Summer 2007 Week 6 ::: Israel

Day 39 ::: Road trip, road trip, road trip! After a few days of MAKING PARTY in Tel Aviv, we decided to hit the road and explore the rest of Israel. Dan, Gal and I rented a car and set off Monday morning for the north. We drove to and around the Sea of Galilee which is 53 km (33 miles) in circumference and the site of many of Jesus' miracles. We tried to walk on water, but weren't fortunate enough to have the optimal water and atmospheric conditions that many scientists now believe could have helped Jesus (by forming ice) in his famed Sea walk. After touring around the Sea, we made our way further north to the Golan Heights which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War (and again in the 1973 Yom Kippur War).

We stopped for lunch at Dag Al HaDan, a cozy little, outdoor restaurant located where the Dan River meets the Hazbani. After feasting on some fresh fish, we walked up the street to the Senir Stream Park & Nature Reserve for an afternoon hike IN THE STREAM. We spent the afternoon hiking down the stream, having to navigate a few hairy patches where the water reached up to our chests. It was made that much more difficult by both the strong current and our decision to bring cameras. A few minutes into the hike Gal fell on his a$$ and took out Dan's legs but somehow his camera stayed dry. Luckily we had good luck the rest of the way, too and managed to finish the hike with both cameras and pride in tact.




After the hike we drove south an hour and stopped in Tsfat, one of the four holy cities in Judaism along with Jerusalem, Tiberias and Hebron. It's probably most well known as the center for Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism made popular by Madonna. The beautiful town, the highest in the country, is filled with medieval synagogues, cobbled streets and stone houses. It also has an ancient cemetery that contains the graves of many famous Kabbalists who believed that Tsfat's pure air would benefit the souls buried there and send them straight to the Garden of Eden. Hundreds of pilgrims were there that day with us, walking through the cemetery saying prayers. After our short visit to Tsfat, we drove a few hours further south and arrived in Jerusalem around midnight. We stayed the night at House 57 B&B in the Ramat Eshkol section of the city.



Day 40 ::: Jerusalem is both the capital and the largest city in Israel (population 732,000) in addition to being the most important religious site in the world. And since we only had a day to explore it, we decided to hire a guide to tour us around. We started off at the Mount of Olives, the mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem and home to the Gardens of Gethsemane where Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, according to the bible. After a few minutes of hearing our guide preview some of the sites that we could see from the Mount, we quickly realized why the city is of such political and religious importance. Despite having an area of less than a half square mile, the Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and its Western (Wailing) Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians (where Jesus was crucified and buried), and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims (3rd only to Mecca and Medina in importance).

After the Mount of Olives, we visited the Western/Wailing Wall which is revered for its proximity to the location of the holiest location in Judaism (a destroyed Temple). It is part of the bigger religious area called Har ha-Bayit (the Temple Mount) to Jews and Christians, or Al-Haram al-Qudsi al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) to Muslims. Jews visit the Wall to pray and leave slips of paper with wishes/prayers in the cracks, however a divider separates the men's section from the women's section in order to maintain the sanctity of the space. After the Wall, we visited the Muslim section including the Dome of the Rock, an incredibly beautiful shrine which is believed by Muslims to be the spot from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven.





That day we also visited the City of David, the Four Sephardic Synagogues, the various quarters of the Old City (Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim), the 14 Stations of the Cross (major points in Christ's final hours), an ultra orthodox neighborhood and Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial museum). After a full day of site seeing, we drove even further south to Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea and checked in at our hotel, Hod Hamidbar. The hotel was fairly decent and had a private beach on the Sea, however, the only downer was the droves of old people gathered every night in our lobby! It was like a nursing home night club - oh the horror!

