Red, Red Sea

When we first learned we were going to Egypt, I wanted to see two things: the pyramids and the Red Sea.  (Yes, I’ll admit that my Egypt knowledge was quite limited.)  But I’m 1 for 2 on my Egypt bucket list!

With recent events, we were unable to go to Sharm el-Sheikh.  So we avoided the Sinai Peninsula and headed to El Gouna!  Warning: this post has no educational value — just a lot of beach pics.

We flew south and found much warmer weather.  Cairo has been pretty chilly, so we were excited for heat!  We arrived just in time for dinner on Thursday evening.  Meadows and I enjoyed a cozy Egyptian/Lebanese dinner at our resort.

Now is a good time to share some of the delicious local foods we’ve had in Egypt:

• Tajine — a traditional North African dish that’s like a meat and vegetable stew.  We’ve had it a few times (and Meadows had it for dinner in Gouna) — it’s hearty, warm and yummy!
• Molokheyyah — this one is difficult to explain… It’s a leaf, which is cooked with vegetables and meat to create a soup.  It’s then served over rice.  We avoided this dish for our first few meals, but we loved it once we tried it!
• Muhammara — this dish is actually originally Syrian, but we’ve had it a couple of times (including dinner in Gouna).  It’s a pepper spread with walnuts — it’s like a spicy hummus almost, but better!  Seriously, it’s so good.

On Friday, we ate breakfast by the water.  And yes, the resort has a boat bar!  It’s a stationary boat that you can have drinks on — pretty awesome if you ask me!

We spent most of the day catching rays.  The Red Sea is so beautiful!  The water is unbelievably clear and has a fabulous blue/green color to it.

We went for a walk and found this extremely long dock.  Naturally, we walked to the end, and Meadows cannon-balled off the end of it.

In the evening, we walked around the resort — the Red Sea water was so peaceful.  It reflects the surroundings like a perfect mirror.

For dinner, we took a tuk-tuk from our resort to the Abu Tig Marina.  There are a bunch of restaurants, bars, shops and such a great view!

We ate at a great restaurant on the water and drank Egyptian wine.  I didn’t realize Egypt had any vineyards, but they do!  It’s not particularly good, but it’s what’s available here 🙂

Our resort (Sheraton Miramar Resort El Gouna) was designed by famous architect, Michael Graves.  The buildings are inspired by ancient Egyptian architecture.  It’s certainly unusual, but somehow it works with the scenery.

We had a great weekend relaxing and getting out of the city.  Back to Cairo!