It Never Rains but Pours

 

It happens at all levels: individual,  family,  group,  country - one bad thing after another.  Now it's ,unfortunately, Egypt's turn. The Suez Canal has been blocked by a cargo ship. If this is not enough,  two trains have collided;  collision resulting in many casualties.

(It seems rather strange that all this occurs during the time of the Jewish Passover , the feast of the unleavened bread . 'Pesach' celebrates the freedom of the israelites from slavery, and their exodus from ancient Egypt).

I've never been to the Suez CanaI, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. I have, however, a vague idea of such a canal, since  my visit in the past to a more modest and ancient  one - the  Corinth  Canal (Greece) connecting the Mediterranean with the Aegean Sea.

I remember being totally amazed at the narrow passage through which big ships are supposed to  make their way. Nowadays, modern ships cannot pass through this canal.  I suppose most of the ships using the Corinth Canal are of the touristic kind.

                   

                  me,, on the bridge at the Corinth Canal
        

           see the narrow blue strip of water under the bridge 

I've never really been to Egypt, our big neighboring country, except for one or two trips to the peninsula Sinai's desert, once under israeli occupation as a result of wars in the region.

   

                   me,  and the camel in Dahab, Sinai desert
           

         at Sharm-el-Sheikh, the Red Sea,vis-a-vis the Straits of Tiran
            

Egypt, by the way, is among the countries with an alarming birthrate. Demographics and Pollution are issues which can be successfully solved by those who care for the planet's future, but, except talking, the politicians of the world do nothing pragmatic about that.

All's well that ends well" -  according to the latest news, the Suez Canal crisis is almost solved.

 

The Red Sea Pearl

I celebrated the first days of our Jewish Passover in Eilat, the popular desert resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea Gulf. The night before our plane arrival in Eilat, two Grad rockets , fired from the egyptian Sinai peninsula, have landed in the city causing big explosions and anxiety, but luckily no casualties and no damage.

Eilat airport located.. in the town center

Eilat, the southernmost city and port of Israel has lots of attractions - most of them for free: sun (as they say, ' everyday here is SUNday'), sea, sand, many beaches to choose from, red mountains, bird watching, shopping centers; some attractions require entrance fee: the underwater Observatory, coral reefs Reserve, dolphin reefs where dolphins interact with swimmers (I've visited the observatory and the reefs on a previous trip).

Eilat museum and art gallery

Hayam Mall- northern beach


Dancing near the mall

The climate here being very hot and dry, most of the time people are at the beach, sunbathing , practicing water sports such as swimming, snorkeling, surfing, diving - or inside the house/hotel/mall/museum and other air-conditioned spots.

on the beach

see the mountains in the background?

I needed a change of scenery and climate, and I fully got that in Eilat. The festive Passover meal (Seder Night) was also quite successful. As for the Sinai missiles, they'll probably 'visit' Eilat again, partly thanks to those wise guys who've encouraged what's poetically yet stupidly called ' arab spring'.