Day 41 ::: We went to bed around 10pm the night before and woke up at 2:45am to set off on a night hike to Masada, a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. We arrived to the entrance sometime just before 3:30am after someone at our hotel reception desk told us the sunrise was at 4:30am. I thought that sounded a bit odd - especially since I hadn't seen the sun up that early in Tel Aviv when we were out well past that hour. When we approached the entrance and woke up the guard, he promptly told us we were WAY early since the sun wouldn't actually rise until 6:09am. Whoops! We killed some time and then finally entered around 5am. What we thought would be a peaceful hike with a few other people turned to be a mob scene with a few bus loads of young kids arriving at the same time...uggh! We motored past them on the extremely steep trail and then made our way to the top in about 30 minutes, well ahead of most of the others. We spent the next 1.5 hours perched on a rock, watching the sun rise over the Dead Sea and the surrounding mountains and taking photos. It was stunning. We scampered back down the trail and made our way back to the hotel around 7am to grab a quick breakfast and nap before officially starting our day.




The first order of business after we crawled out of bed around 11am was to schedule a spa treatment. All three of us got Mineral Mud Wraps which involves sitting naked on a table, having mud rubbed all over you and being wrapped up very tightly in plastic wrap and blankets. While it felt nice, I got a bit too hot and claustrophobic and couldn't fully enjoy myself. Next time I'll stick to the massage, reflexology or body scrub! The afternoon was spent on our private beach where we alternated between beach chair and the Sea. Not only is the Dead Sea the lowest point on earth at about 400m below sea level, it's also home to one of the most unique environments in the world. Compared to regular sea water, the Dead Sea contains 20x as much bromine, 15x as much magnesium and 10x as much iodine making it essentially 33% solid. The mineral content not only allows you to bob and float without any effort, it also has incredible therapeutic effects on the skin. However, the extreme conditions mean there is no plant or animal life and that you have to keep your head above the water (to avoid serious burning of the eyes). That night we took a ride through town to explore the limited food options and found a decent little restaurant where we enjoyed a mixed plate of Israeli goodies and really yummy salads.

Me floating/vogueing in the Dead Sea:





Day 42 ::: We got up early to drive back to Tel Aviv and then I spent some time on the beach before getting ready for round two of TLV party making. We had an amazing dinner on Sheinken Street at Orna & Ella where we feasted on yam pancakes and curried sea bass with pumpkins. So good! After dinner we went to yet another boy bar, Cedamus Amori, then back to Evita (we're regulars at this point) before our final stop, Barzilay, which was hosting an electro night for... you guessed it, boys! I was happy to hear Larry Heard's "The Sun Can’t Compare" playing as we walked in the door. The music was pretty good and the vibe dark/dirty/raunchy (as you an tell by the adjacent photo). I even saw a few of my new friends from previous nights out, but decided to call it quits sometime around 4:30am, leaving the boys to *fend* for themselves.

Day 43 ::: Lunch, beach, chill... the usual. Then we had a lovely, late-night dinner at Rafael, one of Tel Aviv's nicest restaurants before heading to pre-game standby, Evita. Later that night we met up with Shirley's crew at Levontin 7, a cool mid-sized, underground joint hosting the 7th Anniversary party of the Tel Aviv equivalent of Rhythmism.com. The music was great and the crowd was almost exclusively music heads - well except the two shirtless gay boys that I brought along. I don't think the usuals knew what the hell was going on when Gal and Dan added their touch to the party...ha! For the third time in four parties I heard Samim's love it or hate it track, "Heater" (Get Physical). I also heard a new (to me) mix of Ambivalent's RU OK. Go Kev! For the second night in a row, I left *early* and let the boys continue their quest at Vox.

Day 44 ::: Lunch, beach, chill... I'm starting to feel like I live here! Maybe Shirley will let me stay and be her personal assistant. We went to Gal's parents' house for an amazing family BBQ and then made our way to a rooftop party in the shadows of Shirley's office building - how funny! After that, we went to Cheech Beach, the FAB gay Saturday night party near the beach. NYC may have the quantity, but TLV has the quality at this incredible party... every hot boy in all of Tel Aviv goes. Eye candy...wow! I got drunk and made friends with the most fun group of boys - all 20 year-olds in the Israeli Defense Force that came to TLV to party for the weekend. We danced on tables and had a fun photo shoot...Dan and I even saw Jesus (see photo). You would not believe how crazy Tel Aviv gets on Saturday night (the equiavlent of Sunday in the US). I left the party sometime around 3am and the streets were still packed! I love this city!








