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CREATIVE BUSINESS BUSINESS TO THE RED SEA
July 7.2016. Thursday
sickness by the sea
July. Mid summer. And so pulls on the sea! Looks like I got sick from the sea. That long-term supply that I had from the Black Sea, when I went to the sea every year, even for the whole summer, seems to have already exhausted itself. And previous trips to the Red Sea seemed fleeting. And I feel this even in my physiological state: sometimes in the winter I began to catch a cold. Not to mention spirituality...
And I decided, at the first opportunity, to resume my life on the sea and with the sea. Not all the time yet, but at least sometimes, several times a year. And now this "sometimes" has come today. In addition, after June and until September, I am free from any significant obligations in relation to the outside world and I can afford it. And allowed, for starters, for as many as 22 days in Hurghada! Departure late tonight. The bag is packed and waiting in the wings.
Air gates of Kyiv and Hurghada
The trip to the airport and the flight for me is becoming familiar. After all, since June last year, this is my fourth flight, and that's it - to the Red Sea! I no longer have that unusual pre-flight elation, as it was in previous times. And this is so necessary for creativity! And so I don't expect there to be any revelation in this section of my travelogue. ...Everything has become normal, like a trip to the railway station to the train. Moreover, I was afraid to be late for check-in for the flight. Yes, it almost happened: I was one of the last to board the plane.
Metro - Bus - Check-in - Landing - Plane ...Everything is going according to plan.
We taxi to the runway (runway), then at the start we take off and rush along the impeccably smooth concrete surface ...And at top speed, when the entire space along the runway turns into a continuous smeared picture behind the window, we break away from the Earth. And, continuing to pick up speed, we rush sharply into the sky so that our ears are pawned. All this for me is a common occurrence and there is no longer the former fear. But still, a small fraction of it remained. Only one thing never ceases to amaze me: how can this hulk of several tens of meters in length (and in a narrow cabin this distance doubles) with two hundred passengers and crew can take off? What kind of strength do you need to have for this? ! But when the plane took off from the very start, it accelerated so much that an unknown force pressed me into the seat, I believed in this “power” and respected it, and already I had no doubts about its capabilities. Everything was relieved, and I breathed a sigh of relief ...
And the acceleration is more and more...And it seemed to me that I was starting to break away from this World, but until the complete separation was prevented by a dense environment ahead - time, but not space. And therefore, a real opportunity arose, without leaving our World, to leave only the Earth and rush into the Cosmos. But this did not happen, since the plane, having gained the required altitude and speed, “released the gas”. I experienced a similar feeling of acceleration in my youth when I got behind the wheel of a motorcycle or car and gave full throttle. By the way, this unusualness of my sensations during acceleration and overcoming the forces of gravity, Nikolo Tesla explained, as the presence of ether, denied by Einstein ...
Three and a half hours of flight at an altitude of ten kilometers above the Earth. This time, during the entire flight, there was not even turbulence. There were no sandwiches with a delicious bun, as in previous times. Such a surprise!
And I was so hoping to have a bite to eat and, as usual, fall asleep, right up to landing. This time neither succeeded. Although it was already well after midnight, I still did not manage to fall asleep: only sometimes I dozed lightly. But more often he stared: now through the porthole, hoping to see the lights of the Earth, then into the cabin. Nevertheless, the time passed quickly and at dawn we were already flying up to the airfield of Hurghada.
Landing for me was more disturbing than takeoff. According to all the laws of physics, I understood that we are flying at low level, which means that we are completely given over to the elements and its laws. And it seemed to me that, God forbid, a sharp gust of strong wind could overturn us...But such storms do not happen in Egypt in summer. There aren't even any. And that's why it calmed me down...
We landed to the applause of the passengers to the commander of the airship and after the usual passport, customs and visa procedures, and baggage claim, we sat on the buses - transfer to the hotels.
First day in Hurghada, summer 2016
Hurghada airport. Everything is like last summer. Only until my foot crossed the threshold of the front door from the side of the runway. I was surprised by a certain sadness and emptiness inside the terminal that caught my eye. No, there were people, albeit in much smaller numbers than last year. But there was an inevitable hopelessness in the air, emanating from every Arab who worked at the airport. And if you feel it to the depths of your soul, then it will certainly pinch in the Soul and tears will spontaneously roll into your eyes. Egypt's tourism crisis...
