Beyond Occident

The Wonders of the Red Sea

Right now I’m in the middle of Swine Flu Break 2009. At the insistence of the Egyptian government, AUC cancelled all classes through October 3rd. There has been no occurrences of H1N1 at the university, but the government is apparently afraid it will spread through the schools, especially as people return from the trip to Mecca. Of course, we were off for a couple days anyway because of Eid, and I had plans to go visit Sharm el-Sheikh, the popular resort town along the Red Sea.

The ride to Sharm is about six hours from Cairo. We rented a bus that picked us up (there was nine of us) from campus at 3 am. You really notice when you leave ‘mainland’ Egypt and enter the Sinai peninsula. I never realized how mountainous the Sinai was. We followed the Red Sea all of the way down (Sharm is at the southern tip of the peninsula) and drove on sections of road weaving between the mountains for parts of the journey. Arrival was around 8 or 9 in the morning. We snagged ourselves an apartment with a private pool that was only a few minutes away from the beach.

The water along the Red Sea is amazing. We spent the first two days just lounging around the pool and beach, but on the third day we joined an all day snorkeling expedition. I have never snorkeled or scuba dived before this, and the only time I was in similar water was a brief trip to a Caribbean beach when I was younger. Needless to say, this was one of the most exciting/amazing things I have ever done. You can go to the aquarium and see all of these beautiful fish swimming around, but when they are swimming around you while you’re looking at some amazing coral the experience becomes surreal. I really hope I can go snorkeling again before I go, or even better, get an open water scuba liscense. Maybe I can travel to Dahab before I leave.

We sailed out and went to three different sites during the day. We actually caught a glimpse of Saudi Arabia from the boat. I was tired but exhilarated at the end of the day. We got off and went to find food. The restaurant scene in Sharm is pretty much your standard touristy fair. There was actually a ‘Mexican’ bar we stopped at on our first day that I am confident is the only Mexican establishment in the Middle East (unless you count Chili’s, which is all over Cairo). Well, Dubai probably has something. But anyway, we ended up eating at TGI Fridays where I ate an absolutely delicious cheeseburger. But TGI Fridays is one of the few signs of America you’ll see in Sharm. The place is hugely popular with Europeans and Arabs from the Gulf, but Americans are no where to be seen. Our guide on the boat told me he hasn’t seen American tourists in a few years.

Besides hanging out at the beach and splashing around in the water, there really is only one more thing to do in Sharm. And that is to visit a club or two. On our last night in town, we went to Pacha, which is supposedly the 54th or so best club in the world. It is a like a miniature city on the inside. It has a multi level, outdoor dance floor in the center and even has a Starbucks on the inside, along with more restaurants, bars and shops. It was packed the night we went and after dancing through the morning (the sun rises here at 5am and so many people were still dancing when suddenly this strange, bright light appeared on the ‘ceiling’), we all got some sleep before packing up and heading back to Cairo.

I have a week left of my little vacation. I still have some papers to write and Arabic to learn though so I’ve just been exploring and chilling around Cairo. I might ride the train to Alexandria for a day or two later this week and eat some seafood, but I haven’t decided yet. I just got a new charger for my camera so expect some pictures in the future.

The USSR Embassy in Sharm

We saw this club the first night in Sharm. My friend and I went up to see if it was still open, but it looks like it closed its doors just around the same time the USSR did. That’s too bad, since I was really excited to check out a club for ze peoples.

Image of Red Sea by Zé Eduardo…