The Second Coming:


Day 45 ::: Shirley finally got back to TLV after spending the last month between New York and London for training. It's a good thing I love her so much because she arrived only three short hours after Dan and I went to bed. I got up to greet her and then went to grab some breakfast to continue the catch up. After that, she had to go to work )-: - those damn i-bankers! Me, Shirley and Gal had a lovely final dinner and then Gal and I went back to Evita one last time for EuroVision Night. It was pretty damn funny to watch all of the boys not only singing the songs, but doing the entire choreographed dances as well. I got home around 2:30am - just in time to pack up my stuff and head to the airport for a 6am flight!


Day 46 ::: Wow, after 46 incredible days... it's finally time to head back home for good. Thanks so much to everyone who made this trip so memorable - love you all!! Peace out, Guela St...Watch out, NYC!


BONUS MATERIAL:
Hot Latvian, VOVERS, spotted in the buff in the Mediterranean.

Summer 2007 Week 5 ::: Israel

Day 30 ::: Day 30 would have been a chill day in Aqaba spent between the internet cafe and the spa (for a quick massage) if it hadn't been for a chance encounter. I was in the internet cafe blogging when the router went down and I decided to take a walk and get some dinner. As I was leaving, I asked the owner about a place to get a simple bite to eat and he kindly offered to take me out himself. I know what you're thinking... dangerous, stupid... exactly the thing an American woman traveling alone shouldn't do, blah blah blah. But this is me we're talking about... and we all know I don't play by the normal rules (-;

So I went... and wound up spending 2-3 hours at the cafe talking with Alaa, a 35-year old unmarried Muslim originally from the Jordanian capital, Amman. Before we even started talking, he told me the reason he had been friendly to me at the internet cafe was because he could tell I was a very simple woman which I later found out was a huge compliment and something he had deduced by my dress and my lack of makeup. We started out by talking about our lives as singles in our respective cultures and about many of the misconceptions the East and West have of each other. But after sometime, the conversation got much deeper and he started to confide in me on more taboo topics. He whispered across the table about his respect for Israelis (their success in business, their standard of living, etc.), prostituion (apparently far more common in the Muslim world than one might expect) and his darkest days when he wasn't sure he wanted to live. We even talked very candidly about religion - he told me why his (moderate) faith was so important to him and this time around I actually confessed my lack of faith and skeptical view on religion. It was a really insighful conversation and one I won't forget anytime soon. It ended with him walking me back to the internet cafe to finish my blogging and then a polite good night as he set off for his home. Not the finish to the story you were expecting, huh? (-:

Days 31 & 32 ::: I got up and walked in search of a Turkish bath, but the only one I found was nasty so I decided against it. I cruised around a bit more, but didn't find anything very interesting so I checked out of my hotel and made off for the Israeli border, a mere 10 minutes away. The border crossing was nothing out of the ordinary except for the very interesting border guard on the Jordanian side who searched all of my bags and then asked me if I had a camera. Of course I said, "yes" and pulled it out thinking he wanted to examine the photos. He picked up the camera, looked at it and then handed it to his buddy, who used it to take a picture of us...ha! I was laughed and then moved through to the next check point. I deleted the photo before I got to the Israeli guards - just in case. How random!

Once I got into Israel, I met some backpacking Brazilians with whom I shared a cab to Eilat, Israeli's Red Sea resort town. In short, the next two days were spent sizzling in the extreme heat (mid/upper 40s) between dips in the Sea, shopping (wait till you see the new Armani shades) and reading Harry Potter feverishly. I finished it in less than two days - so good!!!

