Saudi Arabia

I'm pretty sure I never thought I would see Saudi Arabia, much less stand closer than twenty kilometers to its shores, and yet every time I looked out at Red Sea, across the Gulf of Aqaba, there were the hills of Saudi Arabia.

Amusing signs

I noticed these two signs along the boardwalk in Dahab. I thought the first was pretty amusing until I saw the second.

Dahab

After only three days of work, I had my first Egyptian national holiday - Eid ul-Fitr - to celebrate the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Since the holiday began at sunset on a Tuesday evening, the office was closed on Wednesday and Thursday, creating a four-day weekend. Together with two friends from work, I decided to take advantage of the long weekend and visit a town called Dahab.

Dahab is located on the Sinai Peninsula on the coast of a part of the Red Sea called the Gulf of Aqaba. The town is known interenationally for its snorkeling and diving opportunities and locally for its relaxed, backpackers atmosphere.

At midnight on Tuesday we boarded a bus and by 9:00 the next morning we were in Dahab. The town was just as we had heard - very laid back and incredibly relaxing.
We spent the first day along the beachfront - lounging on pillows at cafes and restaurants, reading books, enjoying the beautiful weather and the views, napping in hammocks. I can't remember the last time I was so carefree and relaxed.

First pyramids

They say that when the sky is clear you can see the pyramids from the main road along the east bank of the Nile, the road that we drive up every morning and down every evening going to and from work. I found out this afternoon that this is true. Looking across the Nile and through the high rise buildings of the city, I spotted two pyramids in the distance. They just seemed out of place, appearing in the midst of the hectic capital city, yet there they were, incredible.

Alligators, owls and turkeys

Just in case you were starting to think I actually live in the United States and not on the African continent, please know that I noticed three cages just outside the HR department today - one is home to two alligators, one to an owl and one to three turkeys. Random things like that don't exist at offices in the U.S.