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Published: April 27th 2006
Sunrise on top of Mt. Sanai
The infamouse sunrise on top. A bit chilly but well worth it. Before continuing to narrate the fortunate health and safety of our travels over he past few weeks, I must ask that we pause in the midst of our own lives to be with the lives lost in Dahab.
Contrary to the experience of those back home hearing the horrific new of the bombings in Dahab,on the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, we ourselves have yet to catch what the television media is reporting, as ours was and continues to be receiving information first hand. I feel it is of great importance to know what it means to us, receiving the news, as these tragedies and worse occur in the world every day and often so far from home we fail to receive it's impact.
Dahab is a small town, dependent on tourism and as friendly as a neighborhood night of barbeque. We'd walk from one end of town to the other daily, talking with so many people along the way that a stroll was at best your high pace. Our first day we met Mohammed, a young dive shop owner with his first son of five months at home with mom. The second
On top
Not only can you see our lovely faces, but the awesome scenery of the Sinai. day we spent with Mary, sharing her love and knowledge of diving with us by day, and serving dinner to us by night at her husbands newly opened Kwickly restaurant, our first choice for eats in town. Then there was Jimmy, about our age, enjoying his success at juggling the happiness of his guests, operating the Bishbishi at which we stayed, and overseeing the potential of a second guesthouse across the street.
The list runs on, a mental scroll of momentary friends and daily acquaintances. Their lives now gouged by the April 25th bombings. In the small town of Dahab, I can't help but think how life will never be the same.
Many we met, including Mary from Montreal, had come to Dahab for a visit one day, and loved it so much they just stayed. It's where they decided with much clarity and great enthusiasm "this is home". Mary is a year and a half into loving life in Dahab, celebrating she and her husbands' first anniversary along side with the opening of a larger restaurant location, as business was on the incline. I think back to her stories of the places she had been around the
The Burning Bush
I was excited to see the infamouse Burning Bush but was disapointed to learned that they had put it out a few years ago. world, and Dahab was where she had found her peace. Now, with her neighbors lives lost and her husbands inevitable business decline with the absence of future tourists, I sit silenced knowing the bombing is now part of her life story, in the place she calls home.
It may have been easy if I were on the other end of an ocean, to walk away from this tragedy and back into the cloud of complexity in my own life ( as I have done in previous circumstances) but I now believe it would be a terrible mistake and unfortunate opportunity in the moment to do so. If there is one thing I've learned on this trip it is the palpable substance of suffering. We all want to escape it and some even appear to succeed, by circumstance or mere good fortune. But consider the former an illusion. All those in Dahab are without the luxury to choose.
So I ask, for the sake of those lives cut short and the multitude of their grieving families, for you to take great consideration of your life today. Sit in silence, in prayer or meditation, in sorrow if need be, because
Creepy??
This is the "Skull Room". Since it is in the desert the space for graves is at a premium. So the monks are buried and their bones saved later on to make room for the next. their lives are so deserving of this time in ours, and what is more precious than the moments of life we each have the choice to give to another. Remembering throughout today that we are each capable of great joy and in turn of terrible suffering, so live life wisely. Have compassion. And consume each moment with your neighbor as if it was your last.
Also, please join us in loving remembrance of Elisiah from Kukurantumi, Ghana. April 25th would have marked his 15th birthday and we commemorate the length at which he lived his days, and fullness of his short life.
Egypt to Jordan and Back Again
Mt. Sinai We stayed up late to catch 11:00pm bus to Mt. Sinai. We trekked up the well worn path to the summit where we huddled up in blankets and waited for the show to begin. On the way up we ran into none other than Moses himself. No really, we ran into Moses, a Bedouin who sells blankets for cold tourist on the summit. He guided the way up and showed us a good place to sit out of the wind and away from the crowds.
Petra
This is the Treasury. This is also were Indiana Jones went in to get the Holy Grail. The resulting destruction has caused the interior to be closed to tourist ever since. Slowly the sky changed from blue, to yellow, to red as the little ball of light made its appearance. The sunrise was magnificent of course.
