I have always felt drawn to the wonders of Egypt, with its vibrant ancient history and sweeping golden landscapes and having already followed the traditional tourist route of seeing the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza and staring in awe at the many delightful antiquities in the Egyptian Museum at Cairo I felt it was time I wondered a little further to the South. I found myself heading to Sharm el Sheikh nestled on the Southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, a far cry from the inner city hustle and bustle of Cairo and instead found sweeping beaches, and beautiful clear waters. But there was so much more to this southern region then diving and sunbathing and I wanted to explore further in to the local culture.
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| Beach at my Sharm resort |
So I decided to join a trip heading out in to the Sinai Desert, a barren expanse of shifting sand and atmospheric mountains. As our driver pulled off the main road we were dropped off alongside a group of groaning camels, which were to be our transport for the next half an hour. They were surprisingly easy to mount and I soon found myself shifting and sliding with the camels rhythmic footsteps and relishing the experience. It wasn't long before we reached a Bedouin camp where we were warmly greeted and shown in to an open tent. A fire flickered in the open space in front of us and we were each offered a warm cup of refreshing mint tea. Shisha pipes were passed around with the sweet burning smell of raspberries and pieces of freshly baked bread were offered as a snack.
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| The Sinai Desert |
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| Camel on beach in Sharm |
As the day began to shift in to night, we huddled around the fire and some of the Bedouin people began to drum and sing. It wasn't long before we were up and dancing, a surreal moment where the rest of the world seemed so far away. As the night drew on, the sky began to clear, revealing hundreds of twinkling stars. it was a beautiful sight to behold, a network of lights signalling the existence of planets and balls of fire millions of miles away. Peering through a telescope I settled upon the planet Jupiter and was astounded at how much detail I could see, each brown ring was perfectly captured providing me with an insight in to the mysterious beauty of our solar system. Home felt a million miles away and I was happy to stay in the moment; dancing beneath the stars.
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| Baking Bedouin bread |
