From the beaches of El-Arish, once a tourist haven but now a capital for terrorism, to the southern coast of the Egyptian Peninsula, Sharm el-Sheikh, Marsa Alam and Hurghada, Egyptians’ relationship to the sea has changed in recent years yet remains a key aspect of seasonal life.

From the beaches of El-Arish, once a tourist haven but now a capital for terrorism, to the southern coast of the Egyptian Peninsula, Sharm el-Sheikh, Marsa Alam and Hurghada, Egyptians’ relationship to the sea has changed in recent years yet remains a key aspect of seasonal life.

El-Arish, in the North Sinai governorate, was once one of Egypt’s most popular tourist destinations: Its beaches filled with thousands of tourists enjoying the clear blue sea. Now most visitors spend hours at several military and police checkpoints, with limited access granted to non-local residents.

Mortars instead of tourists

“The beach has been deserted for fear of mortars,” says Fadhloun, an employee at the Ministry of Health, who has lived in El-Arish for decades. “We used to see people from all walks of life here.”

Fadhloun used to take his children to the zoo and Suzanne Mubarak Museum in Salam district, but these establishments were closed five years ago, designated terrorism targets due to their proximity to the Security Directorate.

“We used to have moments of happiness and joy, but our lives have turned into misery due to terrorism and the ongoing conflict between the terrorists and the police and military,” says Fadhloun.

Hidayat, an El-Arish resident, says she avoids leaving her house unless to buy supplies or go to work because of the heightened security measures. “We try to create an atmosphere of joy and happiness inside the house,” Hidayat told Correspondents. Local residents seem to have moved further from the ocean, even if they remain within reach. “We buy nuts and have movie nights or sit on our balcony overlooking the sea listening to folklore songs.”

Bedouin hospitality

On the Gulf of Aqaba in South Sinai, Sharif runs an inn on a beach hidden between a mountain and the sea on the road between the cities of Taba and Nuweiba. These shores have become a popular destination for many people for their relative distance from the traditional resorts and their panoramic view of the Gulf of Aqaba.

The cottages in this area – called Khosha in the Bedawi language – are built from palm fronds and are rebuilt every year after the winter floods from El-Arish in the north. The roads are often also cutoff due to floods. Last season, for example, the asphalt layer connecting the road between Dahab and Ras Shaitan collapsed.

Several Bedouin camps offer guests accommodation according to Bedouin traditions, including the people of Tarabin, Huwaitat and Aloheaout and other peoples of central and southern Sinai. Accommodation here is cheaper than staying in hotels on the Red Sea in Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Taba or near Ras Mohammed National Park. The guests are subject to Bedouin customs rather than the law, which provide them with a margin of freedom not available at other resorts in Egypt.

The camps tend to have more liberal attitudes than other more conservative resorts. Yet visitors to this coast undergo extensive scrutiny from security forces as they pass through the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel under the Suez Canal.

Snubbing Cleopatra

In the Matrouh governorate, local residents have access to a 450-kilometer stretch of mediterranean coast, including marquee beaches such as Cleopatra. While tourists do still visit resorts here, local residents frequent the beach early or late in the summer. This is their opportunity to enjoy some ‘private’ trips to visit beaches such as ‘Abu Lahu’, “Ras Hikma’ and ‘Bagush’ which are characterized by serenity and pure sea water.

“I used to love going to the sea with my friends when I was young, but now my vacations with my family are limited to family trips to the far shores to ensure our privacy in accordance with our traditions,” says Tayeb Abed Jawad (63 years), a local farmer.

Camping trips are a popular tradition with Matrouh families. Food is cooked on a wood fire in the traditional Bedouin way. The men cook while the women enjoy their time off from household and child care duties: children enjoy swimming in the sea all day while young men fish. Such trips are often day trips.

Resorting to high prices

Further east of Matrouh lie the beaches of Alexandria, Egypt’s second city, where famous resorts place a high price on happiness. Alexandria attracts nearly two million vacationers in the summer. In 2016, hotels were at full occupancy, giving rise to a boom in rented appartments.

The‘Thagher Cornish, the Ajami neighborhood, Bitash, Hannoville and October 6 Palms; these areas, located west of Alexandria, offer stretches of appartments on the beach from 50€ per day. In the park areas or in Mamoura, east of the city, prices rang from 80 to 100€ per day.

Day trippers can also enjoy Beau Rivage beach, made famous by Abdel Halim Hafez’s 1969 song, for a 3.5€ entry ticket. Vendors roam the beach selling various snacks stuffed with honey and nuts.

The resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, which have seen a decrease in the number of foreign tourists in recent years due to security concerns, are increasing popular with Upper Egypt residents.

Charm of Sharm el-Sheikh

Hussein Abu Hashish, head of public relations at a government agency, often holidays with his family in Sharm el-Sheikh, especially since the ousting of the former regime which surrounded the city with a security fence.

Mohamed Tharwat, an employee at the General Registry in Assiut governorate, believes Hurghada’s 36-kilometers of beach on the Red Sea is preferable. “The red sea attracts us more than Alexandria,” says Tharwat, who spends four days a year here with his family. “It is in this place that we find joy. The children have fun in the playground and Aqua Park,” Tharwat told Correspondents.

Polo on the Nile

Young men in Upper Egypt head to large canals in the Nile to escape the summer heat in Assiut, Sohag and Minya. Children set up simple plastic tents near Ibrahimiya Canal or the shallow areas of the Nile River then swim to escape the 45 degrees Celsius temperatures.

Ibrahimiya Canal passes through Mandara village, north of Assiut, and is the only refuge from the summer heat for local people. Young men, such as Adel Hussein, 18, take car tires to float on the water or play water polo, placing rocks as goals anchored in the river. Once or twice a year however these playgrounds turn tragic when a young man drowns.