OKAY, I MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BIT HASTY

So it turns out I was wrong about Mohsen. The constant interaction with an ever-refreshed pool of bikini clad women isn’t the reason he’s so relaxed. They complicate his life in ways I can’t even begin to fully comprehend, coming as I do from a country where girls in bikinis are a societal cornerstone. It turns out the reason he’s such a laid back cat isn’t his environment at all. If he were a neonatal surgeon specialising in sewing up life threatening holes in tiny little hearts he’d still be the most tranquil dude in his NHS district. The reason he’s so relaxed is simply that he was born placid.

I was having a chat with him last night over Egyptian tea and apple tobacco. As the fragrant smoke mixing on the breeze with the scent of salt water and desert sand the conversation gradually drifted onto girls. Mohsen is 23 years old, a Christian and the oldest son in his family. His sister is 19 years old and is considering becoming engaged to a young man she goes to university with. As the oldest son he has some say in whether the engagement should proceed. Earlier in the day, while taking a break between dives to let the nitrogen levels in our bodies fall, his mother rang him to ask his advice on the matter. He told her to invite the young man to dinner to assess his suitability but added that ultimately the decision had to rest with his sister. If she wanted to go ahead then unless the family had any major reservations it should be allowed to proceed. Privately he thinks she is too young to get married.

I asked him about his situation. He said living in Dahab made it tough. He goes home a few times a year and every time he goes back his sister introduces him to her university friends. I image he’s quite a hit. He’s a good looking guy, with a cool job and he has a natural, easy charm that women instantly respond to. He says that many of his sister’s friends are “slender”, a word he accompanies with a slight intake of breath and a long, double handed gesture upward in a narrow v shape. But he can’t see himself ending up with one of his sister’s slender friends. He says an Egyptian woman would find it hard to be with a man who does what he does for a living. The differing attitude toward standards of modesty and acceptable forms of male/female interaction would be difficult for an Egyptian woman to come to terms with; even a Christian Egyptian. He says an Egyptian wife would find it difficult to contemplate her husband spending 16 hours a day with scantily clad Western women and would be very upset to find that occasionally he receives a hug from a client or accept a kiss on the cheek.

Complicating his situation is the fact that there are no Egyptian women in Dahab. None. Partly that’s geographical. Dahab is situated on the barren eastern coast of a desolate peninsula, less than two hours drive from the Israeli border. Up until 20 years ago Dahab didn’t exist. The only reason it exists at all is to service the diving industry that has sprung up as a result of the Red Sea’s spectacular marine offering. There are no other industries. Every worker here earns their living from the diving industry and the jobs are almost universally of a variety that, here in Egypt, only men perform. There’s also an element of culture clash. Dahab represents Gomorrah to the religious elements of this country; a kind of morally dubious Western playground that Egyptian women should be protected from. So the kind of life Mohsan could offer to an Egyptian woman here in Dahab is quite limited. He is fortunate in that his father is happy for Mohsan to pursue a relationship with a Western women but, being quite devout in his Christianity, is at pains to stress that he will have to chose his wife carefully, as there are no second chances. So he ends up with a significant dilemma, created in large part by his own moral code. The kind of relationship he is seeking; monogamous, long term, fundamentally Egyptian in construction does not necessarily match the aims of the women he interacts with on a daily basis. By the same token, the women who would most readily offer this kind of relationship – Egyptian – would not necessarily be able to understand or accept his lifestyle. It’s a problem.

I still say flirting with chicks in bikinis on a daily basis is a good thing.

The Coolest Thing I Saw Today!

The coolest thing I saw today was the brand name of Egypt's leading distributors of pistaccios, cashews and almonds. It is "World of Nuts". Childish? Yes. Cool? Also yes.

That is all,

Dale Atkinson