Day Four in Paradise
D takes a break from being sick in bed to be sick on the beach.
(Posted 3 days after the events described…)
We intended to leave Nuweiba and the quiet, sun-drenched beach for the chaos of Cairo today, but last night D went to bed with a fever and sinus headache. He’s stuck in bed today, being nursed back to health with the help of the very attentive staff at the hotel who call on him with cups of hot lemon water with honey and toast.
When not checking in on D, I am left to sit on the beach, play pool (ok, maybe “play” is an exaggeration, but I’m trying!), and speed through the latest book I’m reading, “A Portrait of Egypt: A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam.”
This is the high season for tourism in the Sinai, popular with Israeli tourists as Nuweiba is only one hour from the Israeli border crossing of Taba. However we are the only people checked into the hotel at this time.
In the last three days we’ve seen only two other couples check into this hotel and stay just a day or two each while on their way to Cairo or elsewhere. Other beach-front inns down the way from us seem similarly deserted. The manager of the property told us the high season began on July 10th, but this summer no one has come. I can only assume it’s due to the “Middle East Crisis” just north of us.
We’ve seen signs of the conflict’s impact throughout our travels. While in Amman, a protest in support of Lebanon took place just blocks away from our hotel. On the ferry ride to Egypt, we saw numerous Lebanese passports turned over to immigration officials. People we’ve met have had no reservations expressing their displeasure with America’s unwavering support of Israel (although that has not corresponded at all with any hostility towards us as Americans). And Al-Jazeera is the TV channel of choice at every café, hotel lobby, and waiting area.
We try to remain sensitive to the reactions we receive when we say we are Americans and we certainly try to steer clear of discussions on US foreign policy. But it’s hard to avoid when the conflict seems so close to everyone’s heart. (We avoid it not because it makes us uncomfortable, but because most people’s understanding of events and US motivations is unnervingly one-sided. The conversations are not really conversations, but listening to someone’s opinion, which you can only do for so many hours of the day. That the US acts in its own self-interest seems to come as a surprise to a great many people. -TB)
-s
Tags: Egypt, Travel, Tag Index
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August 7th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
I don’t think i’d be in any hurry t leave that place. My advice to Derek is milk this for all it’s worth, even though you are both total pxxxsies for not going into the water.
Stay safe.
August 8th, 2006 at 11:15 am
international conflict.. beach paradise… playing pool on a friday lunchtime..
OR you could be back here awaiting the opening on the newest DANCE MOVIE – “Step Up.” Oh man, you’re gonna miss out.
Wait.. will you see it? I hope that movie doesn’t go international, that’s the real reason the rest of the world looks down on us. Teen movies. It’s not international politics it’s kevin federline.
get me outta here.
August 8th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Nice observation – why is it that foreigners are surprised the US will act in its own self-interest (not to defend the current administration in any way!)? And then criticize us for it? I’d love to hear more about the reactions you’re hearing from people and how you’re handling it. Hope your stomach improves D! Remember that miracle drug Cipro! Miss you guys, as always. – ABomb
August 8th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Yeah Dez, I gotta say, in my experience, the worse the American culture, the more it gets gobbled up in the 3d world. Michael Jackson is a god in Nepal, as is, and this is one you could never guess — Phoebe Cates.
They love our kitsch and hate us in spite of it.
and p.s. — At least Kevin knows chcken is chicken and fish is fish.