Day 33 ::: I caught the 8am bus to Tel Aviv and arrived by 12:30pm. In an ironic twist of fate, the person I came to visit in Israel (Shirley) is actually in New York at training for work. So cruel! The good news is that she kindly agreed to host me at her apartment, which is one block from the beach...woot! I spent the first day exploring her immediate neighborhood and getting some beach time. Later that night my good friend from Kellogg, Gal (also from Tel Aviv), came over to meet me. After a nice long catch up session on our respective summer travels, we took a long late night walk down the beach to Jaffa, one of the most ancient port cities in the world. Jaffa, just outside Tel Aviv, sits upon a hill with a lovely view of the coastline and has a significant Arab population. We stopped at Abulafia bakery (a famous bakery and a symbol of Jewish-Arab coexistence) and then walked through the old city before heading home around 2:30am.

Day 34 ::: I got up early and explored more of Tel Aviv by foot including the Carmel and Flea Markets as well as the area around the Dizengoff Center, one of Israel's first shopping malls. Later on I met up with Gal for some coffee and then went out to the beach for some sun and Matkot (Israeli beach paddle ball). Later that night we went to Evita, a hip little gay bar off of Rothchild Blvd, to chill out and have a drink before picking our friend Dan up from the airport. Dan's flight from Istanbul (he has been traveling in Turkey, Tibet and China) got in an hour late, so Gal and I prepared a luggage cart with a balloon and a big sign that read "We Came to Make Party™ Special Forces Unit: Middle East" and then ambushed him when he came through the door.

Day 35 ::: Food, beach, disco nap and... then it was time for the Special Forces Unit to take to the streets to MAKE PARTY™ Tel Aviv style! We started off at Evita, then made our way over to Haoman 17 (an Israeli megaclub slightly past it's hay day) for Anthony Collins (Get Physical/Paris). I hadn't heard Anthony before, but went on the recommendation of my global dancefloor partner, Sami, who knows him from Paris. The music was really good, but unfortunately Anthony was forced to play to a virtually empty club. After about an hour we decided to meet up with a bunch of Shirley's friends at Maxim, the club they call home. It's a nice medium sized venue with a great vibe. That night some local DJs were playing mostly electro. We stayed until sometime just before 6am... a solid outing for night one of the weekend. Note - The weekend is Friday and Saturday in this part of the world.


Days 36 & 37 ::: Food, city exploration, beach, disco nap and then out for another night of MAKING PARTY - do you see a pattern here? This time started the night around 2am at Barzilay, another medium-sized club with a great, underground vibe. Dark, dark and darker...just the way we like it! Carsten Klemann (MyMy/Berlin) headlined the night, only a few days before MyMy's NYC debut at the Blk Market Membership and Wolf & Lamb boat party. Thanks so much to Tubi (Exercise/Israel) for hooking me up! I hung around with more of Shirley's crew until sometime after 5am when I went back to Haoman 17, this time to meet Gal and Dan for a party for the boys. This time the club was packed and the vibe was great. Tal Cohen (Israel) and Elliott J Brown (Fire/London) were on the decks and actually played pretty damn well. I couldn't believe my ears when Laurent Garnier's "The Man With The Red Face" got dropped sometime around 7am - simply amazing!! We closed out the party at some unidentifiable time (outlasting all of Shirley's friends!) and then proceeded directly to a rooftop afterhours after getting an invite from one of the boys I had been dancing with all night.



We hung around with the random mish-mosh of characters for half of the day before it got too wacky and I decided to retire for three hours back at Shirley's. Then it was back up, out to the beach and onward to the next party. Dan and I went down to check out the sunset at a rocking little beach party near the apartment and then crusied back uptown to meet Gal at a great South Beach-style lounge on the beach just below the Crowne Plaza. As expected, all of the gay boys from the night before were back in action. The antics continued until about 3am when I decided to call it quits. The boys... well, the boys met boys (-;





Day 38 ::: Recovery, shwarma, beach, sushi, sleep.

