Other Things To Do in Dahab

So sad.  Due to a back injury the same week, I was unable to go kite surfing, snorkelling or take that long awaited scuba lesson.  Although it has given me every reason to go back.

 

Poisonous fish do not touch.

Wadi Connection

 

Two hours into the desert on horseback is the rather rustic settlement Wadi Connection.  John, a yoga instructor, had been the day before and felt a spiritual connection to the place.  The Bedouin owner, self proclaimed, Rasta of the desert, quite proudly offered that he has, he thinks, five children with different mothers. Impressive.  I have a feeling that John’s spiritual connection is directly related to what is in the sheesha.



Dahab After Dark

Kindred Spirits



The smokeless cigarette in action.



Diving all day is exhausting.

Dahab Life

Enna watching for the sunset.

Worth the wait.

Blue Beach Club

 

Located just beyond Dahab Bay, this small boutique hotel offers spacious rooms, and panoramic views of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Sinai Mountains.
Each room has a balcony or terrace with views of the hotel gardens, the Red Sea or the Sinai mountains.

Furry Cup Bar serves local and import beer, cocktails and light pub-style snacks. Rooftop Beach Bar offers sunset views and a weekly BBQ party.

  It is nice to have a bar on site for refreshments after a long day of hiking.  If you need info on diving this one is popular with the dive instructors.

Guests can relax by the beachfront swimming pool which overlooks the Gulf of Aqaba.

Blue Beach also offers an on-site PADI dive club, horse riding lessons, Arabic language courses, and yoga classes.  Blue Beach Club is a 5 minutes’ walk from the famous Eel Garden dive site, making it a perfect base for divers. The shopping and restaurant areas are just a 2-minute walk from the hotel

I will definitely stay here again.  With everything that they have to offer at about $40 per night including breakfast, I am not sure you could do better.  It is also very nice not to be right on the main but still close enough that it is a short walk back to your room.

Tea in Dahab

I admit that I have a soft spot for goats.  Must be that my star sign is Capricorn.  As I was touring the alleys looking to see what the crazy goats were up to I met up with a gentleman on his way home.  He asked if I would like to take some photographs from inside the walls where more animals were kept.  I accepted the invitation and went into a complex made up of many courtyards with concrete block half walls.  He kept a couple of camels in one of these.

As it turned out he was returning home for tea time and invited me to stay.  I followed him deeper into the maze and turned the last corner to find his family around the fire with tea already brewed.  None of them seemed surprised to see me and immediately invited me to sit down and join them.


 The girls’ English was very good and it was nice to hear their perspective on many subjects.  They really enjoyed having their pictures taken but like women everywhere, they were hard to please and critical of themselves in the photos.  Looking at them, this was hard to understand.

The father welcomed me in and essentially dropped me off with the women.  He took a glass of tea and wandered away only to return for his sheesha when we were finished our tea.

Nuweiba, Egypt

At a stop for lunch in Nuweiba, after our hike in the Coloured Canyon we took advantage of the deserted beach for a swim.  An unsuspecting local fisherman keeps his pants dry while making his way to the boat.

Sweet kidd

Coloured Canyon



Me and Mo, our guide,  just before we go off road.


Just before we turn to go off road into the desert, beside the road is a hut set up by one of the local Bedouin families to sell jewelry, made by the women and young girls, and desert fossils and geodes collected by the men from deep in the desert.

The Coloured Canyon is just north of Dahab on the Sinai Pennisula.  Located in the Sinai Mountains it is a popular area for hiking.


Roadside stall for the Bedouins to sell their wares.



The long and winding road.

Vrksasana – Tree Pose

 

Millions of years earlier, the Sinai Peninsula was under the water of the Red Sea and as the waters receded they carved out deep grooves in the surface of the land. The canyon provides striking evidence of this activity.  You are able to see the composition of the canyon walls, which are primarily sandstone and limestone in a wide variety of shades, colors and hues.

The Bedouin of Sinai consist of 14 distinct tribes who have developed a intimate relationship and respect for their environment.  Water is regulated closely and vegetation conserved.  It is considered to be like “killing a soul” to kill a tree. 
Life of the Bedouin centre around clans and their leaders.  Tea is customary and is taken in rounds of three.  The traditional dwellings are tents made of goat or sheep’s wool.

Eid-Ul-Adha

Eid is a Muslim tradition that is celebrated all over the world.  Eid-ul-Adha is also known as the sacrifice festival feast that occurs about seventy days after the end of Ramadan.

The celebration of Eid-ul-Adha is to remember the willingness of the prophet Abraham to give up his son Ishmael, for God.



During Eid there are goats, sheep, cows, and camels all over the city.  Live animals are for sale in the street or even in the grocery store.  For a day or two the air is filled with the sounds of them in the street and in holding areas at peoples homes and apartments.  A day later things are quiet again.



Thank God for mobile phones.


 

Leftovers



It is said that according to the customs, meat has to be divided into three equal parts among the family, friends and neighbors, and those that are less privilaged.



One of the many forms of food transport in Cairo