A typical morning at the beach in Assala, Dahab – especially when it’s as hot and humid as it was this day. You can usually see the mountains of Saudi Arabia when you look across the Gulf of Aqaba. But not this day! These boys and their camels had the right idea.

In celebration of the new school year, I am offering the Kindle version of An ABC Escapade through Egypt for FREE today and tomorrow – Saturday, September 6th and Sunday, September 7th! 

Ah, the beautiful and infamous Blue Hole! I took this shot on the way hiking to Ras Abu Galum. This was about 9 in the morning, before the tourists from Sharm el Sheikh arrived. Several hours later and the parking lot was bursting and scores of divers and snorkelers roamed the shore! A welcome sight.

Beer has always been a strong important beverage in the Egyptian culture. It was very essential that it was even known to be part of the daily diet of the Egyptian Pharaohs 5,000 years ago.

However, when one would think of authentic Egyptian beer, the first beer that would come to mind is none other than Stella.

~ The Stella Story

Brewed in Egypt since 1897, Stella is the most infamous of Egyptian beer, and just as its quality and taste have varied over the years, so have the labels. Here are three different examples all purchased at the same seaside bar on the same night! My favorite is the label on the right. What’s yours?

Read more:

Al Ahram Beverages Company

The Stella Blog

This marvelous mantis was spotted on the caper bush in my garden, where he lived for a couple of weeks. I would check on him whenever I went outside and one day I was lucky enough to catch him eating dinner! You can see more photos of him at my Project Noah spotting, which I am pleased to announce was selected as National Geographic’s “Spotting of the Week”!

And this is only one type of mantis that I’ve spotted recently. Interested in seeing the other mantises? Search my collection of spottings here on Project Noah. My favorite one is a Thistle Mantis eating a butterfly!

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As an aside, I’d like to announce that my book, An ABC Escapade through Egypt, is on sale for only $9.99 on Amazon.com for the summer months of June and July!

Yes, I should have posted these photos several weeks ago on Sham el Nessim, an Egyptian holiday that is celebrated the Monday after Coptic Christian Easter. But I was too busy “sniffing the breeze” to upload the photos on the actual holiday. And I’m not sure where the time has gone since then. Ma lesh. Better late than never!

The photo above shows a packaged version of the fish traditionally eaten on Sham el Nessim – fisseekh. The translation as “Salted Mullet” is only part of the story. The fish is allowed to rot for a few days before it is salted and results in very smelly, strongly-flavored fish fillets. Fisseekh is eaten together with bites of green onions and baladi bread, and is definitely an acquired taste!

Years ago when I applied for my Egyptian driver’s license, I had to take an a short driving test, as well as an oral examination, which consisted of the examiner pointing to  three random road signs on a board of dozens of signs and asking me to identify them. I easily identified the No Parking, No Honking, and Wear Your Seatbelt signs.

I present to you here my own collection of random road signs, seen as I was hiking along a once-paved road that is currently closed to traffic.  (Winter rains washed the road out that runs through Wadi G’Nai and used to be the south entrance into Dahab.)

#1: Slow down.

#2: No passing/overtaking.

#3: Dangerous turn.

#4: Left turn.

#5: Speed limit sign. 60 km/h is about 37 mph and is the posted speed limit on most roads in Dahab.

#6: Incline.