5 years in Dahab, Egypt

This week marks my 5th year living in Dahab, South Sinai. I am amazed when i think about how quickly it has gone, not really many dull moments. Some bad moments did happen of course which i have learned a lot from but the good has most definately outweighed the bad.

But above all after all this time, two things stand true to when i first arrived here:
1) My commitment to the local Bedouin community here – i am not saying they are all in need of help, but they definately deserve our support. Many of the people here did not have electricity 15 years ago.

They did not settle in one place and they moved according to food sources and climate. Settling is not in their nature, they dont like saying still for too long! Maybe a few days, then they like to disappear into the desert for a week!

With this in mind, it is difficult for a Bedouin men to hold down a routine job. Its not that they dont want to work, it is that it doesnt take long for them to get ”itchy feet” and they need to travel off somewhere. Often they dont say goodbye when they go, or when they are coming back! But this should not be seen as rude (i thought it was when i first moved here). The fact is they dont like to keep saying goodbye to people that they see often, saying goodbye is not in their nature. They prefer to warmly welcome people and not say goodbye.

I have learnt lots about the Bedouin comimunity in Dahab and South Sinai and the more i learn the more i understand the challenges they are facing at the moment. Including the fact that most of the young men living here have never been nomadic at all (unlike their fathers and grandfathers).

2) My love for Dahab – i still love this little town, even though it is not perfect, some things are not so good but many of us are working on them. I still feel at home here and i have been truly welcomed as one of the community. Looking over to Saudi Arabia from here is sometimes like looking into a mirror. The reflection of the land over the water that looks similar to South Sinai. This makes some people who visit really look inside themselves also, the reflection on their own live’s and how they can do better in the future.

Many visitors to Dahab get the bug and become either short term residents or choose Dahab as their holiday home town. Some stay the long term, i have many expats friends who have been here longer than me. I am still a newbie probably in some of their eyes.

Dahab is beautiful with some amazing reefs just metres away from the beach, rugged mountains, hidden oases and winding wadi’s (a wadi is a valley). Landscapes meet the sea in dramatic natural style. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder if they can see it. Many guests dont have the time to stop and appreciate it all. Those that do usually come back!

So five years on Dahab has bought to me huge challenges in my way of life and in the way i work. I have become much less materialistic, much stronger in spirit and mind. Above all i have become more understanding of the muslim faith, which i admit when i lived in the UK i was fairly ignorant. Althought i had muslim friends i didnt really understand the true essence of the religion.

I feel safer in Dahab than i ever did in London and i feel that deep down inside this town has become home. 5 years on, i embrace the challenges still with a smile.

With the holy month of Ramadan approaching fast, along with the date season this year in South Sinai we are all looking forward to quiet sleepy days and lively nights. The clocks here will go back one hour in just one weeks time and we sill start to feel the nights drawing in again over Egypt.

Ramadan is one of the nicest times to visit Dahab, it is quieter and more peaceful this time of year than any other time. Perfect for those who need a really chilled out escape.

Will i stay another 5 years? Who know’s…….but i will do my best to continue the work i have begun with my Bedouin friends in supporting and promoting the region and their culture and preserving the tradditions which are now become rarer and rarer as most of them settle in towns and villages.

If you would like more information on Bedouin culture in South Sinai visit http://www.sheikhsalemhouse.com or contact us.

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