After the hike down we waited for St. Catherine's Monastery to open. Inside the thick fortress walls built to protect the Christians against the various people who did not like them very much was the famous burning bush (to our disappointment they put out the flames a few years ago). The monastery is a pilgrimage for many and it seemed everyone was trying to snap off a piece of the poor bush.
The monastery is also home to another interesting feature. The desert makes it difficult to burry people underground. They solved this by burying the deceased monk then digging him back up again a while later and saving the bones in a special room. Well not to special, the skulls are just thrown into a heap in a cage. Weird.
On to Jordan After hearing "You
have to go to Jordan" over and over, we went. We headed up to Israel where we crossed the border of Egypt then through the town of Eilat and finally out the Jordan side
Nope, Not Utah
The best feature of Petra is you must walk over a kilometer down a narrow, deep canyon to get to it. Imagine walking down this and then suddenly seeing the treasury!! to Aqaba. It was mad house of Koreans with massive visors everywhere at the Egypt/Israel border!!
Jordan has only a few big tourist draws, one being the infamous Petra. Getting from Aqaba to Petra in normal straight forward by bus, but independent travel in hardly ever straight forward. We got on the bus that had a man outside yelling "Petra, Petra". Seems good so far, at least until we see the sign for Petra with an arrow pointing in a different direction than we are going. Our bus is going to Ma'an, 10 kilometers from Petra, and an expensive cab ride away.
Katelyn was not going to let him get away with it! She did not back down until we were in a taxi to Petra for no cost. This is independent travel at its best!
Wadi Musa We were pretty tired by the time we finally arrived at the Cleopatra Hotel. We were greeted inside by the manager and were told that no business could be discused until tea was served. The scams of Cairo had hardened us to think that anyone offering tea is up to something. But we relax and found that we were
The Monestary
Even more impressive than the Tresurey. A good uphill hike through amazing canyons to get to it. To grasp its immense size you can see Katelyn standing just to the right of the entrance. being offered genuine Jordan hospitality. The tea was relaxing and yes. free. Needless to say we looked no further for a hotel.
Petra The next morning we were headed to Petra at last. What is Petra? Why is everyone telling us to go here? We found out very quickly.
To enter Petra you must first walk down the Siq. The Siq is a kilometer of narrow canyon that rises to over 1,000 feet over your head. The colors of the canyons walls are enough to captive you. Then suddenly you arrive of the enormous yet intricate facade of the treasury building.
The treasury building is one of the most famous buildings of Petra. Some may recognize it as the place where Indiana Jones found the holy grail in the Last Crusade.
As you move past the treasury you see that Petra is a entire city hewn from a labyrinth of immense, colorful canyon walls. It is nearly impossible to descried the scale of a city of 250,000 craved from sandstone.
Ryan's Birthday What better way to spend a birthday than watching Indian Jones after just being where they filmed it? We decided to
Birthday Bash
For the big B-day we headed to no place else but Pizza Hut. In front of me is a vegetarian deep pan pizza with pineapple. To describe the taste would be akin to desribing a sunset in words, can't be done. wait to really celebrate my b-day until we reached Cairo. There we headed for the nearest Pizza Hut!
It was the next day we learned about the Dahab bombings. We already had a ticket to Aswan and saw no reason not to use it. We are watching the government warnings closely, so far nothing as been issued to Egypt, not even the Sinai.
We are safe and sound in Aswan now and will soon work our way up to Luxor via a Nile sailboat called a felucca. More on that next time.
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Dad/Dan
non-member comment
Ryan and Katelyn, your blog entries continue to impress me. You're both such good writers. Ryan, your reflections above are particularly moving. Words can be so inadequate but you have a way of making them work for you to effectively convey your feelings. You're both learning so much in your travels, probably as much or more about yourselves as the people and places you're experiencing. Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to take us along with you on your adventure. Continue to learn, have fun, take it all in and keep at least one eye on warnings and advisories along the way, while following your hearts and the wisdom of your Inner Guides. Love, Dad