Hm...
Equally, I want to describe the diving center where I am staying at now in Israel as well as my impression (and surprise) from Egypt. Where to start...
Ok, Egypt. I think I have been most impressed and surprised by what I thought I would look forward to versus what I actually enjoyed in Egypt. To be honest, the only thing I was really thinking and looking forward to were the pyramids in Giza and going down the Nile river, but this is only ancient Egypt! What about modern day people and culture? They speak Arabic and over 90% of the population is Muslim. You can hear prayers from the speakers outside mosques and most women are covered from head to toe. Most of the people I've talked with are men who are drivers, staff at hostels, guards at temples and monuments; since many women (that I saw) do not work in these areas. I felt fortunate to meet so many who were willing to share their experiences and as well as take my ignorant questions with humor, ie.-
"Are those ashes on your forehead?" (Insert Catholic upbringing/reference point here)
(Laughs and shakes his head) "No this is from years of prayer, from my forehead touching the ground."
"Oh, right."
I enjoyed my time here mainly because of the connections I made with people, but of course to actually stand in front of the Khufu pyramid (below), well, that moment was pretty amazing, too.
...I thought it was funny how I kept overhearing ..."and this was built before Jesus was born!" from a couple of tour guides.
...and then there is the town of Dahab! Who would have imagined (ok, maybe most except me) aqua marine water and incredible coral reef in Egypt? Again, all I thought I would see in Egypt were pyramids and deserts. I stayed a few days in this hippie beach town (that has turned more into a tourist resort-town attraction) where I snorkeled on the shore of the Red Sea (clearly seeing Saudi Arabia right across) and saw coral reef and fish that looked like they were taken right out of the movie Finding Nemo. There is a part of the shore where you pass memorials set on the side of a mountain of other people who have died from diving here (the current is pretty rough and it's over 300 feet deep in some areas), which is awkward just as you're about to dive into the same hole, but it was incredible!
Now I am in Israel, which was not on the itinerary, but it's great the way it worked out! I am thankful that I did return to Thailand because I got the opportunity to meet a really nice, easy-going couple from Israel. They live right on a border town of Israel (Eilat, far, far away from the Gaza strip), and they invited me to hang out at their place for a few days. Dahab is just a two hour car ride from this border so it worked out quite well. As soon as I mentioned that I would be going to Israel to other travellers, some said- are you crazy? You want an Israeli stamp on your passport? You won't be able to get into any other Muslim country! You're supporting their politics! Yeah, well, as a good friend said, as residents in the US we're sometimes supporting shitty politics, too. Anyway, politics aside, I wanted to meet up with people that gave me a really good feeling and so I went ahead with crossing the border. I literally walked to their place from the border. Their names are Netalie and Sasha and they are diving instructors. They live in a home right behind the diving center they run which is right across the road from the sea; it's beautiful and so laid back! There is absolutely nothing but rocky hills on either side of the center and you look out straight to the sea and over to Jordan. I also went diving for the first time the other day and that was also incredible (man I really need to look up some adjectives in a thesaurus). I can't even describe what I felt when I looked up at the water several feet above me. It was meditative in a way. I really had to relax, not think and focus on breathing. Once I got out of the water I wanted to go back in. Another staff member at the center said, "now you know why we love what we do," "Absolutely," I replied.
The first picture in this post and the one below are from the city of Petra in Jordan. I took a one day organized tour (when you're short on time, a one day tour with two other tourists is pretty ok) and I am really glad I visited this place. You walk for about 45 minutes through a really deep canyon which reveals this incredible memorial below. For being constructed in about 100 BC, it is in near perfect condition. I was standing in front of it, in awe, not being able to fathom the age of this- 100 Bc?!
Also on this day I lost $300 at the beginning of the tour (long story) which really tested me to either put things in perspective, or let this loss kill my day. I was so mad at myself and bummed out because at this point of the trip every penny counts but, I know that in the larger scheme of things, (and I can almost hear my dad telling me this, too) money is just money; we give it value, not the other way around and while I was standing there, I thought, I'm sure I'll remember how this took my breath away more than losing money that can come and go at any moment, so it is better to value what is in front of us because we just never know if or when we'll see it again.
