Recent Posts
I'm driving along the main street of Dahab. We are in a small jeep, which accounts to the majority of the cars here as they are cheap and good taxi cars as everyone is a taxi here. With the desert on our doorstep they are also useful for Safaris and treks through the rugged mountains.
There are no signs in Dahab as its a small town but that doesn't mean there are no rules. The constant use of horns let the oncoming traffic know where you are going, are going to pass, or so they see you coming. At night the same usage is with the lights. A small flash of the light will explain the same thing to other motorists but the use of lights doesn't seem to be just about seeing in the dark. Strange but true you will see cars driving without their lights on streets with no streetlights apparent. I remember in Australia when I forgot to drive with my lights on and the police pulled me over. In egypt for one there are no patrolling police cars, and two they sure wont pull you over for doing anything illegal.
Once I was shocked to see a 12 year old drive past me in a van. Nobody seems to make a stir at this sight. And so I didn't ask is there a minimum age limit for driving?!
So this one day we are driving along, and the jeep decides to stop in the middle of the main road to talk to the car next to us. The next thing we see is the driver pulls the gear stick out of its socket and passes it across through the window to the other driver. The men talk for a while, and luckily no other cars come through as they would have had to wait. There is more talk and then they pass the stick back. The driver puts it back in, and I see the man searching for something in his box. He then passes a bolt or screw across through the passenger side and the driver places it into the gear box. They say their farewells and off we drive, just as a car drives up behind.
Now that is how you fix a car.... while you are still in motion.
People are not preoccupied with their own happiness but instead they want to share their knowledge, thoughts and laughter. The spice man in Asala, a small suburb out from the sea, once told my friend all the advice in the world when really he just wanted some spices. The old Sheik, as he liked to call himself, had all the time in the world to chat and share with a stranger.
Another thing the Egyptians seem to not worry about is time. When you’re waiting for someone for an hour or so it’s quite normal, as Egyptian time is no time whatsoever. There is also the unspoken rule that if you say you will wait for someone you will always wait no matter how long they take. I know you may think working would be impossible but when it comes to work the Egyptians are extremely strict and they usually work long hours. Especially if they own a restaurant or manage a business sometimes the hours of work can be from 8-9am until 12 at night. Of course they are free to run errands, go home, eat, and sometimes rest but they still have to be in work mode all day and every day as there is no such thing as weekends. ‘To take a day off,’ says Mustafa ‘would not be looking after ‘my’ place.’ I reply with ‘Then what about looking after you?’
There always seems to be a lot of people hired within each job to do minor tasks. I previously worked at a bar where there were lots of Egyptian men; who knows what all their names were, but they all had a small specific job such as Sheeshas, or glass collecting. To me as a person used to working in the hospitality business in Australia and England I am used to doing everything at once such as serving, cleaning, clearing and all the extras.
Their restaurants all have cushions and small tables so when you eat, you rest as well. My friend once told me that one day she spent 18 hours in one particular restaurant called ‘El Salam’. Now that has to be relaxing.
The people that pass through seem to vary immensely as there are the tourist tourists, who pop through to look, swim, and sun bake naked or with little on and spend loads of money on unnecessary things. The Bedouins see them coming with dollar signs around their necks and they know they can overprice them.
When you come to stay longer than 2 weeks or decide to live here you become a ‘local’. This can give you cheap prices from restaurants and shops. The locals vary extremely though as there are old hippies, young hippies, chilled out people, party people, loads of divers that are all ages and nationalities. The list is endless. Now there seems to be a lot of Russians embarking on the adventure to Dahab, and their babies are seen flying around on the beach doing baby yoga.
There is one thing about being a local and that is people begin to recognize you, remember your name and know all your business. There is one main road and that is the strip to the sea. To walk from one end to the next would only take 1/2 an hour to an hour. The Central strip where all the hassling occurs is only for around 5-10 minutes walk. Each day you’ll get pick up lines that will make you laugh and then comes the day they seem to give up as they know you only ever go to one restaurant and that their not going to make any money out of you.
The young Bedouin girls walk around trying to sell bracelets to everyone. They are like mini-adults as at the young age of 10 they seem as independent as I am at 22. I have so many bracelets, some in which I’ve made myself, and they still try to rope me in.
