We left early on Thursday morning, getting to the bus station in Heliopolis around 4:00 AM. We found out the bus to Nuweiba didn't leave until 6:45 AM, so we had to wait for awhile, and believe it or not, we were freezing sitting on that bench for a few hours.
Bus station in Heliopolis
We took the East Delta Bus for 70 L.E. a head. The bus was only half full, so it was comfortable. Within an hour or so we drove under the Suez Canal. For the first time I saw security forces that actually looked like they took their jobs seriously. The rest of the ride from Suez until Taba was almost entirely desert. Occasionally I would see a bedouin and some camels walking through the desert, but other than that it was barren. We did stop halfway at some coffee shop in the middle of nowhere.
Most of the journey across the Sinai looks like this.
As we got closer to the Gulf of Aqaba, it began to look like this.
After about six hours, we arrived in Taba, appropriately enough for Taba Liberation Day. Taba is on the Israeli border and was Israeli-occupied until 1989. Before arriving in Taba, security forces entered our bus and checked the ID's of the Egyptians and passports of the foreigners. Mohammad and a few others were pulled off the bus for questioning. (He thought his beard looked suspicious.) We made a stop at the bus station in Taba before turning around and picking up Mohammad and the others. From what I saw of Taba, it's really not much of a town. The only things I saw in Taba were beach camps and a few hotels. I saw no homes or stores.
The tiny Taba Airport.
Within a half hour we were in Nuweiba, or at least close enough to reach our destination. Mohammad had stayed at this camp, called Ras Shatan, before. Guarding the camp was an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) and about six soldiers. It seemed a bit overkill for a few huts, but it was certainly reassuring that they were there.
South and North, respectively of Ras Shatan.
APC and Central Security Forces at the entrance.
Ras Shatan is one of the beach camps that line the coast outside Nuweiba. We didn't actually go into Nuweiba, which has a port and a small town. There are camps on either side of Ras Shatan, but nothing else but desert and mountains. The nearest gas station was at least a half hour away. The camp consisted of a beach with about thirty huts, shower and bathrooms, and a kitchen.
The scenery of the camp was striking, with the mountains of the Sinai behind us, the clear Red Sea in the foreground, and the mountains of Saudi Arabia in the background. Unlike Cairo, this place was very quiet, except for the sound of the waves.
When we arrived, the staff took our passports, showed us our khoosha (hut), and took our food orders. The camp was run by a staff of about five or six beduins. They were laid-back guys who were really friendly and fun to be around. They would just walk around the camp all day and bring you whatever you wanted, which is something I'm not used to. The staff had an Arabic accent I hadn't heard before, probably closer to a beduin dialect. The camp probably had about thirty visitors, consisting of Egyptians, Israelis, and Americans. Most people brought their own cars.
Pictures from around the camp.
Here is a brief video of what the Red Sea looks like from the camp.
An unexpected visitor.
Cruise ship off the coast of Saudi.
Our luxurious hotel room.
The food was all Egyptian traditional food, and was exceptionally good. During the weekend I had lamb, fish, shakshuka (an egg omlette breakfast), grilled chicken, tahina and salads, and a few other things. They had a special brew of tea and their own sahleb recipe also.
What's left of my fish.
At night it got very windy and cold, but they had some of the khooshas set up with a fire and some of the local beduins came to the camp and hung out. I met a couple who were living in Tel Aviv for a few months; coincidentally they lived in Brooklyn and both of them also grew up in Central Massachusetts, so we had a lot to talk about. We also talked to some of the Egyptians who were visiting.
Mohammad hanging out with some of the Egyptians.
Some of the local bedouins that visited.
It was a good weekend for me to practice my Arabic, since it took more than a little effort to understand what the locals were saying.
On Saturday morning we woke up at dawn to watch the sun rise across the Gulf of Aqaba, which was a great sight. The sun rose across the mountains in less than a minute.
Waiting in the cold for the sun to rise.
Nate, Mohammad, and one of the Egyptians we met, waiting for breakfast.
Nate with one of the camp's dogs.
The prices of the food were slightly more expensive than food in Cairo, though well worth it. The cost of the trip was basically nothing compared to American standards.
Sisu calculates the bill.
Since Ras Shatan is in the middle of nowhere, the process of leaving took awhile. We stood out along the side of the highway and waited for the first bus to pass by. A minibus driver offered to take us back to Cairo for only 50 LE. We picked up a few others along the way near Taba. The driver was really good at getting places fast; we probably went about 100 miles an hour at some points through the desert, and weaved our way around tankers and dump trucks, the only vehicles on the road.
The way back had numerous security checks. We had picked up another American student along the way, so every time we passed a checkpoint the driver announced that there were three Americans aboard, which the police duly noted. It's a little strange to be given such high priority by the police just for being Americans, but considering the threat of terrorism in the Sinai it's certainly welcomed. For some reason the minibus' stop was el-Marg, a poor suburb to the north of Cairo, though it's the last stop along the Cairo Metro, so getting back to Doqqi was not a problem.
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