Dahab

i have to admit that i've been a bit spoiled since arriving in Egypt. first, Mohammed loaned me his apartment and ushered me around town for two weeks. most recently i was treated to a wonderfully relaxing vacation in the Red Sea coastal town of Dahab. the month of Ramadan ends with the three-day Eid Al Fitr festival, and many Cairenes take this opportunity to head out of town for a quick escape from the slightly maddening bustle of the city.

my friend Meghan has a standing invitation from a friend who owns a hotel in Dahab (here's the restaurant, located just a couple feet above the Gulf of Aqaba and looking across at the mountains of Saudi Arabia). his name is Shams and he is a living breathing example of the famed Egyptian hospitality. i don't think i've ever encountered such generosity. we stayed in his hotel with a friend of Meghan's from India for four nights and he refused to allow us to pay a piaster. we had to resort to trickery and friendly bullying to be allowed to pay even for our meals.

in addition to putting us up for free, he drove us around this beautiful area of the Sinai Peninsula, where rocky mountains and sandy desert meet the sea. the diving and snorkeling in the Red Sea is supposed to be amongst the best in the world, and the surrounding desert scenery is stunning.

here's Meghan and Shams and Meghan and Adi, doing what we did best in Dahab. Sharm El Sheikh to the south has a reputation of being the vacation destination for those who prefer the resort life. but Dahab, with its more laid back atmosphere and seaside boardwalk is perfect for those of us who like to relax without being walled in. we spent our hours indulging in the quintessentially Egyptian pastimes of backgammon, tea and shisha, and debating the relative strengths, weaknesses and quirks of our respective countries of egypt, india, canada and the u.s.



and then... the time came to head back to home and reality. across the stunning Sinai, past the turnoff to St. Catherine's monastery and Mt. Sinai, where Moses is said to have received the 10 Commandments. through a tunnel under the Suez Canal and back to the hectic city...

a strange sort of reality hit home, though, before we even left Dahab. i realize that traveling with an American passport has always given me an ease of movement that many in the world don't enjoy. the guards at the checkpoints that are littered throughout Sinai never gave my passport a second look. but it also got us a personal "security" escort all the way back to Cairo. apparently the Egyptian government isn't taking any chances with American tourists, and so we were issued with a guard who accompanied us on the 8 hour journey home. i'd honestly have been much more comfortable without, but i'm not sure my opinion mattered much.