Volume 1 Issue 8
Dahab
Egypt, August 2014 by Luuk de Waardt Dahab, which means ‘gold’ in Arabic, was named after its golden beaches, lying on the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula on the Gulf of Aqaba. The jewel of the Red Sea Riviera; it is located 85 km north of Sharm el-Sheikh. It is a place that many have fallen in love with over the years. Dahab was once an isolated coastal village inhabited only by local Bedouins. As little as 30 years ago, there were fewer than 30 Bedouin families in Dahab. Like the Bedouin inland, they had a self-sustaining lifestyle but in Dahab this was based on fishing as well as traditional goat herds. During the summer, many of the inland Bedouins came to Dahab to fish, to collect dates, and to enjoy life by the sea. To this day, favourite presents from Dahab (for the inland Bedouins) are dried fish & dates. During the 1990s adventure enthusiasts from around the world began to discover Dahab’s natural wonders. The combination of the Red Sea & the Sinai desert make Dahab perfect for: world class windsurfing, scuba diving, free diving, rock climbing and of course desert trekking with the Bedouins. Add to this cheap accommodation on or near the beach, inexpensive food and drink and a relaxed atmosphere, and you have a heady enticement for the young and young at heart. Still, for everyone with an open mind, Dahab is definitely worth a visit. To many people this has become a second home.