But all of us, the two hundred passengers of the airliner, missed it casually, by ourselves, as we were absorbed in the upcoming vacation on the Red Sea, living in comfortable rooms and anticipating the devouring of gourmet dishes. I myself, like everyone else, was in these rosy dreams and only already in the hotel I realized what I subconsciously perceived at the airport, but it was repeated all subsequent days when I saw Arabs in the hotel, on the streets of Hurghada and in other places. And this hopelessness flowed from every Arab as a result of the global economic crisis that hit every Egyptian and drastically reduced their standard of living. This is all because Russia has banned any flights with Egypt for political reasons. And tens or even hundreds of thousands of Russians could not buy tours to the Red Sea. That is why most hotels, even in season, were half empty, if not even closed.
And now I involuntarily recalled an almost similar picture at the Boryspil airport. There was no hopelessness, but there was some inferiority and the same small number of passengers, as if I had ended up not in the capital, but in some provincial airport terminal. And everything, as in Hurghada, for the same reason: Russia has established a taboo on air flights with Kyiv, and passenger traffic has decreased several times. And the crisis in Ukraine has limited people's ability to fly...
Settlement
Knowing the features of the settlement in the hotels of Egypt, I did not worry much and, moreover, I did not complex about this. I knew in advance that I would be offered the worst room in the hotel, and then everything would develop, depending on my reaction and behavior. Almost exactly what happened. The main thing is not to rush to settle in the room that you are offered. In any hotel, the system is as follows: after registration, they give the key and indicate the number.
The porter keeps his ear sharp, like a hunting husky. As soon as he hears what number, he immediately grabs your suitcase, even without your permission, and quickly rushes forward - towards his dollar or chocolate bar. You can't even follow him. You only have time to ask the porter (reception): “Good room? » To which the receptionist, so cute, smiling, always says: “The best room! "Well, how can you not believe such amazing courtesy? . . (What happens next, I will not write - read in every second review of any hotel in Egypt).
So, slowly, without fuss, even if the late check-in, having tamed the ardor of the porter and so that he put the suitcase in place, you go to look at the room. And you always refuse it, even if you like it (you can always return to it), indignant: “What did I pay $ 600 for? (I had a check-in for 22 days (21 nights), "All inclusive".
Such an amount acts magically on the reception worker, although he may not realize that the hotel from this amount, after all sorts of different intermediaries, such as "Anex Tour" and travel agents, remains ridiculous crumbs. Naturally, they give you the best… But how to get the best number is a separate conversation (and such advice costs money! )…
Surprisingly, the next room turned out to be excellent in terms of internal condition - quite comfortable. And this is surprising for the usual "troika"! Therefore, my opinion about the Sand Beach Hotel went up by three orders of magnitude after the undeserved negativity that I read in reviews about it on the eve of departure. But, as for me, for a person of a creative nature, there was a huge drawback: the windows overlooked a two-meter wall that separated our hotel from the neighboring one. I reported this to the porter service (reception) and they immediately, without any objection, were provided there, but on the second floor overlooking the buildings and the pool of the neighboring hotel.
This number could already suit me, but I plucked up the courage (or impudence - let who knows how), motivating me by the fact that I have a triple tour of 7 days (21 nights) in terms, hinting that this is beneficial for the hotel - so everyone would! and in return for this benefit for the hotel, I would like to have a special benefit for myself as a writer (I gave them my book about the resorts of Egypt "Resort. Love. Wedding ... ", which I wrote based on the results of my three previous visits to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada - see above). For creative inspiration, I need a good view of Nature and, preferably, the Sea! Unfortunately, the clerk of the porter service (reception) did not solve such a problem: apparently, only the Owner of the hotel had such rooms in reserve. And I was asked to wait an hour for him. The hour of waiting was worth it to live comfortably and creatively on the Red Sea for 22 days from the next day ...
