Editor's Note: If there are tons and tons of sppeling mistackes and grammatical errors in this latest entry, please do not fret. These have been two of the longest, craziest, exhausting, and exhilirating weeks I have spent in a long time. Proceed with caution.
Hi everyone, I'm back. The three of you who read this blog with any kind of regularity will notice that it's been a while since I last posted. The reasons for this are threefold: 1) I've been totally consumed with final exams for my Hebrew ulpan, which is officially over (collective sigh of relief). 2) The Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Succot have kept me out of my dorm room, away from a computer, and on various treks. 3) I'm completely exhausted. So I'll just let everyone know what I've been up to this last two weeks, cause it's really been a wild ride.
Two Thursdays ago, me and four friends celebrated the end of ulpan by taking a three-day mini vacation to the gorgeous Egyptian resort town of Dahab in the Sinai Peninsula (see map).The goal was simple: we wanted to go scuba diving in Dahab, one of the great dive destinations in the world.
Map of the Sinai.
Our trip started Thursday when the five of us (my friends Josh, his girlfriend Laticia, her brother Steve, and a guy named Ryan) left Jerusalem and made a beeline for Eilat, the southernmost Israeli town, which also sits on the Red Sea. From there, we walked across the Taba border crossing and entered into....(drumroll please) Egypt. From there, we took a two-hour cab ride to Dahab, which cost us 10 bucks. More on the affordability of Egypt in a bit.
Dahab is located halfway down the eastern coast of the Sinai on the Red Sea. From the beach, you can actually clearly see Saudi Arabia. That in and of itself was enough to make me say "damn, I'm REALLY in the Middle East." Honestly, it was a little freaky. First of all, cause it's SAUDI ARABIA. And second, it's a little weird to be standing on one side of the Red Sea in Egypt where Jews are (relatively) welcomed and look out about 25 km to the other side to Saudi Arabia, where Jews are considered about as evil as a woman with a driver's license. Needless to say, we didn't venture out anywhere near Saudi Arabia, but it was a really cool feeling to know that if I wanted to toilet-paper the Saudi coast, I probably could have.
Dahab is an interesting place. It, along with the rest of the Sinai Peninsula, actually belonged to Israel for a short time following the 1967 War. Israel returned it to Egypt in exchange for peace. On the ride down to Eilat, an Israeli woman we were talking with made an intersting point when she mentioned that she was born in the Sinai when it was Israeli, and now her birthplace belongs to another country. Welcome to the Middle East...
Anyways, for all its beauty, Dahab is no stranger to trouble. This past April, Egyptian terrorists set off bombs on the promenade and killed over 20 people (mostly Egyptians). Yes, I knew this going in. It didn't stop us from wanting to go diving there. Most people think I'm insane for going to Dahab, knowing full well that it got blown up by terrorists six months ago. But then again, the same thing can be said about Jerusalem. This WHOLE area has a terrorist problem. It's not just here in Israel. Clearly, terrorists are after more than just Israel. But that's another post for another time.
We spent our days diving some of the most spectacular coral reefs I have ever seen. Anyone who knows me, knows that I find tranquility and peace when I'm 30 meters under water and this was no different. We did four dives in four different sites in two days: The Lighthouse, Eel Garden, The Blue Hole (world famous), and The Islands. The Blue Hole is famous and infamous for the lives it has taken by overzealous divers. Basically, some divers thought they could follow the coral wall that surrounds the massive blue hole all the way down to its bottom. Problem is, the bottom is over 600 meters down and divers have gotten nitrogen narcosis after diving below 100 meters and drowned after running out of air (nitrogen narcosis apparently feels like being high or drunk; you lose all your bearings and understanding of your surroundings).
Fortunately for me, I prefer geetting tipsy off pints of Guiness and not death-inducing scuba dives. So I was never in danger.
So my initial take on Sinai is as follows: stunning physical beauty but the locals can be both charming and infuriatingly annoying. Walking along the main promenade, restauranteurs walk up to every single tourist in hopes of wooing them to dine at their establishment. The first day, it was charming. They all asked where we were from, they spoke every language you can imagine, and they seemed genuinely concerned for our well-being. But by the second day, it felt like harrassment. They wouldn't leave us alone. They'd follow us down the street to try to convince us to eat at their restaurants, and when we finally had enough and said "no thanks" with a twinge of anger, they made us feel as if we were being the a-holes.
The food in Egypt was really good. And cheap. Holy hell was it cheap. We ate like kings. At dinner, we ate four-course meals complete with pita, salads, hummus, grilled vegetables, rice, soup, and grilled fish that was so fresh I'm pretty sure it asked me not to eat it. Grand total for said meal: 5 dollars. Not per item. Grand total, per person. Arab culture is big on hospitality and the restaurants we ate in were no exception. We feasted while lounging on cushioned seats overlooking the Red Sea. An incredible experience. Did I mention dinner cost us 5 FREAKING dollars?
A couple of other mini-highlights/commentaries from Dahab:
*The Sinai night sky: Maybe I've been living in big cities too long, but I was blown away by the clarity and beauty of the stars in the night sky in the Sinai. It actually felt like I was in another world.
*President (for life) Mubarak: As far as democracy goes, Egypt doesn't appear to quite get it yet. Our first night, we were just shooting the sh*t with one of the young Egyptian guys who runs the hostel we were staying in. At one point, Ryan asked him what he thought of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's "president" who's actually been in power for the better part of 30 years. The guy kind of smiled and said: "I can only say nice things about our President. That's all I'll say." Hmmm...
*Business is Business: Our first morning, while eating breakfast, we were approached by the most adorable little 6-year-old Egyptian girl any of us could have dreamed to see. She was selling bracelets. But by "selling," I actually mean "pushing." This adorable little child turned out to be the anti-christ. For about ten minutes she just stood there silently, trying to guilt-trip us into buying a bracelet. And when we tried to explain to her we didn't speak Arabic, she started speaking to us in English. Then in Hebrew. Then in French. This little punk couldn't cross the street without an adult but she could con tourists in at least four different languages. Amazing. Remember, she's SIX YEARS OLD! When Laticia finally gave in and offered a lower price for a bracelet, the little girl looked at her, shrugged her shoulders and as she started walking away from us, said: "Sorry, business is business." We were floored. I will never trust a pre-schooler again.
*Israel really is a Western country: I might be living in the Middle East, but it didn't really hit home until I got to Egypt. The second we crossed the border, there was a very palpable feeling that we were no longer in a Western-style country. You don't realize just how western Israel is until you leave the backyard and go play with the neighbors. It's as if you're living in New York, drive to the border, cross it, and then suddently find yourself in Moscow. It's that striking. I'm not saying it's good or bad, it's just an observation. The cultural differences between Israel and her next-door neighbors are profound.
At any rate, we left Egypt and made the journey back to Israel just in time for that all-too familiar Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. I, of course, had done nothing wrong all year, so I had nothing to atone for (uhhh, ;) riiiight). I fasted and spent some quality time with my cousins in Bersheva. The next day I made the two-hour trip north to Jerusalem where I studied most of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Wednesday night, I went to a wedding with my friend Meredith who was in from New York to see her step-brother get hitched. Of course, it was an Israeli wedding, so the conservative estimate was 400 guests. These Israelis suuuure do like to party.
So there you have it, my last few weeks wrapped up into a happy little blog posting. I'll be much better about keeping this thing updated now that I'm back on a normal schedule. So for now, lyla tov.
-E
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