Trip reading list:
--The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis
--The End of Faith by Sam Harris
--The Risks of Sunbathing Topless: And Other Funny Stories from the Road by Kate Chynoweth
--A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
--Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Summer 2007 Week 4 ::: Egypt & Jordan (including Distant Heat Festival)

Day 24 ::: The bus ride from Luxor to Dahab took 18 hours, but was well worth it. When we finally arrived at our hotel, the Tropitel Dahab Oasis, I immediately hit the pool and beach to cool off. Most people know of or have traveled to Sharm El Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, which is known for it's Vegas-like glitz and glamour. Believe it or not, I opted instead for Dahab - the chill little sea town an hour further north. After rejuvenating at the hotel for a few hours, we went to the city center for a quick tour, shopping and dinner at Aladdin's restaurant. I ate squid prepared Bedouin style (cooked in a small pot with red sauce, vegetables and cheese melted on top). Delish!!! Note - Bedouins are the nomadic tribes of the region.

Our tour guide, Moustafa, had recently been married so his wife came along on the trip. He was greeted throughout Dahab with claps and cheers for the recent wedding, but I noticed that even though people came running out from shops to greet him, they almost never even acknowledged the bride (and he didn't introduce her either). Moustfa is a really cool, down to earth and some might say Westernized Egyptian, which made this all the more interesting to me. Anyway...back to the story. After dinner we walked along the shore, looking out across the Red Sea at the lights in Saudi Arabia (only 15km away!). As soon as we arrived, I asked about taking a boat across and was told the following story. Apparently a few years ago an Aussie guy had the same idea as me and didn't ask before his attempt. He bought 27 beers, rented a boat and started paddling his way across the Sea. When he got near, he was greeted by the US Navy (in place since the first Gulf War) who promptly shipped him home. He's lucky he wasn't shot because they have authorization to shoot on sight! After dinner we hit a bar/dance club called Tota, where we sat in the open-air backyard smoking sheesha and sucking down the terrible, but cheap ladies night cocktails.




Day 25 ::: We took a jeep 15 minutes north of our hotel to the Blue Hole, a world class diving spot in Dahab. Basically the Blue Hole is a small coral lagoon which starts near the surface and drops down to a stunning arch which leads out to the main reef wall. At its deepest part, the Blue Hole reaches over 120m. I have recently decided that I'm one part scared and one part uninterested in diving, so I'm going to stick to snorkeling. That said, the snorkeling was amazing!! When we arrived, we settled in at a modest little open-air restaurant with cushions and tables overlooking the dive site and then collected our snorkeling gear. I quickly jumped in the water and was much more comfortable than I was my first time a few weeks ago in Belize. Snorkeling in the Red Sea is made so much easier by the salt content which allows you to float at the surface without any effort whatsoever. The rest of the day was spent alternating between the water and our lounging area with a quick mid-afternoon stop for lunch (kofta dawod basha = Egyptian version of meatballs). The fish and plant life were amazing - it's too bad my camera can't go underwater!


After a full day of snorkeling, we went back to the hotel and eventually back to the city center for another dinner. Let's just say that the piece of grouper that I ate must not have been so fresh because I spent the next day and a half in bed. I won't get into details, but I'll just say it was reminiscent of last January when I caught something else really terrible during my visit home to NY. The hotel doctor paid me a visit and pumped me full of IV goodies, which got me back on my feet. However, I had to miss the night hike to the top of Mt. Sinai. Major bummer. The only good thing that came of it was the 2 hours I spent with the young doctor, with whom I got to have a long and interesting conversation about Egypt and Islam.

Day 26 ::: The entire day was spent between my bed and the toilet.

Day 27 ::: I was finally feeling better after 36 hours in bed so I got up and hit the pool and the downtown for internet and shopping. That afternoon I went snorkeling again and then went with the group to Ali Baba restaurant for a vegetarian (aka safe) dinner. I really enjoyed my time in Dahab, mostly because I stopped to speak with almost everyone I met in the city center - shop keepers, restaurant workers, etc. I have learned 10-12 Arabic phrases, which has allowed me to spark up conversations and really get to know the people of Egypt. People have been so so happy to hear me say a few things in their language and have really showed an interest in speaking with me. Most of the people in tourist areas do speak some English so after the initial Arabic introduction, we're able to get a little deeper. Apparently most people don't make any effort...it was much appreciated.