By the will of fate and thanks to the kind heart of the owner of the hotel (pah, pah, so as not to jinx it), since the second day of my vacation (and in fact a creative business trip), after the best room has been vacated, I have the opportunity to be with the sea every second: and during the day and at night. I was given a room on the very shore, with a two-sided sea view from the second floor of the bungalow, with a large terrace and a table with an armchair on it - convenient for fixing my resort impressions.
Now, to the place to describe the hotel where I will be for the next twenty-two days.
General information about the hotel
"Sand Beach Hotel" is located in the Old District of Hurghada. The hotel is 11 km from Hurghada International Airport. The hotel consists of a main 3-storey building and two 2-storey buildings.
"Sand Beach Hotel", which means "Sandy Beach", is located on the very shore of the Red Sea. Three stars, but in some positions it is not inferior to four-star hotels.
Against expectation of the worst, I was pleasantly surprised not only by the condition of the rooms, but also by many other items.
Rooms
Number of rooms - 144: Standard Room, Family Room, Suite.
Restaurant
The main restaurant - food according to the "Swedish table" system.
bars
Bar on the beach (10:00 - 17:00). Oriental Cafe - Turkish coffee and hookah (10:00 - 14:00.17:00 - 22:00). Bar Pergola (17:00 - 22:00). Pizza Pub II (24/7).
Sea
First of all, and the most important thing for me, is the location of the hotel on the first coastline, right by the sea. Especially for summer, during the season: at any moment of the day or night you can safely go ashore, listen to the surf, dream, if you wish, meditate ...And in the daytime, armed with a mask, admire the beauty of the underwater world of the Red Sea right at the pontoon and for several hours in a row - the purity and temperature of the water (up to 28? C) allows you to do this. Honestly, there is no such abundance of marine exotics as when going diving or in five-star hotels in Sharm El Sheikh.
And, apparently, because there are no living corals near the coast due to the destructive human civilization advancing on the Red Sea. This winter I was in Sharm El Sheikh at the Poinciana Sharm Resort, but on the second line. And for the Egyptian winter with its strong winds and not always beach weather, although the water is here in winter 22? C, such a distance from the sea is not significant. But in the summer to live, literally, ten meters from the sea, which is always favorable for swimming, and at any moment to be on its shore, as in this Sand Beach Hotel - super!
I am not new to the sea. Back in the 80s, every year for 24 days I went to Berdyansk on the Sea of u200bu200bAzov and to Alushta - on the Black Sea. In the 90s he lived all summer by the sea, and a day later he spent the night in a beach house, working in the children's health camp "Cascade" in the same Alushta. And after the well-known events of 2014, as a patriot of Ukraine, I lost the opportunity to visit Crimea for political reasons.
And so I transferred my Crimea to Africa and Sinai, to Egypt, to no less, but even more wonderful than the Black Sea, to the Red Sea. And I was convinced of this this morning, during a small storm, so, balls 2-3, when the waves, hitting the concrete blocks of the breakwater, refreshed me with their spray. And I, bathing in this finely dispersed grace, caught the iodine smells of the sea with my nose. Nostalgia for the Crimea and the Black Sea pinched my heart so that tears came out and ran down my cheeks in salty streams ...I did not betray the Crimea. I still love him, but I hate those who made Crimea inaccessible to me. To hell with all these politicians with their aggression and wars, who, with their dirty deeds, are trying to upset the balance of naturalness and goodness ...
I am aware of my oneness with the Sea. And therefore, more and more often I go to the sea, despite the increasingly complicated possibilities of access to it. Now only by plane, with two customs and passport controls.
Yes, and a date with the sea has become many times more expensive.
The sea is unstable and changes several times during the day.
Morning. The sea belongs to itself. A person is still sleeping or just waking up and does not yet bring his mostly negative essence into this world and into the sea. And in these pre-dawn hours, I love to go to the seashore and absorb its pure grace.
In the afternoon, from the very morning until sunset, the seashore is filled with the bodies of vacationers and their polyphony. But that's not the point. Although on vacation people are much kinder, but still, they cannot completely eliminate their negativity, which fills the sea.
