1988-1989 Rothberg Yearbook

SINAI
It is 10 p.m., on one of Jerusalem 's coldest and rainiest December nights of the year. Long gone are
those unbelievable sum m er days, w hen everyday w a s fille d w ith nothing but blue and cloudless skies.
Instead, tu rtle necks, long johns, jeans and sw eatshirts are a must, for hail is forecasted th is Shabbat!
So w h a t does one do in a situ a tio n as such? Remain in the cold and dreary dungeon like floors of
Resnick? These are questions th a t need no hesitation. For w here do Hebrew U niversity students go to
to escape the w in te rs calling... South naturally, to th e outrageous beaches of Sinai. This w as exactly
the solution my frie n d s and I w ere seeking that m iserable December night.
W ith our backpacks and sleeping bags in hand, we w ere off to Tel-A viv to catch the M idnight Bus
from Hell to Eilat. This w as not our firs t tim e through the process, so w e knew to beat the early
m orning Sinai crow ds, and w e n t through custom s like true veterans. However, as many tim es as you
cross the border fro m the Is ra e l/E ila t side, you w ill alw ays experience the heebie jeebies. Eilat is a
com pletely developed, w esternised, to u rist trap, fo r Europeans, second sem ester Hebrew U niversity
students, and yes, you too South A fricans! To ׳Sinai w h ich is never-ending m ountains, the aqua-blue
Red Sea, and its untouched, unpolluted beaches.(That my friends, is w h a t it takes to create paradise).
You'll notice only one road to all of S inai's destinations, and nothing in sight but tents and hovels. We
are talking pre-historic age w h ere even the Flinstones w ere m ore advanced.
The tw o areas of Sinai to w h ich one can journey, are th e ever-popular Dahab, and my personal
favourite, "B lu e B us". Dahab is a collection of beachfront cafes, rocky beaches, th e Red Sea and its
m agnificent coral reefs on display. If you are lo o kin g fo re xcite m e n ta n d "lo ts " of interesting travellers
to hang out w ith from all over the w orld, then Dahab is the place for you. Dahab has probably one of the
greatest collections of coral reefs on the Sinai coast, therefore snorkelling is a m ust and should be
repeated often. You w ill also have the honour to m eet som e of A m erica's greatest in uniform ... the
courageous MFOs, w ho w ill attem pt s u chJife threatening feats as opening tw o M illers and one
Heineken beer blindfolded. I salute you boys, for doing such a good job w ith the peaceful situation, and
your iron stomachs.
If you w a n t to escape S inai's "tre n d in e s s " for some real peace and quiet, and avoid any annoying
Hebrew U niversity students w ho are constantly clim bing up and down cam els for stupid photos, then
journey to Nuweiba and the Blue Bus.
W here else can you be am ongst Bedouins, and be invited back to one of th e Bedouin's shacks on
the beach? (Understand, th is is fo llo w in g a session w ith Ishm ael, and the piece-de-resistance w ith
M oham m ed. If w e w ere talking in baseball term s they w ould no doubt be my th ird and clean up
batters... I'm talking... "O u t of here".)
A fte r my th ird tim e to the Blue Bus M oham m ed, Ishm ael, and Issau became my adopted fam ily.
A fte r my fifth tim e to the Blue Bus, the locals decided I, too, had Bedouin blood in me, and I w o u ld now
be referred to as "M oham m ed A li".
On my last trip to the Blue Bus, we w e n t down prepared — six bottles of vodka and plenty of goodies
to give to my "adopted fa m ily ". N aturally they w e n t nuts, psyched to see us, and in m inutes ran to the
kitchen to cook one of th e ir many cuisines. W edid w h a t isalw a ysdone in Sinai: playshesh besh, sit in
the blazing sun, snorkel, toss the disc, sw im , and the ever popular m ale-bonding sport of deep sea
dipping and dum ping.
A nother sixteen pages could be w ritte n on Sinai experiences, but let us ju s t end by saying w hat an
experience Sinai is — sittin g in a Bedouin's prim itive shack drinking tea to the background music of
Pink Floyd's "W ish You W ere H ere"
This article is dedicated to M oham m ed, Issau, and especially you Ishmael, fo r I thank all of you for
m aking every Sinai excursion an adventure and a half.
Danny Davis