Dahab, Egypt 1989
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- September 27, 2022
There wasn’t much to Dahab when I dropped in on my way up to Jordan and the old Nabatean ruins at Petra.
The accommodation was basic. There was only a handful of places to eat. And because I visited in the depths of winter, it was way too cold to go for a swim.
The local Bedouins offered camel trips out into the rocky desert behind, but most of the time I just hung out with my fellow backpackers.
I fell in with a bunch of travellers from the US and Britain.
You could tell where we were from by our haircuts. I was the only Aussie and the only one with a mullet.
Our favourite ‘restaurant’ was a local Bedouin place, set up in a tent. There were cushions on the floor, low tables and a fire in the middle.
Most nights we ended up sleeping there, huddled around the fire, waking to find the dishes from our evening meal cleared away and breakfast waiting for us on the table.
In the end, me and the Brits moved out of our rooms and spent the rest of our nights there.
Rooms in Dahab at that time were simply mattresses on a bare concrete floor, so this struck us as the height of sophistication. And it was free.
Well, in a manner of speaking.
We rarely ventured far so the dollar a night we were saving went straight into the restaurant’s coffers.
Regardless, Dahab, as it was then, remains one of my favourite travelling experiences.
Nadim
2 years agoThose last 3 photos don’t appear to be of Dahab but Hurghada
Peter Moore
2 years agoHi Nadim,
You’re 100% correct. Taken while waiting for the ferry across to Sharm el Sheik. Well spotted.
Bv
11 months agoThere in 1987. Came from Hurghada, across to Sharm on a boat that got caught in a storm. Took 14 hours to make the crossing. I can still see the water sloshing about below decks! Seriously thought we’d never make it. Ended up in Dahab. Slept in the straw huts along the beach. There was an Aussie who owned a bar/cafe at the end of the beach. Lots and lots of black Sea Urchins. We also saw a decent sized shark….so stayed out of the water. All the local children were desperate for pens and pencils. Then a battered old taxi back to Cairo. Great times. Sad to see what it has become. But that is “progress”, apparently.
Kerrin
4 months agoI think I was there about the same time as you. On the concrete floor in the hut. Snorkelled the blue hole with a leaky mask & no fins – I was the only one there. I remember the tent we all hung out at & the yummy banana pancakes!! I also remember watching (a pirated copy) of “Jessica Rabbit” that they played most nights on a screen/sheet they had rigged up in the tent for night entertainment. Those were the days….