Mt Sinai and on to Dahab

Dahab, Egypt

June 8, 2007

We arrived today in Dahab, a resort city East of Mt. Sinai on the Red Sea.

From Luxor we drove 4 hours or so North to Hurghada, another rapidly growing resort. The desert along this stretch of the Red Sea is filled with new condos, new hotels, and new apartments. It has been described as ugly by those who prefer a deserted beach, but I imagine the locals here see this as a tremendous opportunity for jobs and prosperity.

No pressure here to dress conservatively, as tourists in shorts and beachware are everywhere. Food is cheap even by Egyptian standards

As always, we have been treated very well every where we go; the people here speak a little english, and they all love the tourists and the money they bring. I haven’t seen many Americans, and some of the locals have commented that they wonder if we are scared to travel.

No wonder, as we travel in armed police convoys which stretch out over the desert, sirens blazing as we come to main intersections, and are accompanied by occasional waits at numerous check points for passports, etc.

We are not sure if this convoy system is just Egypt or extends into Jordan and Syria; we will see in a few days.

The Egyptians seem to take this security seriously. That is good, but there is also the perception that maybe it isn’t as necessary as they portray it. Clearly they don’t want their tourists killed.

Leaving Hurghada, we drive for 13 hours in a police convoy to Suez, where we pass through a tunnel under the Suez Canal on our way to Mt. Sinai.

This was really a long day, arriving at Mt. Sinai at 3 a.m. and passing through two passport checks.

Then we climb the mountain for 2 ½ hours (I take a camel except for the last 750 grueling steps). We rented blankets and slept for an hour, waiting for the sunrise. The sun rose as expected at 6 a.m. amid singing from people already on the summit. We took some pictures and headed down; as we had to leave by 8:00 a.m.

We are in Dahab for 4 days. I am going to watch the Red sea from a reclining seat in the restaurant with a cold Stella Beer.

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