1998-1999 Rothberg Yearbook

Sinai
by Jerem y G oldm an
A hhhh, Sinai! Hopefully you h ad th e m agnificent o p p o rtu n ity to
check out th e w o n d e rs of this desert p en in su la d u rin g your stay. I've
learn ed th e re are tw o p ath s you can take w h e n you visit this region. You
can explore th e g rea t desert once w a n d e re d by the ancient Israelites,
gazing u p o n colored canyons an d aw esom e m o u n ta in s via jeep ride or
camel. This is o n e of th e m o re a m azin g places to hike in the M iddle East
... or so I’ve h e ard . See, I always opted to take the second option con cern ­
ing Sinai — EXTREME RELAXATION. M an, w hat a place... Chilling takes on
a n ew elevation as your body n u m b s to th e effects of the desert sun,
B edouin hospitality (" ch y a a fa " in Arabic — I learn ed it in Ze’ev M ag h en 's
class), cheap a n d often delicious food (especially w h en you’ve got the
m unchies), com fortable lo u n g in g areas, skunky schwigity schw ag (also
k n o w n as " b a n g a ” by the local E gyptians and " t r e n n a by the Bedouins)
and friendly people (m ost of th e m are n a m e d M o h am m ed w hich m akes
your life a lot easier).
On m y first trip to Sinai I h ad an experience l will never forget. 1
was in T arabin looking for som e e n te rta in m e n t and 1 was referred to,
you'll n e v er guess, a B edouin n a m e d M o h am m ed . He guided m e out of
the city, across th e h ighw ay (m ore like deathw ay... Egypt has the n u m b e r
o ne death rate o n th e roads), an d up tow ards the distant m o u n tain s. We
chatted alo n g th e way an d finally reached a small te n t nestled in the foothills
of th e Sinai M o u n tain s. The view from w ith in the ten t was spectacular.
You could see all of T arabin an d N uw eiba City lying beside the glorious
Red Sea w hich stretched across to Saudi Arabia. In w o n d e rm e n t, T
w aited in com plete silence w hile Asus, m y soon to be B edouin friend,
en tered . He knew n o English b u t w as fluent in H ebrew for he had lived in
Israel for seven years after 1967. We chatted for a long tim e as he m ade
m e au th en tic tea (this is th e real stuff) and rolled joints of the local to ­
bacco (yeah, right) w hich w ould have im pressed Willie Nelson. He told
m e to com e back w ith friends - to leave m y wallet b e h in d - and he w ould
take us o n a "tiyul" w e w ould n ev er forget. The next day T re tu rn e d and
he w as rig h t. A fter a lo n g hike w e re tu rn e d to his te n t w h ere his servants
(?) h ad p re p a re d for us a hearty m eal of fresh fish, rice, an d potatoes. We
keep in touch.