At night. And only after sunset, when the last beachgoer leaves, the night sea is gradually filled with its own negativity in the form of various predatory creatures. And so on until the morning, and then again all in a circle.
Hotel area
The area of the hotel is small but cozy.
The main territory, apart from the buildings, is occupied by three cascading pools with different water levels, ranging from 70cm for small children to 2-20m for adults. And right next to the sea there is a small, but very well-groomed green area saturated with vegetation, where two friendly gardeners are constantly bustling about. And the result of their fuss is obvious: as soon as you step into this front garden, you find yourself in the micro Botanical Garden, as if in a fairy tale - such bizarre plants here! And nearby, almost a continuation of this front garden, but already on the territory of the neighboring hotel, there are huge cacti several meters in height, some of them blooming...
July 8.2016. Friday
Thirst for the sea
Today, even before breakfast, I felt the urgent need for the sea. But not only feelings moved me, but also consciousness and subconsciousness demanded and set me up for constant contact with the sea. And really, why did I come here?
After all, not for "all inclusive" practically for "freebies" ($35 with a flight, a luxurious room and other services - it's practically for nothing! ) The sea invisibly draws me to itself! And this, perhaps, is a sign of some kind of kinship with him, which I feel subconsciously, recreated from ancient times, when the first signs of life were just emerging in the sea. And this magic took possession of me twenty years ago, when for several years in a row I was at the Black Sea in Alushta all summer ...
The world of civilized revival of mankind
Now, in my desire to know the truth in the sea (although, according to Omar Khayyam, here, in the resorts of Egypt with the “all inclusive” system, there are ample opportunities to know it in wine), I have the opportunity to revive the golden age of human civilization from the times of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Of course, I cannot create masterpieces of that level, perhaps because I am alone.
Alone in such an aspiration for tens and hundreds of kilometers of the Red Sea coast, but, most importantly, with an irresistible desire to create high spiritual every second. In addition, there are conditions for this, as in ancient times: numerous slaves (may the hotel staff forgive me), and a carefree life provided with everything necessary, which removes disturbing thoughts: how to live and survive ...That is, full scope for creative realization his, truly human essence, and not the essence of a slave in the current power-oligarchic "elite". And that's why here, on the sea, you feel like a Man!
In this regard, taking into account the broadest communication possibilities of the Internet, thanks to the opening of a community of Creators of spirituality, for example, on the LiveJournal platform or Facebook, I will be able to create a permanently existing “World of Civilized Revival of Humanity” based on creativity.
And in order to become a member of this community, one must at least write or draw something new, or create something else creative, coming from the depths of the Soul, in spite of all kinds of restrictions imposed by the mind and body. And in order to stay in this community, you need to constantly create: in the first month at least once a week, and later - several times, up to daily creations according to the principle: "Create like breathing. " If these conditions are not met, the candidate for the "World of Civilized Revival of Humanity" is excluded. The president of this world is the creative person who has created the most new creations in the last month.
Depravity of mind and body
I felt all the negativity and vicious ballast of mind and body in the Red Sea, at dawn, when I plunged into the sea and wished to fulfill one of my cherished desires - to connect with the sea element.
After all, I have had this obsessive intention and goal for more than a dozen years. And I felt that such a unity can only happen when the mind and body senses are completely turned off, and full scope is provided for the Soul. But then the logic of the mind warned that in the final limit the result of such a reincarnation could be the death of the physical body, without a real possibility of returning back to our world, even if only to describe the sensations that I experienced.
And the circle of the unknown world will close, engulfing me in itself...And involuntarily I remembered Gogol, who, after a long stay in that good world of inspiring feelings of the Soul, tried to return to our world, but apart from horror in a grave under a two-meter layer of earth, buried alive, nothing more, I couldn’t do how to roll over in a coffin… Maybe that’s why, according to tradition, the deceased is given to the earth on the third day to enable the “dead” to return to our world after a temporary withdrawal from it, for example, during a lethargic sleep. And I imagine how many people, as a result of violation of this ancient tradition, were buried alive or killed after a premature autopsy, as if a corpse, but in fact, a living person ...But the latter can be humane: a person gets rid of the horror of being buried alive. After such reflections (and just imagine: here, on vacation on the Red Sea!
