Dahab!

One way to describe Dahab might be to call it the Middle East version of Key West. Although I’d have to say Dahab is way more interesting than Key West! Beautifully nestled on the Gulf of Aqaba, the colourful shops, unique restaurants, dive and shore excursion places paint a perfect picture along the coast line.

Like Key West larger than life personalities stand outside their shops looking to engage, entice and entertain the customer and their wallets. All during the day the tourists walk along the beach front in different layers of swim wear and wet suits. 

In the morning Dahab wakes up slowly. Cleaners toss buckets of water out and with brooms scrub the cobble stoned street. Unlike the hustle and bustle of Cairo car horns are replaced by the sounds of waves crashing against the shore. The early morning divers smile and slowly wheel tanks to their boats and early morning dive destinations. Gradually shop keppers open their store windows, drink their first turkish coffee of the day, pray for happy customers and good sales.

Mid-day in Dahab is filled with laughter and stroes from the night before. Late breakfast runs into early lunch as the beach chairs that cover the coast line quickly fill up. The clothes are peeled off an for a couple miles of shorefront the sun gods and sun goddess soak up the rays.

The waves and techno  continue to roll in. The morning divers return and peel off their wet suits for a while and enjoy lunch. The afternoon sun starts to fade and evening plans start to be made. I’d tell you about Dahab at night but I really have yet to experience the coastline at night. Adventures to Bedouin Villages and sleeping in the mountains under the stars have been my style thus far and that is a whole other story. (Yes, coming soon ) 

Dahab enjoys large numbers of tourists. It is world-renowned for its windsurfing. Reliable winds provide superb flat-water conditions inside Dahab’s sand spit. Further away from shore, wavy conditions couple with strong winds to provide formidable conditions for keen windsurfers. SCUBA diving and snorkelling are also popular activities with many reefs immediately adjacent to waterfront hotels. The nearby Blue Hole and Canyon are internationally famous dive spots. Land based activities include camel, horse, jeep and quad biketrips. Mount Sinai is a two hours drive, with Saint Catherine’s Monastery being a popular tourist destination.

Historically, most visitors to Dahab have been backpackers travelling independently and staying in hostels in the Masbet area. In recent years, development of hotels in the Medina area has facilitated the arrival of a wider range of tourists, many of whom visit Dahab specifically to partake in the windsurfing, diving and other activities.

The word Dahab is Arabic for gold and is possibly a reference to the geographic locality; gold washed down from the desert mountains may have accumulated on the alluvial flood plain where the town was built. The name may also be a reference to the colour of the sands to the south of the town itself. Some locals attribute the name to the colour of the sky, just after sunset.