Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt April, 6th 2007

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt is located on the Sinai Peninsula. This part of Egypt is in Asia, not Africa. I did not know this until I got there! Sharm el Sheik, is located on the tip end of the peninsula. It is the holiday coast for many in the middle east. It over looks the Gulf of Tiran and is the capital of the "Red Sea Riveria". They have year round warm weather. It is not known to us at home as a beach resort. However, many of you would know it as being the gateway to one of the most revered places in Christianity and Judaism, Mount Sinai, from where God is believed to have given Moses the Ten Commandments. Crazy at it may sound, look at those jagged mountains and sand. It is exactly as how it is described and depicted in the movie The Ten Commandmants when Moses reaches the Red Sea and for a few seconds they look like they are not going to get away from the Egyptians, UNTIL the Red Sea opens up! These pictures are of those mountains and all the water you see is the Red Sea. It was an amazing experience. The submarine ride was one of the best things we have done since we left home. There are many resorts along the beach, as there is a spot in the Gulf of Aqaba, which is right below the Sinai Peninsula where the water is warm (because the Red Sea is cold) and this spot is where in the Earth's crust, the Eurasian and African continents seperate. Guess what happens there?? Give up? This causes coral reefs that look like Rembrant held his breath for 20 years and went down there and went crazy painting them! The yellows, purples, blues, reds, pinks,...on and on. I hate that the pictures we took of these coral reefs do not do them justice, you'll have to make a trip here to dive. Here is our day at Sharm el Sheikh...

When we were arriving at the port VERY early, we went out on our balcony and saw swarms of jelly fish. Some of the local people said they do not sting but I did not want Kathleen to risk picking this one up off the beach that was trying to commit suicide! This is our submarine! A very tight ride but well worth it. The scenery getting to our submarine, was of these fabulous mountains that look like they had been pushed up out of the ocean and are reaching toward heaven. The flat sandy areas were all around you.

Here is a close up of one of the "jellies" that were all around us. It was a tiny bit spooky but they were like dancing ballerinas when they swam by our submarine. It was almost like they were coming up to us to say hello. Here is what it looked like from the inside looking out!! Very tight but very wonderful experience.
Check out this jellyfish in a school of zebra fish!! The middle of the jellyfish looks like a lucky four leaf clover.
This is Michael, he is a retired doctor from Canada. He is a favorite of Nicky's for trivia, as you could imagine and he is also kind enough to give Nicky chess lessons on the ship. He has been a great friend to us all the whole trip. Thanks Michael for putting up with all of Nicky's questions!!

Rainbow Fish!!! Kathleen's class should get a good look at this fish! They are reading Rainbow Fish. I never realized they existed! They are so beautiful. They almost look like someone put lipstick on them!

Sheer dirt, but nice dirt. No graffiti painted on it, no trash anywhere. It was lovely.

This house, I was convinced must belong to Omar Shariff! It was on the summit of this cliff and had a grove of palm trees that were so beautiful they did not look real. If it is not Omar's place, I'd be surprised!!! I looked for him, never saw him. Here I am looking for Omar to come out so I could give him a wave!
What is Egypt without shopping?? We took a shuttle bus into "town" and found a wonderful market place. Kathleen finally decided she needed a belly dancing skirt to take back to Alabama. You know she will get a lot of wear out of that purchase! We have been gone for over 3 months, you'd think those impulse buys would be gone! I don't think they ever go away!!

Jay and Mary Pat were very proud of their purchases!!


This is a shot of the market place. It was all tumbled marble streets with cafes and shops all along, very nice.


Landscaping people would starve here. Most houses have dirt for yards and maybe a lonesome tree or two. This was one of the nicer houses we saw.

It was formal night. Here our my two guys. Very handsome in their James Bond gear. They look like they are enjoying Egypt, or could it be the show??

A family photo at the show.
Here's the show!! Belly dancing. There continues to be an ongoing fight over where belly dancing originated. Was it in Arabia or Egypt?? In Egypt they say that nobody belly dances better than the "Girls from the Nile". We will leave here not really knowing for sure, but this gal was terriffic. I was always one that thought a little bit of belly dancing goes a long way. However, this gal could belly dance to The Orange Blossom Special!! That was great.
Who are these Muslim ladies surrounding the children? Miss Lynne and Miss Judy!! Two of Kathleen and Nicky's favorite card playing friends. They have learned how to play a new card game called 31. Very fun game. Thanks to both Judy and Lynne for all the hours they have played cards on buses with the kids!!! They bought these Muslim "costumes". I think that was an impulse by myself!

Poetry in motion. When we had a sea day getting to Sharm el Sheikh, I made the children go to the aft of the ship and look out at the Red Sea and write a poem. Appropriately enough, Kathleen titled her work, "The Blue Red Sea".