Palm Frond Ghost Town

---

Hardly anyone visits the serene coastline of northern Sinai. Add to that the fact that it’s mid-February; then factor in the recent strings of kidnappings and other misdeeds that have been occurring in Egypt over the past few weeks and what you get is me, alone on Sawa Beach, reveling in the quietude and the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea.

The border crossing to get here (surprisingly my first by land on this journey) was incredibly easy. I was the only one there. Guards had to be woken from naps to cursorily inspect my bags and officials had to be called in from lounge rooms to stamp my passport. It was all smiles and “Welcome to Egypt!” I had two hours before the bus left (don’t worry, I’m not hitching) that were easily killed in the company of a handful of Egyptian gentlemen eager to stuff me with pita (here made with whole wheat flour), falafel (flattened, not round) and foul muddames (fava bean dip), all washed down with sugary tea. Unlike Egypt proper, you don’t need a visa to visit the Sinai, but your stay is limited to 15 days and to certain areas along the coast. I could already tell it wasn’t going to be enough.

I went to Sawa Beach on the recommendation of a trusted friend. The bus driver hadn’t heard of it. But, seeing as I was the only one onboard, we drove at a snail’s pace and read every signboard we passed: Dream Beach, Heaven Beach, You’ll Never Want to Leave this Beach, before we found what we were looking for, Sawa Beach. I went right to work exploring the place with all of my senses. I saw a ghost town of reed huts blown lopsided by a constant wind. I heard the wind rustling through the dried palm fronds and the waves gently lapping at the shore. I smelt the fresh, sea air. I felt the fine, wet sand sinking beneath my feet and the refreshing cold of the water against my skin. I tasted the salt on my lips. Then it hit me: I was in Egypt, with the Red Sea as my private playground and Saudi Arabia’s Jabal al-Lawz Mountains as my front gate! Life is so good!

It didn’t take long to settle into a routine. After sunrise, I’d normally practice my sub par meditation skills, do some yoga, and walk to the end of the beach for a swim, before settling in one of the various hammocks or sun chairs with a book for an hour or so. Then, I’d wander over to the neighbors, where a small group of Bedouins taught me the art of lounging. We’d lie in the sun, move to the shade, move back to the sun, put our heads in the shade and our feet in the sun, lie face up, lie face down. Then we’d move to a different patch of sand, or a different handmade carpet and repeat the process all over again – until sundown, when there wasn’t much more to do except go to sleep. I don’t know how much closer to paradise it gets. The only drawbacks to the Sinai, as far as I see it, are the flies during the day and the mosquitoes at night – but, really, they’re just part of the experience.

---

Photos

Sawa Beach
My hut was the one front, right.