Day 28 ::: The ferry from Nuweiba, Egypt to Aqaba, Jordan is usually late... but today was a special day - it was eight hours late. EIGHT HOURS LATE! I knew we were in trouble when we arrived to the ferry terminal (think: the nastiest bus terminal you've been in) and families had picnics set up. Let's just say that Day 28 was not a happy day. There were only about 10 women in the whole place and the men were gawking at us. I felt truly out of place for the first time on the trip (although completely safe). I did manage to make friends with some of the bus drivers though - see picture. We finally got to Aqaba around 12:30am and I separated from the group (because nobody else was heading to the Distant Heat Festival) and had to drive another hour and a half north to Petra. I got to the Crowne Plaza Petra at 2:30am and was still greeted by a rep from my tour company - poor guy!



Day 29 ::: Jordan is a very small country (approx. 6 million people) and like Egypt is mostly desert. Unlike most of their neighbors in the Middle East, they don't have oil, so have to rely on tourism and mining as sources of revenue. Jordan is a lower middle income country and it's currency (Dinar) is pegged to the US Dollar ($1 = .7JD), making things relatively expensive compared to the rest of the Middle East (due to inflation). Jordan became an independent state after the Arab Revolt of 1916, when they helped the British drive the Turks out from the region.

Because of my late arrival in Jordan I had a shortened tour of Petra, the hidden city developed by the Nebataeans over 2,000 years ago. It's like all of the most amazing Greek and Roman architecture only carved out of a mountainside, not built! The Nebataeans, Arabs who controlled the trade routes during the pre-Roman times, literally carved their city from the sandstone mountains in the region. Petra was only rediscovered in 1812. We approached the city through a 1km narrow passageway called the "siq" which was formed by tectonic (earthquake) forces. It's literally a split in the rocks. After walking for awhile, we caught a glimpse of the first of the many awe-inspiring facades and temples carved into the rock - the Treasury - which was rumored to hide the treasures of an Egyptian pharaoh at one time. We walked further along to see the Street of Facades which includes a 7,000 person ampitheater and the Royal Tombs. I also sat for awhile perched atop a sand-stone formation talking with my 24-year old guide, Ahmed, about his family, religion, love, life and university. We actually argued for quite awhile about the merits of living with your family until marriage.







After the tour of Petra, I had to go back to my hotel to meet up with the tour rep and the three other people (from a different tour) who were planning to go to the Distant Heat Festival. We drove from Petra to Wadi Rum and then did a 3 hour off-road tour of the area stopping at some of the most picturesque desert locations you could imagine, some of which were used for the filming of Lawrence of Arabia (a stone etching of his face is pictured below). After the tour, it was still too early to go to the rave so we continued to drive until we found a spot to watch the sunset. I pulled out a sheet and a pillow and layed down to take in the spectacular views. Just me, a few new friends and lots of sand - it was incredibly peaceful. Note - you can see little 'ole me standing on the stone arch if you click on picture to the right!!





Finally, the time you've all been waiting for and the part of this summer adventure that has Wendy written all over it... the desert rave. It's time to MAKE PARTY™ at the 5th Annual Distant Heat Festival in Wadi Rum, Jordan! We got to the party location (in the middle of nowhere) around 8:30pm just as the doors were opening. The ticket cost $135 and got me entrance into the party, a huge tent with a bed (for storage, not sleeping!), 7 drink tickets (yes, they drink booze in Jordan), free food all night, and entrance into both the day and night afterparties. I made my way to my tent and decided that despite the thump-thump of the opening DJ in the background, I'd need to get some rest since I had slept less than 5 hours the night before. I closed my eyes from 9pm-12am and then got up to join the party. After a Red Bull and a chicken shwarma, I was on my way! DJ BEE BEE, one of Jordan's finest, was still playing and was actually decent. He played mostly progressive and got things off to a good start...wrapping things up around 1am and turning it over to UK veteran DJ, Dave Seaman.