- they will certainly think about my inadequacy) I completely abandoned such a desire to penetrate into the blissful world of spiritual feelings without control by third parties. Even the closest relatives in the role of these third parties may neglect their duties in the name of a rich material inheritance, if any. Thus, a complete and uncontrolled "shutdown" of the mind and body senses can lead to death ...
Describing the option of familiarizing with the other world, for example, with the elements of water (seas, rivers, lakes), I remembered the well-known character of Russian folk tales - the Mermaid. Just the Mermaid is that element of the other world, seductively beautiful, which levels the human mind and, in an unconscious state, pulls a person into its penates ...And also folk art reproduced in the epic the image of the Forest King, sung by Goethe in the poem of the same name. But this is no longer the element of water, but the possession of the god of Nature - Pan. Although the essence is the same.
The Forest King also dragged into his other world a baby - the son of a galloping father-rider. And the boy, despite the persuasion of his father, did not have the willpower to resist the temptations of the other world. And he left our world for that enchanting other world. We think he died. It is possible that sooner or later each of us, now living in this world, will face a similar phenomenon...And this enchanting world was “invented” humanely: it will not be so scary to leave this world! And there are many such examples in fairy tales and other examples of folk art.
But this is all the boundary layer of our life, from which that other world is visible. But there is no less beautiful our world.
True, for some, it closes with the brilliance of diamonds, unfading gold, tight bundles of dollars, or a table bursting with an incredible amount of delicious dishes and an immeasurable amount of alcohol, or a small dose of a drug; for others, by the perception of those miracles that bestow the feelings of the Soul, and which, as I am sure, are scooped from the other world. It is hard only for our brother the poet (and any creative person) to resist the temptation of “everything and at once”, which always lies outside our world ...
July 9.2016. Saturday
Joining the Sunrise
The third day of my stay at the Red Sea in Hurghada began from the moment the sun rose. Throwing back the heavy light-tight curtains from the windows, I saw how a small orange edge, the impressive size of the Sun, begins to “hatch out” from the shell of the night, which by that time had almost lost all its positions and turned into a pale bluish dawn.
And this small edge of the orange disc put an end to all her atrocities, starting from the late evening of the previous day.
I quickly, driven by the unique and unrestrained process of the Sun’s ascent into our daytime world, and if you miss it, then for the rest of my life, in a few seconds, I packed up and jumped out of my nocturnal abode so as not to miss a single moment of this wonderful phenomenon. But the main thing, in parallel to this, I had a desire to plunge headlong into the sea as quickly as possible and feel not only with every cell of my physical body, but with all the fibers of the Soul, the grace of the sea. After all, the night, even with my long daytime bathing for several hours, introduced a certain alienation into my relations, like a night-timer. I felt it in the most obvious way, as if the sea was for me in the role of a beloved woman, and the night was like a depraved temptress ...
I noticed in myself one feature.
When I observe the pictures of Nature or its phenomena, they involuntarily appear to me in the form of real images and, moreover, they appear in my idea of them inspired, like living beings. Apparently, I have renewed my ability to see the world as I saw it in infancy until the age of three, memories of which sometimes, like a kind of bright burst of light, appear in my memory. That is why I perceive all this as an element of paganism, and therefore it was not in vain that I opened my page on Facebook “I am a pagan”, where I “dump” all my similar “visions” and which by this moment have accumulated a lot. After all, I live it every day, not only here, on the Red Sea, but also at home, in Kyiv, because I live with Nature.
In those few seconds while I was getting ready and running out of the room, I lost, as it seemed to me, whole hours, if not days of my life - this is how I evaluate the significance of every moment of the appearance of the Luminary in our world.
A moment of uniqueness and originality. And what happened to the Sun during its transformation from a bright point on the horizon into a dazzling half-disk, according to our earthly time standards, is these few seconds, and the impressions from this process could be not just hours and days, but a whole life of impressions! Realizing this, I realized how much we lose, I would say, more than one of our lives, when we give ourselves to the murderous everyday bustle, at a time when Nature works wonders in the world around us and makes it possible to live more than one life in this charm ...
