My final thoughts on Dahab, Egypt (for now!)
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 7:07PM
I’m now back in the UK after a fantastic month in Dahab and finally have the time to write my final journal entry on my experiences there. I made notes on the flight back, and to be honest it would be very easy to produce a novel about March 2011 but I’ll try and keep this short(ish) and sweet. Actually, I've failed. This entry is a little long, but I hope you enjoy it!
Technology
Bedouin girls at the Three Pools hijack my iPhone!
If there’s one thing I know about most of the people of Dahab, it’s that they are fascinated with iPhones, laptops and technology in general. In a country where an iPhone 4 is worth as much as two or three months' wages for a lot of people, it isn’t surprising.
Wherever I went I had to give up my phone for a while to allow the Bedouin girls to play solitaire, or my camera so that they could experiment with action shots. I also lent my Macbook out on a couple of occasions to allow my horse riding friends to watch Bollywood films on You Tube. I’ll never forget the scene when I went to the stable to collect it in the morning. Three men gathered eagerly around my computer, battery warning sign flashing madly, flies buzzing around the keyboard, and six horses and a donkey in the background.
A biblical scene surrounds my Macbook
I now have a whole new set of Dahab based Facebook friends. It’s an extremely popular platform in Egypt, and everywhere I went the first question I was asked would be “Are you on Facebook?”. It’s hard to imagine eating in a restaurant here in the UK and making friends with the waiter or chef, but in Dahab it’s the norm. My addiction to photography over there has provided many a person with an all-new profile picture!
My Dahab promotional film
Khaled Maher from Shams Restaurant talks to me about why he loves Dahab
While I was on my trip I wanted to put together a short film to promote Dahab as a safe tourist destination. I therefore interviewed tourists, business owners, workers and Bedouin girls. My friend Tom Dawson at Kingmonkey Media is currently editing my very rough footage. Watch this space!
Photographs
If you ever travel to Dahab, you’ll discover that it’s a very photogenic place. I took hundreds of pictures of the people, animals and scenery and experimented heavily with the retro iPhone application Hipstamatic (I'm sure I bored my Facebook friends rigid!). The local people are very colourful and never camera shy, so it was a real joy.
To see more of my photos click on the links below:
Egyptian food
Fresh seafood and vegetables
Breakfast was usually good old scrambled eggs with toast for me, but I also occasionally ate the Egyptian breakfast, which consisted of foul (mashed fava beans), a boiled egg, cheese, tahina (sesame paste), tomatoes and bread. Simply delicious!
Other firm favourites were:
- Grilled calamari or in fact any seafood is excellent there
- Koshery (a popular traditional Egyptian national dish consisting of rice, brown lentils, chickpeas, macaroni, and a topping of garlic, vinegar and spicy tomato sauce. Fried onions are commonly added as a garnish)
- Kofta (balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions)
- Falafel (a ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans)
- Sahlab (a popular warm drink with a special powder, nuts, chocolate, banana and coconut)
- Fruit juices – strawberry, mango, orange, lemon, guava and many others. All fresh and totally delicious.
Towel sculptures
If you've visited Egypt you'll know that one of the quirky customs is for hotel cleaners to leave your towels on your bed in all manner of weird and wonderful arrangements. I had babies, swans, elephants, orchids and crocodiles amongst many other fantastic creations.
The Arabic language
I tried to learn some of the language before I got to Dahab, and it made a big difference to my experience there. Any effort to speak the local language when you travel is always appreciated. If you’d like to have a go yourself, try the Michel Thomas Method and set aside an hour a day to listen to it and concentrate. I won’t stop here – I now have the advanced course to get though before I return to Egypt.
Animals
From cats and dogs, kittens and puppies, to camels and horses there are animals everywhere in Dahab. Maybe that’s what makes the town so good for your soul – there’s nothing like having a sleeping animal on your lap or feet to chill you out.
Scenery
Laguna, Dahab
Dahab has stunning scenery. Mountains, beaches, sunsets, and sunrises are all a reason to leave your hotel room to explore and soak it all in. If you’re a diver or snorkeler there’s also a fascinating world under the water for you to discover.
A real life soap opera
In true Middle Eastern style, there isn’t a day that goes by without gossip to hear or dramas unfolding before your eyes. Admittedly travelling on my own made a big difference. If you have company you’re sometimes closed to what’s going on around you. Whenever I left my hotel I had no idea who I would bump into, which invitations I would receive via my Egyptian mobile phone, or who I would make friends with. This is another reason why Dahab is so magical. Real life is going on all around you 24/7, in all its forms.
Social life
Dahab is a very small town, so it’s very easy to get around and meet your friends within minutes. It was a refreshing change to leave my diary at home and just see where a day or evening would take me.
Backgammon
Me and Ariba, my backgammon teacher
During my final two weeks I spent plenty of evenings at a bar called Funny Mummy in the company of my horse riding instructor Ahmed and his friends Ariba and Mohamed, learning how to play backgammon. Ariba, who spoke no English whatsoever, was my teacher. I therefore learnt the game via his wild gesticulations and sign language. To be honest I don’t think there’s a better way to learn the game. I loved playing backgammon so much that I spent my final hour in Dahab doing just that with Ariba, and I won!
Work
There is wireless internet pretty much everywhere in Dahab, and I also had a USB stick. It was easy to work from my hotel room or any public place, so my month went very smoothly work-wise and hopefully my clients will agree!
Skype
My sister Jenny, Dad Geoff and 90 year old Grandma Hilda chat to me via Skype
I couldn't finish this article without mentioning that Skype was a god-send throughout my trip. I spoke to clients, friends and family daily and it really helped when I was feeling a little homesick. What a miracle of technology!
To summarise, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed my time in Egypt. I hope that my journal entries will encourage at least a few of you to visit this beautiful town and the rest of Egypt. I’ll let you know when the promotional film is ready to view.
And finally, a very special thank you to my friends there for being so hospitable and welcoming. I hope to see you all again very soon…
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Places I would recommend
Dahab Holiday Homes for short and long term rentals
People I would recommend
If you need a driver to collect you from the airport or show you around Dahab, call Hassan Fathy on +20 1246 74416 or Mohamed on +20 118360307.
If you would like to ride a horse on the beaches or in the mountains with a reliable instructor, you can call Chiko on +20 1272 69217 or +20 1289 57913.
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