Eid Al Fitr and Dahab (more on Dahab)

Around Penguin Village but still in the mid-range area were tourist shops and restaurants, the majority of which were located on the main beach side promenade. On the beach side of the promenade there were the restaurants and on the other side the gift shops and diving centers. Each restaurant was pretty much the same as the one next to it, almost all having two seating options of either rugs, pillows, and a coffee table on the ground or an actual booth and mid-height table. Then the restaurants would usually cover all of this with a canopy and bring out the food from a kitchen next to the shops and dive centers. Although the restaurants all greatly resembled each other both with their menus and prices, the quality of the food varied noticeably from one establishment to another. This especially surprised me because I couldn’t imagine how many different whole-sale food suppliers there could possibly be in the area. We at about three or four of these restaurants during our stay and, for the most part, we mainly ordered pizzas because they were cheap and easy to split. For the rest of the time were bought cheap pita bread, medium priced sliced turkey, cheese, nutella, and fruit. I also brought some Nature Valley granola bars from home to supplement this diet. To the north of this area and up the coast we finally come to the “traditional” Bedouin community. I’m not sure what made it more traditional because I certainly didn’t see anybody living tents. There were building complexes, markets, and drug stores just like the area where I was staying. But, here, there were a more abandoned or vacated lots, a lot more camels and goats, and almost no foreigners. It was when I explored this area that I remembered that I was in a country where Islam was the predominant religion, for I found the mosque from which I had been hearing the distant but distinct calls to prayer. My real reminder, however, came when I tried ordering a falafel sandwich at around 6:30 from a one of the beach side restaurants here. When I made my order the restaurant owner told me that his kitchen could begin making it in fifteen minutes. Since falafel is usually pre-maid and ready to go, I asked if I could be served anytime sooner. Again, I was told I would have to wait fifteen minutes. But then a fellow customer who was noticing my confusion told me that that evening was the last night of Ramadan and that the kitchen crew was currently breaking their fast for the day. My embarrassment for having forgotten it was still Ramadan when I had been living at a school where I had to wait for the call the prayer to end before I could begin eating my evening meal was so great that I wanted to start recited all my knowledge of Islam right then and there just so the people around me wouldn’t think me completely ignorant. I decided, however, that I be doing myself and all foreigners more of a service just by apologizing and nodding in understanding. One observation of this northern, traditional area that I’ll write down here was that a lot of the children were playing with highly realistic toy guns that even made a slight popping noise when the trigger was pulled. These toy guns were more realistic than any other toy guns I had ever seen and I just couldn’t believe that the parents of these children didn’t seem to mind raising their children in this violent context.