And still, during all this absorption by the sponge of the Soul of the pictures of the rising Sun, I did not leave the desire to connect with the sea and unite these two wonderful phenomena: the sunrise and the sea font in the focus of my body and Soul.
After all, uniqueness and a special attraction at the level of comprehending some miracle also arise in us when we desire night bathing (safe - on the Black Sea) - and an irresistible desire arises to combine the elements of the Sea and the mystery of the Night. And this desire increases many times when the mind, at least partially, turns off and does not restrain the desires of the Soul, which happens after taking several glasses of Crimean wine (in the Crimea) or glasses of Sambuca (at the resorts of Egypt).
Night seaside. Wind
Two o'clock at night. Freeing myself from the shackles of the night in the form of a sweet dream and overcoming the heavy boundary layer between sleep and reality, I stepped into the reality of nightlife. And the night seemed to me a completely different world, compared to the day, which I knew well. First of all, this is the night sleep of all daytime inhabitants and the wakefulness of night inhabitants, about which, both at home and, moreover, here, in a foreign country, I know practically nothing.
I am fenced off from this world by the impenetrable walls of my dwelling, in which I submerge (and, in fact, turn off) with the onset of night darkness. And today, in the middle of the night, I entered it.
I felt that the night had swallowed me up, enveloped me with its dark veil and was not averse to showing myself from the inside. The companion of the night was a strong wind, which was extinguished by trees and various buildings inside the hotel. But as soon as I went outside the hotel to the seashore, the wind broke out from behind a small building (a warehouse of oxygen cylinders for diving) and abruptly, as if specially waiting for me, hit me with an unprecedented squall. I realized that I had come into direct, immediate communication with the night Nature. Realizing this and overcoming some discomfort, I accepted the blows of the wind as a greeting from the night and went along the breakwater, closer to the open sea.
To my right was a more or less calm backwater, a lagoon that gleamed with water blacker than oil. Such was the reflection of the night world in her.
Outside the coastal strip, the sea, in alliance with the wind, drove pretty decent-sized waves with whitish crests on their tops. But it was no longer black as oil, but dark blue. But still, there was some fear. Fear of what was going on inside him. I just imagined how many predatory sea creatures came out of their daytime hiding places to hunt. And I was seized with trembling and horror as soon as I thought about the night swimming, which I allowed myself on the Black Sea in the Crimea ...Only one thing calmed me down: the night is not eternal, 2-3 hours will pass tedious and terribly terrible, morning will come, and the sea will again will drive all his predators into crevices and reveal all his charm of the underwater world - “Do not be afraid, dive and absorb it with all your feelings and, if you are able, even with the feelings of your Soul!
But that will be all later, but for now I am standing on the very edge of the breakwater and watching how the waves, breaking on the breakwater, are still trying to get me, but in vain. The only thing they can do is spray me with a fan of their sea moisture.
The wind blew from the West along the coast in a strong continuous mass. It was unusual for me, as I was used to even stronger, but gusty winds, as they happen in Ukraine. Here the wind was so strong, but more angry and merciless, and it seemed that he was trying to blow me off the breakwater and throw me into the blackness of the sea to be eaten by predators. And therefore, involuntarily, in revenge, I made myself his enemy ...And then I felt my mistake: it seemed to me that not only the wind, but the whole of Nature took up arms against me. And this contradicted all my aspirations and principles: to make Nature a friend, so that she would open up before me, and I could know her.
It took me a lot of time to establish friendly contact with the "evil breeze" and with the evil of the night Nature, and this is not so easy, it took me a lot of time.
The wind transferred its anger to the sea, raised large waves on its surface and rolled them to the shore, breaking a breakwater protruding tens of meters into the sea. I, in order to be closer to the sea, as usual, went to the very edge of the breakwater, but quickly retreated from there, as another wave, broken on the edge of the breakwater, rose two meters above the edge of the breakwater and sprinkled me abundantly from head to toe.
