My new home...
January 26th 2010 06:59
Dahab is a wonder
Amongst the mountains
It is
What you make it
IlHumdilalah
Meya, Meya
Salam Aleikum
Travel for adventure.
Physically, mentally, emotionally and spirituality.
Take what you can from each experience and tick the boxes if necessary.
Expect differences but at the same expect similarities.
People are people all over the world; it is their culture and way of life that is unique to you.
Treat all others with respect and learn from their shared thoughts on life.
Here I am in Dhahab. In the daytime it is a Scuba Diving haven with lots of stray cats and at night it is a funfair full of lights and tourists. This isn’t all that dahab has to offer though.
Dhahab is situated on the Red Sea coastline and it is only one hours drive from Sharm El Sheik. (Easy jet had many cheap flights straight to Sharm)
If your looking to see Egypt in another light and want to see more than Cairo has to offer than this is the place to explore. For one thing you will never get lost as there is only one main strand situated on the water where you’ll find all the shops, Bazaars, restaurants, pubs, and dive shops. That’s about all there is other than the necessary service shops and that’s all that’s really needed.
The people can hound you as you walk by but they are usually friendly about it. ‘You have a beautiful smile,’ ‘Where are you from?’ How many camels for you?’ are normal passing by sayings everyday. It sure is a good ego boost. The Egyptian men seem to always try with the Western women, well any woman that walks by for that matter, even if they know they don’t have a chance.
The good thing about Dhahab is that after a few weeks they recognize you and stop hassling you and begin to welcome instead into their land, especially if you explain you live here. You can also add ‘fill mesh mesh’ to any annoying men while passing, as it means ‘only when the apricots are in season’, which means you’ll never have a chance. Its always one that makes them laugh, that is if they haven’t heard it already.
I must admit this place can be hard for women to become accustomed to as their way of life can be intimidating. I must admit my dad was quite cautious about me traveling to ‘the dangerous depths of Egypt, as he called it. I find men to have similar interests in mind when talking to females all over the world and Egyptian men are at least tasteful with their hassling. Most times it is purely to get business and gain money from people.
The Egyptian way of life seems very relaxed and understanding of others which I admire. They are fairly poor but happy with the simple things in life. People aren’t rushing from place to place and over-working.
The Bedouin people make jewellery and sell it to the tourists as they have succumbed to consumerism. The children are taught to walk around town selling to tourists as they have sweet touch and way of communicating well; some even able to speak four different languages. They seem so confident at such a young age but this can turn into demanding behavior, as they always want more and more out of the foreigner. I try to explain to them that I have no money but to them I will always have more money then them.
From the seaside you can see the mountains of Saudi Arabia and when the sun goes down the flat sea reflects the backdrop with all different, glowing shades of pink. The mountains to the West are postcard perfect and look somewhat out of place. As I arrived at nightfall I was amazed my first morning at the wonderful sight.
As I have already explained Dahab’s main tourist revenue comes from diving as the reefs and underwater spots are diverse and offer amazing underwater sights. One particular dive center, Desert Diving offers great courses for beginners and Advanced as well as opportunities for training growth, such as your Dive Master and Instructor. When you arrive a Bedouin man, unknown by name, dressed in traditional Muslim white clothes and a headscarf comes to you with Egyptian tea, which is a strongly sugared mint tea very popular to Egyptians at all times of the day. It is not uncommon to have ten small cups a day.
The atmosphere of this particular place is easy to fit into within a week and there are friendly people coming and going all the time. You can go at your own pace and the instructor is more of a helping hand while learning a new skill. The restaurant within the dive shop also has a great reputation and friendly staff for a bite between dives.
If you prefer the poolside relaxing holiday do not despair as the beach front is lined with lounge chairs for time in the sun.
Everyone that I have met here are in this kind of trance. It is not quite reality yet still everything is so real. People don’t just laze around and read books all the time but rather they have jobs, houses and partners. It’s the fact that the people seem to be happy with their jobs, houses and partners. There is no ‘more’, and no ladders to climb but just contentness within their sphere.
Let’s take my friend for example. She is a scuba diving instructor and she has now stayed in Dahab for 5 months and still counting. She doesn’t want to leave as she can work short hours and still live easily as the costs of food and accommodation are very low. Another friend came to Dahab for 10 days for a holiday and as soon as she went back to England she knew she had come back to live. Even in the street or at the dive center I hear people in passing saying how much they want to stay. Then you have your veterans that have stayed for 7-10 years as they love the lifestyle. I just wonder how long I will indeed stay. Forever is quite a strong word but I can definitely say it’s tempting.
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