Blogs from Dahab, Sinai, Egypt, Africa - page 18

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Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab March 14th 2006

Since I am staying on this beautiful gulf, which supposedly holds the most prestine reefs in the world I decided it was time to explore them. I had heard these reefs were amazing but looking out over the water its hard to imagine! I got a local taxi to take me about 5km north of town to a place called the blue hole. Its a place in the reef where about 200ft off the shore there is a giant hole that drops down about 300 feet. This was something I had to see! The ride up there was an adventure, you take a 4 wheel drive road across the beach, through a cut in the rocks (only wide enough for our little jeep) and end up at this little snorkeling and diving area. It wasn't much ... read more
In the Blue Hole
Diver's Bubbles
Aquarium Shot

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab March 13th 2006

After a chaotic departure, I arrived at St Catherine's monastery and was dropped off amongst many tour busses and told my driver would be back to pick me up around 7pm. I wasn't totally prepared for the day, so wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to see and do here at the monastary! I made my way along with other tourists, and wandered around the outside of the monastary. I wasn't sure what the official protocol was as to entering and since I only had american dollars, I bypassed the monastary and started my climb up Mt. Sinai. (I had about 8 hours to kill before my driver would be back!) So I began my climb, about half a dozen bedouin men and boys asked me if I needed a camel to help with my ... read more
Church atop Mt Sinai
St Catherine's Monastery
Dahab at night

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab March 12th 2006

Today has been quite the trek! I got up early and Moustafa, my driver, picked me up at about 6:30am to take me downtown to the bus station where I caught my bus to Sharm El Sheik, on the southern tip of the Sinai. It was an interesting 6 hour journey on basically a greyhound bus. It was an interesting trek over to the Suez canal, which I didn't get to see but went under in a tunnel! Then we drove down to Sharm. The landscape was like nothing I have ever seen before, red mountains, arid desert, and blue waters of the gulf of Suez. It was very beautiful. I got to Sharm and haggled a taxi driver to take me the rest of the way to Dahab. (about an hour away) What an adventure. ... read more
Police Checkpoint entering Dahab
My first restaurant in Dahab
The gulf of Aqaba and Saudi Arabia

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab March 11th 2006

1 of early Christianities only surviving churches named after the “legendary” martyr, St Kat! Kat was tortured on a spiked wheel for her Christianity & beheaded. But angels took her body up to the highest peak in Egypt! Bit of trivia for ya. Me n Pete did a day trip out to the monastery. We got there in the morn after a 2 hr drive through the barren, rocky Sinai dessert. We checked out the Byzantine church, Moses’s well (which if you drink from provides u with marital bliss!) & the burning bush . Then we began the pilgrimage up the 2285m of Mt Sinai to have a word with the big fella up stairs! @ the top there is a tiny church which is meant to be the sight that god came down to Moses ... read more
Sinai dessert
Monastery
Burnin Bush!

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab March 9th 2006

After 17 hrs on da bus (which stopped every hour or so, for no other reason that I could see than that the driver needed a ciggy!) it was so good to get into Dahab. We went & had brekky (10ep=2 bucks) then checked out the scene & then had a swim & pulled up a deckchair on the h2o to catch some rays. The next week consisted of snorkelling, big seafood feeds, she-sha, getting hassled to go into shops or restos, batgammin & a beer, sunsets, a day trip to blue hole for a snorkel & a day trip to Mt Sinai & St Katherine’s monastery. The time soon came to go back to Cairo & fly to London, but being a Q.L.Der I was reluctant to leave this homely like place (sun & reef). ... read more
Rooftop she-sha
Chill spot
Bangles!

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab March 9th 2006

The last week has been all about relaxation and has kind of felt like a vacation from the vacation. Sharm El Sheikh - Hilton Style From Luxor, we had pre-booked a flight to Sharm El Sheikh on the Sinai peninsula. This way we avoided taking a ferry across the Red Sea. You might remember a couple of months ago, hearing about that ferry that sank in the Red Sea. Sharm El Sheikh is a resort town for Europeans and Brits (kind of like a Caribbean island) and we were treating ourselves to 4 nights at the Hilton Fayrouz Village Resort in Na'ama Bay on Paul's reward points (yes, that means a 5 star resort absolutely free!). We checked in and were treated like royalty due to Paul's Hilton HHonors Diamond status - receiving a free upgrade ... read more
Travelling in style
Travelling in style 2
The Beach

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab February 13th 2006

As-Salam Aleikum osratee wa asdikaee (Peace upon you family and friends), Hello loyal readers, its been about 8 months since my last entry. I'm sorry for the delay but several things prompted me stop posting entries. First, people in Fes, where I was living, stumbled upon this blog, and I discovered that several complete stranger moroccans knew just a little more about me than I felt comfortable with. Then I had a couple complete stranger Europeans who had been reading the blog randomly show up to visit me, and they turned out to be.. well... weird (not you Rain). So I took a little break. I left Morocco, after an amazing 11 months, and went home in August for 6 weeks, after which I relocated to windy crowded Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria is a boring city, but ... read more

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab November 17th 2005

Our passports were scrutinized no fewer than seven times at police checkpoints on the road from Cairo to Dahab--a route that took us over the Suez Canal and along the perimeter of the Sinai Peninsula. Sinai is Africa's link to the Middle East, and its desolate landscape has a long history of war and border disputes. The mountainous desert supports little life besides rugged Bedouins and wild camels--a stark contrast to the flourishing underwater life in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Sharm al-Sheik, on Sinai's southern coast, is known as one of the best diving spots in the world, and recently gained press as the site of a terrorist bombing (hence the tight security). To ease the strain on our wallets ($200 for diving lessons isn't exactly budget travel), we headed straight to ... read more
Our Humble Room in Dahab
Rolling Sinai Mountain Tops
Tarabin Beach Front Huts, $2/Night

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab September 10th 2004

If you are looking for fun in the sun on the red sea, look no further. Granted, it is a touristy town, but not nearly to the extent as shar or any place with its own airport. It took us way to long to get there, but we got to see Mt. Sinai and lots of deserted desert. Well, Sinai was cool. We were able to go swimming and snorkeling, hang out on the beach and enjoy lots of cheap resort food. Wish we could have stayed longer. Great small town, tourists there seemed far more chill than other places. Dahab will not be on any terrorist list. Dahab could fall off the face of the earth and the national tourist economy would barely notice. Must see if you go to Sinai! Pics tell it all. ... read more
Camel at Sinai
St. Catherines
Police Checkpoint

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab October 2nd 2002

I think last time we wrote, we were going to take a bus to Hurghada and then take the boat to Sharm El Sheik and on to Dahab. About 10 minutes before the bus left, we changed our minds and bought tickets to Suez instead, with the idea of staying there one night and catching another bus to Dahab, saving ourselves about 200 Egyptian pounds each. It meant more time sat on a bus, but we got to Dahab just after the people that took the expensive option. We didnt have any time to look round Suez, at the canal or anything, as our bus arrived late and the next one left early the following morning. We probably didnt miss much, the parts of Suez we did see werent all that good, its a service town ... read more
Chapel on top of Mount Sinai
View from the top of Mount Sinai
Masked Butterfly Fish




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