The wind, as it seemed to me, was always in a hurry somewhere, slipping past me. And now my goal was not the sea, but the Wind and to talk to him. Yes, where is it: he was in such a hurry that after himself he left only noise in my ears and not a single more or less intelligible phrase. What am I to him? One of the seven billion, besides, he imagined he knows what, in order to talk with the Wind itself!
Also, my attempt to delve into the essence of the Wind was not crowned with success. And all because I tried to comprehend the essence of the Wind with the mind and feelings of the physical body, and the essence of the Wind is not material, but spiritual, from the subtle world. And posturing is just a form of its manifestation in this world. And suddenly, amazingly, with my inner ear I still heard the voice of the Wind: “Why are you trying to comprehend with your mind or hearing what is not comprehended in this way? Enter our world and you will know everything, and not only me! And I, following this advice, began to meditate. And what I learned and felt allowed me to draw a paradoxical conclusion: soon I will completely quit writing, as an unnecessary occupation and playing an adult uncle in children's games.
It seemed to me that everything that is written today, even by the geniuses of the pen, is perceived from the standpoint of the cognized Truth by the feelings of the Soul as primitive rock paintings of an ancient man who, I do not argue, also with the enthusiasm of that level, tried to share his impressions of mammoth hunting, fishing and etc. Primitivism, similar to antiquity, is inherent in the present. I am not calling on everyone on earth to stop writing or reading. But this is a dead end branch of Human development...
July 10.2016. Sunday
Therapeutic sea procedures
After a sleepless but creative night, I woke up when the Sun had been conquering the heavens and the world below them for about an hour, rushing towards its zenith. Before breakfast - a little over an hour and I decided to catch up with the lost time, and for all this time I plunged into the blessed Sea. How else?
After all, it is necessary to carry out the plan of marine procedures outlined by me for 5-6 hours daily: an hour or two before breakfast, a couple of hours before dinner and three hours before sunset. I think the plan is real.
Today, surprisingly, and which is not typical for summer Egypt, and even during the day - a small, 2-3 balls, storm. Most likely, not a storm, but big waves. But you can swim. If you gape, then the wave will cover you with your head, and you will sip a bit of the sea wave - so, for medicinal purposes, which often happened to me. It is impossible to lie down on such a shaky surface of the water for the same reason. And if you want to relax on some underwater island-coral, then the waves will not give you this: the surface of the sea will sink to your very knees, and then it will cover you with a wave almost up to your very ears and knock you into the depths. And, of course, again you will swallow plenty of sea water.
July 11.2016. Monday
The Art of the Chef at the Sand Beach Hotel
At the same time, often, in such "feasts" I remember my, I would say, difficult childhood that fell in the early-mid 50s of the last century ...(Read more in my "Diary").
Soul Feelings and Creativity
A hearty dinner with two half-glass portions of strong Sambuk and in the evening - a terrace with a fresh breeze ...what else is needed for complete happiness? Yes you are right! For complete happiness, I also need some piece of clean paper and a pen to throw out the whole gamut of feelings that the Soul cannot contain, and they are rushing out of their good World. Recently, especially here, on the Red Sea, I have often been visited by such outbursts of feelings of the Soul, and as quickly as a dying wave, they disappear somewhere there, in the ether. (By the way, this ether appears to me as a border zone between our World and another world – the Spiritual).
And they will disappear forever if I cannot hold them with my creative energy, develop them and transfer them truthfully, in words and phrases, to a blank sheet of paper. That is why, wherever I am and at any time of the day, a clean sheet of paper and a pen are always with me. And I feel real spiritual discomfort if, for any reason, they are not next to me.
July 12.2016. Tuesday
I'm on the sea!
I took a tour of 22 days to the Red Sea and it doesn't matter which resort or hotel. It is essential that I should be at sea. And not in the sense that you lie on the beach all day, sunbathe, play cards, chat with a friend or girlfriend, sleep, and lower your body into the sea only when the sun burns you hard. And I did this until I visited the Red Sea. The main value of the sea, as for me, is a riot of creative inspiration.
