Adventures in the Middle East – Part 6

I am going!

As many times before, I disregarded the warnings of my Slovenian friends, that I cannot go to Sinai without a travel agency, because there are many police checkpoints. I went to Dahab. With the local bus, but with many expectations about volunteering and, as usual, a slight crisis on the first days. ''Where am I? I'm not doing this any more! I'm going to switch jobs!''

Slow work is killing me!

I am used to doing my job and then having free time. But there was no work to be done here. In the morning, I cleaned up the rabbit feces in ten minutes, then chatted with the host. Or, at least I wish I could have chatted with him. The host was not very talkative.

I found out that the host is hosting the volunteers to show them the simple Arab life. No rush, no unnecessary things. Every day we woke up so slowly, slowly drank coffee, slowly fed the animals, slowly prepared breakfast... I was usually in charge of the shakshuka, an egg omelet made from vegetables. We then slowly got ready for the beach, snorkeled, visited his organic garden, drank Bedouin tea and returned home in the evening, built a fire and (as you guessed correctly) SLOWLY prepared dinner. But this slowness annoyed the hell out of me! I am a very energetic person by nature, and I had the feeling that I was missing everything due to slowness.

I was quite annoyed until the host mentioned that he was a diving instructor. I love diving! I passed the theoretical part in Slovenia, and in a couple of months we were supposed to do the necessary dives for the certificate in Croatia. I arranged to finish it in Egypt. Diving has become my new hobby.

Horseback riding on the beach

In addition to twenty rabbits, the host also had a horse Amir, Simba the puppy and Bezbesa the cat (when you call a cat, you say bz bz to make it come to you, hence the name Bezbesa). As usual, we went to the beach one morning after breakfast, only this time with Amir and Simba. I tried riding for the first time. I was sure I would do more than great. There was a large group of young, hot guys on holiday at the beach, listening to some music, and just for the sake of the audience, I had to show off all my talents. Without prior knowledge, of course! I was photographed by a volunteer and filmed by the host so everyone could see this natural talent. I was galloping along Dahab's sandy beaches, the host was with me the whole time, and then he let me do it alone for a little while to document my venture with the camera. At that moment, Simba came by and made poor Amir quite nervous. The horse went straight into the sea, including me, and before the harness pull information reached my brain, I had already landed in the sea. In front of the group of the hot guys! From the initial shock that I was alive after falling off such a huge beast, I started to laugh out loud. It was a hilarious moment. I even have a recording on my camera that the host did not have time to turn off.

Arab life

After lying on the beach all day, diving or galloping with Amir, we lit a fire in the evenings, learned to play darbuka and listened to Arabic tales. Arabic tales are around 2,000 years old and still have very relevant lessons.

How would you describe Arab life, I asked my host? ''To appreciate everything around us. The sun. The stars. The moon. Everything that serves us. Especially in modern life. People in the city forget about these things and just crave materialistic things. People need nature because we are part of nature. Without palm trees, for example, the Arabs would not survive. With seven dates a day, the body gets all the nutrients and materials it needs. The most important thing in life is health. As long as you are healthy, you are young. Healthy living means: eat less, be in the sun and walk a lot. It nourishes your body and soul! But people only take care of their body, and then they are unhappy and depressed. The soul feeds on knowledge. Food and drink will not make you happy, but knowledge and wisdom will.

In nature, we can get everything we need. Camels are also a huge help to people. Arabs have a special respect and attitude towards camels. They are part of the family and the camels feel it. Because of their good behaviour, they will always protect you, provide you with shade and carry your luggage. Camels are great animals. They have special qualities that no other animal has. They do not have fat under the skin, but only on the hump. When they sweat, they do not lose water, but even produce it from the air. Because of this, they can go as long as 42 days without water! They have special eyes and double eyelashes, which help them see in a desert blizzard. Their stomachs are also special. It has more spaces where they store food and then digest it slowly.''

Dessert pizza

We lit a fire in the evening, and it was so beautiful that we had to use it for something useful. The host came up with the idea to make a dessert pizza. I just went to the nearest grocery store to get some flour, and the host had already kneaded the bread in his favourite Emo bowl. Made in Slovenia was written on the bottom of the enamel. Warm bread with feta cheese and homemade olive oil was our dinner. Delicious! When the third joint went around the fire, I said goodnight and went to my eco-house, which my host had built out of clay. Natural, aesthetic and quite comfortable! The only thing that made it less pleasant was when the rain started dripping off the roof and onto the oriental tapestry and one of the volunteer's beds.