Shara and Hannah seem to me my closest Bedouin girls and they always invite me to their parties and tell me the ongoing happenings of Dahab. Shara said to me one day, ‘I will show you how to make a bracelet, we can make it together.’ This is a moment in time that will be remembered and that memory will last with the bracelet now on my wrist.
More Bedouin-
Shara and Hannah are my favorite little Bedouin girls. I now have 7 bracelets, 2 in which I made myself and one that a present. Their livelihood depends on how much money they can make from selling homemade bracelets to the tourists. Sometimes I give them money to buy food and other times I will buy those presents like chocolate. When I bought them kinder surprises you should have seen their faces when I opened the packets. Comparing these girls to a spoilt little brat in Sydney I love to see the small things in life are still treats.
Shara invited me to her sisters wedding party but when it came to the day they couldn’t find me as of course phones are not a valid form of communication. It would have been a great experience for me to see them all dressed up in traditional clothing and see the traditional activities take place. Of course the girls wear scarves covering their hair and usually have long trousers, and long tops. I feel I should cover up at times as it’s not necessary to show off your body against traditions. In Cairo I received looks and stares at my appearance and it really made me realize just how different I am to them.
They followed me around as if I was famous and constantly wanted photos of the beautiful girl. After a while the crowds are intimidating and it is quite a strange sensation of worth amongst these people who are but strangers. Even when you walk down the street they say hello to you, remember your name if you have said it before and are always welcoming. I mean of course they want you to come to their restaurants, shops or offer you a taxi but at least there is openness and willingness to open their hearts to others. I have made ten times the amount of friends I did in London where I spent more time.
I asked the students today 'Where in the world they would like to travel and why?'
I like to try to open their minds and bring in creativity as the system here is very much based on book work and exams. So when I give them something to think about they sometimes sit and stare and ask again and again, 'What do we have to do?' You can do whatever you like as long on its about the question. Hmmm... I see them thinking, clocking it over in their minds. When always given a task, you seem to want to do your own thing, but here they want the task to make their minds up for them.
[ Click here to read more ]
I am siting in a small town Egyptian Café watching the football with the men. I don’t feel scared at all as I am accepted in this town having Moustafa at my side. There is a small television with two huge speakers blaring out the football. African teams I don’t know of are battling it out sweating profusely in their shirts. The man across from me orders a Turkish coffee that comes in a small jug and the waiter pours it for him. Steam stirs above it. I get a sprite and sip slowly letting the bubbles settle.
The pray call sounds from the nearby speaker and the TV’s sound is turned down. Nobody goes to pray they just turn the sound down while the eyes or bodies do not turn away from the screen. It sometimes seems to be just like bells of a church sounding the time of day and slowly nobody even recognises the sound.
[ Click here to read more ]
Miles -
Miles came and wanted to have a fullfilling life but only found hardship, that he somewhat gave to himself. His mother was a coke addict, and his father kicked him out with his brother at age 15. At the age of 23 he managed to get a job, but he really did not have his heart in building. Nor anything else for that matter. He wakes up every morning with shaking hands as he lights his first cigarette. Some days he can’t seem to get out of bed at all, which doesn’t seem to impress his boss. This turned into a few days a week, and then he didn’t have to go to work at all anymore as he was fired.
[ Click here to read more ]
A 47 year old feminist who comes back to Dahab to revive and relive what Dahab used to be. She has weathered skin and small shades of grey but she is lively in spirit. She works as a social teacher in Holland all the women with heartaches seem to have deflated her once optimistic view on life. My first conversation with her lasted 6 hours without a break as time by like with long lost friends. She had things to say that made me think, and she pulled things out of me I didn’t know existed. Although there is a large gap in age, and she could be my mother, here age no longer creates restrictions on who you should speak to. There is no snobiness about who you should be ‘allowed’ to chat with.
Annie tells me of ‘the good old days’ of no electricity and little beach shacks and a certain peaceful quietness. Now the tourists seem to be the worry and concern and the peoples main income.
Once she recused a dolphin that refused to go back to the deep waters as some Bedouins had started to feed it. She was able to teach and tame the animal until an Israeli boat come and rescued it.
[ Click here to read more ]
|
|
|
Add Comments
Comments (2)
Read More
Comment by Anna Cameron
on Bedouin friends
AnnaBanana
Real World Stories
An Aussie in Egypt
I do need to fit into a place to feel like it is home, therefore I am careful with what I wear. No matter what I always remember I am in their country!