Category Travel in the Middle East
What ever happens to the bracelet girls?
“Fatima, when are you getting married?” I asked 14 year old Fatima. Fatima is one of the bracelet girls who plies her colourful wares to tourists laying stretched out on sunbeds, baking themselves red-raw under the hot Egyptian sun along the beachside promenade of Dahab. Not that I expected her to get married any time soon, it’s just […]
9 different reasons why I love to visit Muslim / Arab countries
In these days of rampant Islamophobia, a trip to an Arab country could do everyone a bit of good. Being amongst Muslims has certainly changed me, and understanding other cultures, not judging them, is key, I believe, to peace. Travelling either as a lone female or with a group of women in the Muslim world, […]
Desert Days – spending time with nomads
Recently I had the privilege of spending a couple of days in the Sinai desert with a nomadic family. They are not quite as “nomadic” as they used to be, as modernity and necessity has crept into their lives, forcing them to adapt in different ways. Whereas children used to learn survival in the desert (how […]
The Interesting Characters of St Catherines village
The Bedouin Jebeliya tribe of the St Catherines area (South Sinai, Egypt) is full of interesting characters. In fact, I have never met so many interesting people in one place. Being around these people, with all their knowledge, fascinating old skills and wisdom, is a privilege and I learn something new every time I visit. Jamil Attiya […]
A fistful of Fata (and it’s not goat cheese)
Sitting in the dark, gravel-floor lean-to at my old Bedouin neighbours house, sipping on a glass of hot, sweet black tea, two little girls came in and said something to me in Arabic. I didn’t quite get everything they said, since my Arabic is not that great (yet!), and also since they speak another dialect, but […]
Changing Bedouin lifestyles: from the tent to a house
Times are changing fast for the Bedouin tribes of the South Sinai. Up until around 30-40 years ago most of them used to live a nomadic lifestyle in the desert, moving with the seasons to feed their herds of goats and camels on the fragrant desert herbs. They lived in tents woven from goat and […]
Dahab Days – life in another land, Egypt
This is a kind of photo-diary about life in the South Sinai, the random things that happen and people you meet. Enjoy! It was a rare windless winter day today, 22 Feb 2014, so I went for a bike ride out of Dahab and down the coast. The beautiful turquoise water kept drawing me further […]
IN THE MOOD FOR A STORY
The electricity had gone off, but this was a good thing. There was to be no tv tonight: there was something better in store. Everyone, six children and two men, sat cross-legged in a circle, all eyes on Salameh, his face glowing in the light of the single candle, stuck to the bottom of an […]
A little rant about RISK, TRAVEL AND COMMON SENSE
A little rant about RISK, TRAVEL AND COMMON SENSE Pull up a seat, I’d like to have a chat with you about risk, travel and common sense. Yesterday I was sitting with my Dutch friend Jose commiserating the lack of tourists in the Sinai, Egypt. We both live here at the moment, in this sleepy, […]
Adventures of Venus 