: the Sudan or a dahabiya between Luxor or Esna and Aswan.
- Aswan: two nights at the Old Cataract, with a felucca around Elephantine at sunset.
- Abu Simbel: by Lake Nasser cruise, or by road or air from Aswan.
Pack a copy of the novel; reading it on the Old Cataract terrace is a pleasure few other literary pilgrimages can match.
Frequently asked questions
Where did Agatha Christie stay in Egypt?
She is most associated with the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan, where she stayed on her Nile trip in the 1930s. Earlier, as a young woman, she spent a winter in Cairo.
Can you sail on the boat from Death on the Nile?
Yes. The paddle steamer Sudan, which played the Karnak in the 1978 film, still operates cruises between Luxor and Aswan. Cabins are few, so book early.
Was Death on the Nile (2022) filmed in Egypt?
Mostly not. Kenneth Branagh's version was largely filmed on sets in England. The 1978 film was shot on location in Egypt.
Can you visit the Old Cataract Hotel without staying there?
Usually yes, for afternoon tea, drinks or dinner by reservation, sometimes with a minimum spend. Check the hotel's current policy before you go.
Is the novel's route still possible?
Not exactly: the Nile south of Aswan is now Lake Nasser. A Lake Nasser cruise from Aswan to Abu Simbel is the closest modern equivalent.
