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: