Meira’s world

May 2001

Before I embark on the next stage of my journey – off to Prague on Thursday evening – I figured I’d better tell you about my 8-day trip to the Sinai.

With so much time to kill in Israel before my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course was set to start in May, I was debating where to travel for a week or so, close and as cheap as possible. I first toyed with the idea of Turkey, but chickened out, being overwhelmed by trying to organise everything on my own and with the thought of travelling on my own, as a lone woman. So the next destination that popped into my head was the Sinai, the huge triangular peninsula of mainly desert land and mountains below
Israel and belonging to Egypt. (Israel did capture the Sinai in 1956 and in the 1967 war but gave it back to the Egyptians as part of the peace settlement between the 2 countries in 1979.)

I had previously visited the Sinai in January of 1996, so travelling there alone was not such a scary prospect, considering I had basically done that the previous time. Plus I could prepare myself a bit better. And best of all, I knew it would be real cheap.

I had mentioned the idea to a very good Israeli friend of mine, Danna, who I knew wanted to travel there to say hello to someone she knew, but had heard nothing more from her. Then Tuesday afternoon 24 April she phones me to tell me that she had organised to leave first thing the following morning and did I want to come. Taken aback by such a sudden hastening of departure time, I needed half an hour to decide that it would be much better to travel there with a friend, albeit at such short notice.

So 8 o’clock the following morning (Wednesday) the bus left from Tel Aviv to Eilat. It was a very uneventful 5 and a half hour trip, but passed through the beautiful desert scenery of the Negev. There were no problems at the border crossings and soon enough we were in a taxi driving from Taba (the Egyptian city on the other side of the border from Eilat) to Nuweiba. The road to Nuweiba follows the coastline, a beautiful sight indeed of clear water with varying shades of blue, signifying the coral reefs. The mountains on the other side of the sea are those of Jordan and, further along, of Saudi Arabia. In this part of the world, the mountains appear a light purple against the vivid blue of the water. The distance across the sea (Gulf of Aquaba) is only about 10-12km, so I was told.

Most shocking and surprising to me was the large number of resorts being built along the coast, a new one every few kilometres. Most seem to be standing empty. I kept wondering where they expecting the sheer number of visitors to come from, especially considering that since the resurgence of the Israel-Palestinian violence in October 2000, very few if any Israelis have been visiting the region. The string of hotels and resorts certainly spoils the natural scenery, not to mention what it’s going to do to the coral reefs.

We arrived in Nuweiba at 4 in the afternoon. We stayed, however, in the tourist “suburb” of Tarabin, a collection of largely informal bazaars and accommodation along the beachfront. For the first 2 nights we stayed in a hut Karmina Camp – a straw hut with only 2 mattresses on the floor. It was exceedingly cheap – 15 Egyptian pounds (about $4 or R32) for the hut per night split between the 2 of us. This, however, was not really my cup of tea – offered no protection against noise, especially of dogs barking.

So after Danna left first thing Friday morning (being Israeli, she was very concerned as to her situation there), I immediately upgraded my lodgings to the relatively “expensive” City Beach Village, where I had my own room (brick nogal!) with toilet and shower, hot water, and even air-conditioning, for 40 Egyptian pounds a night ($10/R80). Yes, compared to the first it seems expensive, but it’s really not that bad, and infinitely preferable to huts (yes, I’m afraid I’ve lost a bit of the adventurous spirit). Of course, it would have been cheaper if I’d had people to share with. The reason I chose this particular accommodation was the wide stretch of beach it overlooked that was mainly pebble free. And it was really quiet.

In fact, Nuweiba/Tarabin was deadly quiet, more like a ghost town. Since it primarily depends on Israeli tourism, it has been suffering badly since October. Many places may have no tourists at all for days on end. This of course gives those tourists who do visit good bargaining power, and having heard how much more expensive Dahab is, I put my rudimentary bargaining powers to work and bought some presents.

So what did I do for the 5 days I was in Nuweiba? Well, not too much really, especially considering how little there was to do. But this was also one of my goals – to try and do nothing much. So many times one goes on holiday and tries to fill all one’s time with doing stuff. This time, I wanted to learn to do nothing – just sit and watch the beautiful sea, feeling the sun on my limbs and allowing my mind to wander. Well, I did manage to accomplish this to some degree – developed a light tan much to my delight (after almost 5 months of winter in New York, I was reflecting light rather than absorbing it .

As for doing nothing, well, I always seemed to be doing something, talking to some locals and some tourists, or just walking along the beach. And then on the Sunday morning I took a short tour/trip to the Coloured Canyon, a 2-hour walk through a canyon whose walls are shaded/striped red, brown, grey and some other faded colours (supposed to be blues and greens). It was a very agreeable walk which I took with 2 young Russians from whom I discovered how difficult it is for Russians to get travel visas. If South Africans think it’s a difficult process, it’s nothing compared to that faced by Russians. As I heard from others, there’s a great fear of the Russian mafia which results in the restriction of visas for Russian tourists. So they are left to travel to countries like Egypt, India and Thailand. They only managed to get a 15-day visa for Europe, and it’s practically impossible to get into the States. So count your blessings South Africans!

