Today a new terror attack. 3 bombs exploded in DAHAB, EGYPT on the SINAI coast of the RED SEA. Looks like at least 23 people die, 20 of them were tourists.Probably to most of you this name DAHAB, EGYPT won't tell you much but to me it means a lot ...
I visited DAHAB 3 times while I was living in ISRAEL and I still remember each visit as the happiest breaks of my 3 years in ISRAEL ...
The first time Rosita and I went there with BRIAN and STU. I immediately loved that tiny Bedouin village on the RED SEA. I was amazed by the beauty of the scenery ... the amazing RED desert Sinai mountains and the stunning BLU sky and the perfect EMERALD sea just cracked me down ... I loved the simplicity of the village ... and I loved the warm welcome of the Bedouin people. We were there only for a weekend ... but I still remember it like one of the most relaxing vacations of my life ... probably because when you live in ISRAEL everything is so difficult and complicated and ... and going there .... only 4 hours drive from TEL AVIV and find an other world ... looked to me like a dream.
The second time I went with MAURO and KENNY. I still remember KENNY (who didn't have a proper backpack) crossing the ISRAEL-EGYPT border with his 2 shopping bags full of clothes ... soooooooo funny ... I think he managed to make laugh also the tough Israeli border guards ... :o ... and again was a perfect weekend ...
... and nice memories also thanks to these pictures that MAURO took ...
... we managed also to make a visit to the Mt. SINAI ... where according to the biblical tradition G-D appeared for the first time to ABRAHAM in the form a burning bush and after some time (I mean ... Biblical time) the same G-D gave to MOSES the 10 COMMANDMENTS. We saw also St. CATERINA MONASTRY ... the perfect example of the world a lot of us are dreaming about ... a monastery with a SINAGOGE a CHURCH and a MOSQUE ... probably some crazy terrorist around the world is thinking to put a bomb there as well. I still remember sitting on a huge rock overlooking the monastery and ...
... having for at least 1 hour a furious typical middle eastern geopolitical discussion with my buddy MAURO ... I can't remember if in that case I was defending the rights of the PALESTINIANS or of the ISRAELIS ... :O ... probably Mauro has a better memory ...The third time I went only with ROSITA ... for an entire week ... we took the OPEN WATERS PADI SCUBA DIVING CERTIFICATE (DAHAB is perfect for diving) ... a wonderful week ... really wonderful. And there we met one of the person who in a way changed my way to see life ... our scuba trainer ... NIGEL J. RUSHTON ... a cool English guy who 2 years before did finish to pay for his mortgage in LONDON ... and decided to take 6 MONTHS GAP in DAHAB as scuba master and ... after 2 years he was still there ... :D One day we were commenting how beautiful the scenery was ... and he told us his favorite way to welcome that gorgeous heaven ... he told us that he was used to open his window, look outside and say ... "The sky is blue ... the sea is perfect ... aaaahhh ....AN OTHER SHITTY DAY IN PARADISE" ... :o ... I simply loved it ... and when I moved to HERMOSA BEACH became JAKE's and mine morning motto ... but I never told to Nigel ... I never saw him again ... and now I am praying that he went back to the cold and foggy LONDON ... and today he wasn't involved in the explosion (DABAH is so tiny that anybody who is there can get hurt by 3 explosions) ...
Probably most of you won't remember the name DAHAB in few hours ... it won't happen to me ... to me DAHAB was the HEAVEN ON EARTH ... it is now A DREAM WITH BROKEN WINGS ... I don't know how these bastards can kill other human beings ... brothers ... but I know one thing ... from now on ... every single morning that I will be on this planet ... I will welcome the new day in the same way NIGEL taught me ... it will be my personal way to remember the souls of the innocents who today died while they were hugging their mate or ... drinking a tea or laughing with a friend or ... buying a necklace from a girl or ... paying the restaurant bill or ... discussing with their friends about political issues or ... thinking to tomorrow's dive or dreaming to live forever in that paradise ... or they just couldn't wait to tomorrow sunrise and salute the day saying ... "The sky is blue ... the sea is perfect ... aaaahhhh ... AN OTHER SHITTY DAY IN PARADISE" ...
__
I never went a fourth time ... but in a way I went because ... two of my best Israeli friends ... RONEN and SIMA visited it back in October 2002 ... and they had also a wonderful time ... just weeks before someone tried to ruin his career and their lifes ... but they didn't manage to do so ... because RONEN has two shoulders and a heart that the people who tried to sack him can only dream about ... and in a way I want to believe that the trip to DAHAB made him stronger ... :D
5 comments:
Very sad what has happened... but you managed to make a nice tribute to a place that brought you lots of joy...
a tragic event in a relaxing place. it was wonderful to travel there with you andrea - i also have many great memories of my visits to dahab. it was quite a shock to see the attack on the news last night.
Violence never is an answer, in a wonderful place or in an ugly one, in one that we loved and in one we never visited, but ... there are so many 'buts' ...
Bacio,R
P.S. visto che ogni tanto se me lo ricordi lo leggo il tuo blog ? Anche se oggi 25 aprile ci sarebbe altro da fare qui ...
Thanks for your warm words buddy...
Many situations in life where you simply can not understand people actions. The world is full of evil but I have experienced that the best thing I can do is to smile and always try to be a better person for the people around me.
It is not easy and I remember more times where I failed rather than succeeded, but keep on trying... no hate, no anger, no bad feeling, just smile, a good word, hello, shalom and many jokes...:-)
As Coldplay have recently song
;-) "the hardest part..." is with people who try to hurt you, give you their evil comments about your religion or whatever or simply being jealous. THAT is when you have to smile, and you will feel better as well as the person in front of you. People will be good and show good to the world if they will feel good inside... that is the best thing we can do to make it happen...
Be optimistic dude...
:-)
Ronen ... actually your last sentence ("People will be good and show good to the world if they will feel good inside") reminded me of something the DALAI LAMA wrote and I read during my Thailand trip ... it had an incredible impact one ...
IF YOU THINK GOOD THINGS, YOU WILL START SAYING GOOD THINGS ... IF YOU WILL SAY GOOD THING,YOU WILL START DOING THINGS ... IF YOU WILL DO GOOD THINGS, PEOPLE AROUND YOU WILL START THINKING GOOD THINGS ...
HUG brother Ronen!
XA
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