Hoy, Sharam A Sheikh

Tuesday: December 14, 2010

Welcome to beautiful Sharm El-Sheikh! Today we took a direct flight from Hurghada to Sharm El-Sheikh, which lasted exactly 20 minutes. In fact, it probably took more time to get our luggage than it took to cross the Red Sea (or to arrive in Asia, whichever way you look at it). Sharm El-Sheikh literally means the “Sector of the Elder.”

Formerly a part of Israel after it captured it in 1967 during the Six-Day War, Sharm El-Sheikh, located at the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula, was returned to Egypt in 1982 under a peace agreement between the two states. It is less than 40 years old, it this fact was obvious as we drove from the airport to the hotel. The area to the right of the major road was pure desert and mountains while the land to the left of the road was either developed or under construction. Similar to Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh is undergoing a lot of development. However, unlike Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh has a master plan and is really sticking to its already-developed land use policies. It has well planned roads and hotels, though it still has an Old Market area (which I plan to going to tomorrow night). Because the streets are well planned, there isn’t congestion like Cairo and therefore lots of peace conferences are held here.

The hotel is beautiful; it is the Marriot Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort. It is located directly on the Red Sea and from my room I can kinda see the sea. Breakfast and Dinner is included, drinks aren’t…but I found some free Internet near the pool area (apparently you have to buy a drink—but yeah…didn’t). There are 4 adult pools and 4 kid pools and at least 5 different restaurants.

Mailbag!

Uncle Adam: Hey! My tour guide seems to know his stuff, so I would also go with (1) and (2).
Is there a curriculum? We have our various excursions—a pretty packed schedule as you’ve read—but not really. We don’t have student visas, we have tourist visas (we’re pretty much tourists). Professor Ghaly’s Egypt Mini Term Website (Egypt.union.edu) says:

“This miniterm intends to give the students extensive exposure to ancient and modern Egypt. Monument and temple visits of Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sites are planned. The goal is to explore both the cultural and engineering aspects of this civilization.”

Do you meet with your professor as a group (or individually) to discuss what you have learned or experienced each day? No, we will do this during presentations during the Winter Term.

I know you have been having some stomach maladies, but have you had any truly traditional Egyptian food? Yes, I’ve gone to a few home-style restaurants—and they are really good…though my stomach doesn’t seem to agree with me. At this point, I don’t think my stomach will agree with anything for whatever reason.

I should have taken some of the frogs, locusts, and ping-pong balls from Aunt Mindy’s house and toss them in the market when someone tells me “No Hassle.” They would probably try to sell me my stuff back.
Little Chief Tunis: Sorry I haven’t been able to update more…It sucks from my end too. I think 20% of the population celebrates Christmas…and they celebrate the same way they do in the States. The Sharm area has a lot of “Merry Christmas” signs and there is a huge Christmas tree in the lobby (which we took a picture in front of as a group. Ugh, Cliff Lee. I didn’t see that in the news…I haven’t spent the 15 pounds to get a lousy English-Egyptian paper, but that’s very cool.

Uncle Adam: Yeah, the sharks are a big concern here. They wont open the beaches until an investigation is finished. I read a few days ago in the paper that some people think the Israelis planted the sharks here…and I laughed. Our group wont be going on any sea excursions (no banana boats).

Mom: I know that the Egyptians are proud of their ancient history, but is any of it incorporated into their modern way of life, other than it being the source of much needed tourism income? Lots of jobs excavating undiscovered temples, the money has various historic symbols, a lot of older businesses (carpet making, alabaster carving is still around). Tourism is a huge deal here; English often dominates.

Mom wants to know if the site where Pharaoh's daughter found Moses was ever identified and, if so, is it marked? I have no idea. How wide is the Nile? Not as wide as you would think. Probably the width of the Delaware near Aunt Mindy’s house times 2. It obviously gets bigger during the flooding season. How deep? Deep. Is it clean enough to go swimming in? The farther away from Cairo, the better the water quality, but you don’t want to swim in it—lots of crocodiles. Are there reeds along its bank? Nope, just rocks—the construction of the Aswan High Dam probably destroyed that type of agriculture.