I must admit that while I enjoyed the quiet and tranquility of Nuweiba, I was starting to miss the company of fellow tourists. So on Monday afternoon I caught the bus to the much bigger and more bustling town of Dahab further down the coast. Having previously toured St Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai and parts of the desert interior 5 years ago, I was prepared to just hang out in Dahab for a few days.

I approached Dahab with some trepidation – the little I remembered from my previous visit prepared me for a noisy experience. And when I arrived in a much-expanded and continually growing city, my fears increased. It was so much bigger than I recalled and I wasn’t sure I was going to like the new Dahab. But fortunately, my fears were laid to rest when I discovered that it was not so noisy as I’d expected. In fact, it’s pretty chilled, but before those who’ve been there before say “Of course! It’s always been like that”, let me inform you that Dahab is no longer hippy heaven (as such). Dope (grass) smoking has never been legal in the Sinai but was benignly tolerated until last year when the Egyptian police cracked down on the activity. No more do you see people lounging by the waterside smoking dope through hookahs/nargillahs or even cigarettes. In fact, I heard that 15 people were recently locked up. So for those of you planning to visit, keep this in mind.

On the other hand, Dahab has become a diving mecca. Every second camp/accommodation seems to be a diving centre now. Dahab does not depend on Israelis (or “Israelians” as they are called) for business; it attracts visitors from Europe, America, Australia and even South Africa who come to partake in the rich diving opportunities afforded by the beautiful coral reefs. Some roads are even brick-paved, and there are many small hotels now. No huts but small rooms. When I visited 5 years ago, I was told how commercialised it had become. But now, there’s no comparison.

Supermarkets, internet cafes and even barber shops populate the streetways. Jewelry stores that wouldn’t be out of place in any major Western city. You can even eat at Indian restaurants. Shopkeepers still call out and try to entice you into their stores but not as
aggressively as before.

Tuesday morning I went exploring the streets, and got tempted into going snorkelling. Having never snorkelled before (what! A Durban girl like me….), I was a bit nervous. In fact, as I put my head under water the first time I almost felt I was going to panic about breathing! But soon was feeling at home in the water. Being a weenie or woes when it comes to cold water, I first went in with a half-wet suit, but this did not prove wholly necessary and soon it was discarded. Two American guys I’d met the previous night joined me snorkelling by Penguin Village where they were staying. They pointed fish and things out for me, showed me how to make short dives underwater and all in all, it was a great afternoon.

The next day (Wednesday) I took a day trip up the coast to Blue Hole (where we did a bit of snorkelling before the sky clouded over) and then went on camel to Ras Abu Galoum where we had lunch and snorkelled some more. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great that day – it even rained from time to time. This time I used the half-wet suit! I must admit it’s very scary when you go out by the reef and the water is unclear, even murky, when the sky is clouded. Vague shapes or movements of light made me panic for a sec, bringing
to mind sharks or other undesirables. But supposedly sharks are most rare here.

On the camel on the way back, the Bedouin boy leading the way asked me if I was married. I said no, and asked him how old he thought I was. He said 15, 16, oldest 20. I then told him I’m 27. His immediate response was “Don’t you like boys?” A little taken
aback I answered Yes, I do like boys, but where I come from and in America, people get married in their 30s. He looked very doubtful about this whole matter. I asked him if he was married and he said yes. He’s 20 years old. People get married at 16, 17, definitely by 18. Oh well – worlds apart we are.

The next morning I made my way back to Israel.

So ends my Sinai expedition.

A few notes: I must admit I got a bit sick and tired of being hassled – a woman travelling on her own in a Muslim country. Actually, it’s not really the fact that it’s a Muslim country per se because, strictly speaking, Muslim men aren’t supposed to even look at women. But in the Sinai, where the Egyptian and Bedouin men (the women are at home behind the scenes) seem to have ‘forgotten’ their religion (as one observant taxi driver told me) – they not only speak to women but will touch them. I resented the invasion of personal space. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe other women tourists don’t mind it so much. But I get annoyed when the men feel that it’s their right to speak to you, calling out as you walk: “Just a minute, just a minute. I want to talk with you.” I try to be polite – say hello – and walk on. And then once I got called arrogant because I didn’t want to talk to them.

That being said, I highly recommend the Sinai to anyone wanting a cheap holiday in beautiful warm surroundings, especially for those with an interest in diving and snorkelling. The desert too is magnificent to visit. Those who would like to find out more about costs, where to stay, etc, please feel free to ask away.

Til we meet again!

Meira….