To put things in perspective, the event was more like a large, outdoor club night than a festival. In terms of size and scale, it doesn't compare to the DEMF, I Love Techno or M2 festivals that I've attended in the last year. They basically replicated a nice club setting (complete with a white leather couched VIP section) in the middle of a spectacular desert location and added a massive sound system. They limit ticket sales to around 1,000 and the smaller size actually made for a very intimate experience. You get all the benefit of a big outdoor party without the normal challenges of getting drinks, going to the bathroom or getting to the other side of the party. Now back to the party... Dave Seaman came on and played a really good 3-hr progressive set. It was a banging, primetime set by all measures despite the fact that Above & Beyond were headlining the party. That was fine with me though, because the crowd was up for a marathon and everyone was really getting after it. Sometime around 4am, A&B took over the decks and switched things to trance. Coming from the underground scene in NYC, I really don't ever get to hear these kind of sets. The first half was pretty decent and continued the energy that BEE BEE and Dave Seaman got started. The sun came up over the massive sandstone formations serving as stage backdrop during the middle of their set and they starting playing full on vocal trance anthems - not my style at all, but totally appropriate for the setting and the crowd. People loved it and I loved watching them. BEE BEE came back on from 7-7:30am to close it out with some tasteful downtempo grooves.

I went to the party with three other people (two Aussie girls and one British guy), but really didn't hang with them at all during the party. I spent the entire night dancing my a$$ off and meeting people from all over the Middle East - most of which hailed from Jordan and Lebanon. The crowd was mostly Jordanians from Amman and people who traveled there for the party from nearby countries and probably only about 5% tourists who decided to go as part of other travel plans. I'm fairly certain I was the only person there from U.S. - let's just say people were shocked and extremely happy to find a New Yorker among them! I invited half of them to come visit, so be prepared for a special Arab inspired afterhours in NYC sometime soon (-:

We packed our bags when the party ended and caught a shuttle bus from Wadi Rum to Aqaba, a town on the Red Sea an hour south. I dropped my bags off at my hotel and then made my way to the afterhours. I was on the street looking for a taxi when I found a few other people headed in the same direction. We shared a cab to the afters which was at a private beach club - how posh! When we got there, I realized that one of the girls in the taxi actually hadn't been at the party the night before. She's Serbian, but working in Egypt as a dive guide and had only come to Aqaba to sort out her visa. While killing time, she met the other two people and they told her about the afterparty so she joined the party train. Within 10 minutes of being at the afterhours, she and I were randomly invited to join four Jordanian guys on their boat...ha! Life is good. We boarded the boat - stocked with food and drinks - and set off to cruise around the Red Sea for a few hours. The guys were really cool and we had a blast. Not only did I get to cruise the Red Sea catching a glimpse of the shores of Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and Jordan along the way... but they also had jet skis for me to ride! And everyone told me to be careful in the Middle East - be careful of what!? Wink wink (-; After spending some time on the boat, we re-joined the party and found a couple hundred people raging in and around the pool, overlooking the Sea. Hellyeah! I stripped down, jumped in and found a bunch of friends I had made the night before. This time the music was fun house and electro that even a New Yorker could love (I even heard a little Stoop-It off the Dirtybird label)! I made it all the way until 6pm without a wink of sleep or even so much as a drink (I'm taking antibiotics from the Dahab incident), but then decided to grab some shwarma and go back to the hotel for some rest before the next party. Unfortunately I didn't hear my alarm go off at midnight and I missed out - oh well...it was a solid effort.

Video of Dave Seaman @ Distant Heat (approx. 3am):


Video of Above & Beyond playing "Touch Me!" [Mike Koglin vs. Jono Grant Remix] as the sun comes up:


More videos:


Pictures from Distant Heat & Afterparty at Tala Bay Beach Club: