Coral dreaming

Neither do I miss the dust on my teeth nor the crazy street crossings since I left Cairo. How strong and regenerating silence can be I experienced very well in the White Desert. The silence was almost absolute. The wind was the only sound you could hear. The whole desert is composed of chalk and sand. A bizarre landscape - like another world. With pinnacles in the shape of giant mushrooms or heads.
The sky was overcast which had the positive effect for me and the Japanese honeymoon couple that was on the same tour with me, that the sun didn’t grill us. The bad thing was that the clouds didn’t go away during the night and so I couldn’t hardly se any star. Without clouds I reckon the sight would have been perfect for seeing even the milky way. But the real problem started on the second night in the desert. At night all of a sudden the wind picked up and grew into a real sandstorm. The Japanese where lying on a dune that was close by the camp. But even in the so called wind shielded camp the sand got us. Even the guide didn’t do other than hide himself in a couple of blankets. I finally entered the car and got some hours of sleep. I didn’t mind the jeep shaking so much. I was just happy not to inhale dust any longer. The next morning the storm had passed and I went over to find the Japanese couple half way covered with sand – sleeping. The heads and faces covered with cloth and with swimming goggles on to protect the eyes. When I woke them up they where cheering and laughing. They were so happy about their crazy (last) honeymoon night. Azushi and Midori you are beautiful people!
In the chalk I noted dark dots. Like stain on a white table-cloth. Looking at it closer I realized that these were little stones that got washed out by the wind and the sand bit by bit. The stones happened to be fossils. I saw bits of coral and every now and then even a shell could be found. I stood on a bottom of an ancient sea that had been turned into chalk and sand over time. I tried to imagine myself in this place some million years back. I was surrounded by coral reef and abundant marine life. I was sort of diving without regulator.
I actually did that timewarp about a week later. Right before that I went to luxor and visitied the Valley of Kings and the Karnagh temple. I undertood immediately why these places are so crowded with tourists, because they are really amazing. I don’t even want to imagine the slave work that was employed in the construction of these elegant tunnels. Tons and tones and tones of stone had been broken out of the mountain and a oversized coffin had been built and put inside. Although they are so amazing, not even the pyramids in Gizeh bring in as much money as SS Thistlegorm, an English ship wreck that was bombed and sunk during WW II. Today she is a popular dive sight.
That brings me to the diving. A budget traveler is maybe not expected to go for an as costly amusement as diving is. In fact diving here in Dahab is less than 20 Euro a dive, including the equipment. I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity to witness the maritime live of the Red Sea. The daydream of last week did come true. But using a regulator.
Corals as fossils are really nice to look at. But living corals in all the different colors and forms (brain form, tree form etc.) surrounded by maritime life is definitely different. It is stunning. The sea as such has a very special appeal. Therefore it is particularly sad that I have to leave it soon. I leave Egypt for Jordan. Reminiscing I can tell already today that two weeks is never enough to get through and into the mystery of Egypt, the cradle of our civilization.