2006 Egypt

7 January 2007, Sunday; BishBishi Camp, Dahab, LE70

What a fabulous, glorious day!

Windy, but clear and just warm enough to allow for the possibility of snorkelling. We had not originally planned to spend an entire day here and had therefore not even thought of snorkelling. But someone last night told us it was really worthwhile and we tentatively added it to our list of things to do today.

We futzed and dithered most of the morning away. Writing an email which bombed before we could send it, breakfasting well at a little place across the road from BishBishi (opposite which was a house for sale about which we were very tempted to enquire), strolling the market, enquiring about hiring snorkelling equipment. And having tea with three Bedouin men at the far north end of town. They run a camp there and were sitting under the trees when we stopped to ask them about where it was safest to snorkel. They invited us to join them for tea – the “soft” delicious Bedouin tea about which they are so proud. So we sat and chatted, first about snorkelling, and then about women in Bedouin society. They told us that girls are only allowed to remain in school if they show a real aptitude early on; unlike boys who are not allowed to leave school unless they get kicked out! If girls go on to university, a rarity from what we could gather, they have to be accompanied by a male relative, because there are “bad men” at university (and out in the world). All three men were instantly likeable. Laid back and generous. The one told us that when Dahab gets too much for him he goes back to the desert for a couple of months.

After a drink on the beach we finally hired some gear and got into the cool sea. And put our heads down into a wonder-world. The reef is right there, and drops away abruptly to an unexpected depth. Clear water and plenty to see. Not having snorkelled before, I had nothing to compare the coral or fish variety to, but thought this was superb. Stunning fish in rainbow colours and a myriad shapes and sizes. We lazed away a happy hour and would love to do this again.

Some shopping, lunch, strolling. We watched a young man creating sand-in-a-bottle pictures – not my thing, but quite an intricate art form. And met an African-American-Indian who has been living with the Bedouin and is writing three books. She told us that one of the young shop assistants had told her that the tourist department was discouraging the Bedouin from wearing traditional dress – saying the tourists did not like this. I found this hard to believe (given the number of people in traditional dress), but… Egypt Today says that the government marginalizes the Bedouin by taking their land and giving it to developers to develop… so who knows.

We dined really well again in a restaurant with carpets and cushions and fires on the beach sand. Ordering just one dish to share and getting more than we bargained for. Great fish and veg and dips. With a hungry kitten eating bits I surreptitiously dropped onto the carpet and then falling asleep under our low table. On the side of the plate, as last night, a candle tip in an encompassing onion ring – nice touch.