Especially, this applies to the Red Sea, since it is also the only sea in the world with a unique and healing biocenosis. And only on the Red Sea do you begin to truly believe that all life on Earth originated from the sea. Life came out of the sea onto land and received, thanks to the sea, a significant impetus for its development. (I admit that, perhaps, death from the killer in the person of the Unreasonable Man "Homo non sapiens"). The Red Sea is so rich in life and has amazing healing properties, because, like at the dawn of life on Earth, life in the Red Sea is seething in the full sense of the word. Try crumbling bread into water and see for yourself. Just do not try to put your finger into the water at the same time - they will bite off in an instant! Or, at least, they will bite painfully - these peaceful, gambling and always hungry "gold" fish.
"At sea" should sound like "at sea"!
And therefore, following this principle, I set myself a plan to be at sea for 5-6 hours a day, and in total for the tour to gain at least 100 hours! And so far, this plan has been successfully implemented.
The sea is a self-sufficient system
On Earth, life can exist only in two environments: in air or water (in water) - where there is the possibility of absorbing oxygen for redox reactions within a living organism. This is about life as we understand it. But there is also the life of inanimate objects and objects of our World, for example, a stone in the multimillion time scale, as well as the life of a tree or any other plant, lasting from a year to several hundred years...
The sea is a closed self-sufficient system for the life of most of the creatures included in it. But this is from the point of view of the biosystem.
The sea can also be viewed from the point of view of Good and Evil, the good and evil forces of our World.
The day, both on land and in the sea, is the time of maximum manifestation of the forces of Good, the night is the time of Evil. During the day in the Red Sea there comes an increased tension of the forces of Good, which is compensated at night by the forces of Evil. That is why during the day the Red Sea has a maximum, not only healing effect on the physical level, but also on the spiritual level. Therefore, a person, getting into this marine environment, restores his balance, in the sense of physical health - many diseases are eliminated - even those that the person himself did not suspect, but they have already arisen and should manifest themselves in the future and are hidden. And I, after a 100-hour stay in the Red Sea, was convinced of this. And the healing of my Soul was manifested in the emergence of new significant ideas and in the increased intensity of my creative process.
As I understood, the Red Sea absorbed many of my illnesses of the physical body and healed the Soul, removing the negative from it.
In fact, living in the air environment of the Earth, for a long time (100 hours) I placed myself in the self-sufficient water environment of the Red Sea and balanced my not only physical, but also spiritual state.
July 15.2016. Friday
Arabic wedding
The month of Ramadan is over - a period of Muslim fasting with many restrictions, mainly for the physical body. And it became possible to hold wedding celebrations on the occasion of marriage and the creation of new Arab families. And the most convenient and traditionally used place for this was the Sand Beach Hotel, where I checked in the day before (a week ago). I was looking forward to this celebration in order to see with my own eyes how it happens. Because you won’t see it otherwise: no one will invite you to a wedding as a stranger, and even a non-believer.
I read a lot about these weddings at the Sand Beach Hotel in the reviews of former vacationers, but, unfortunately, in a negative perspective: they, you see, did not like the noise and the loud Arabic music that kept them awake until late. Nevertheless, I was even glad that wedding celebrations take place in this hotel and this fact was favorable for me in choosing a hotel. And I was not mistaken. Looking ahead, I will say that I have already received this pleasure to contemplate an Arab wedding five (! ) times. And the first time was today.
The venue is a small platform, fifteen meters long below the third and last pool, in front of a front garden of various African plants, behind which was immediately the sea. Therefore, the coolness of the sea with a light breeze created a pleasant feeling for all the guests.
But the evening is still far away, and therefore all this beauty was under the scorching Egyptian sun all day. I even felt sorry for the draperies and tablecloths: they can burn out!
This is where all the preparations on the street end. Everything else is done in the hotel restaurant: a two-story wedding cake is prepared, cakes for guests and non-alcoholic drinks are purchased in sufficient quantities.
Judging by the way the restaurant staff is fussing and, given the significance of the wedding celebration, it could be assumed that the groom does not spare money for this. And since all this takes place in our hotel, our well-being and, above all, the quality of food, depends on the generosity of this philanthropist-groom. This was the secret of the fact that, despite the widespread crisis in the hotels of Egypt, the Sand Beach Hotel, one might say, if not flourishing, but steadily afloat.
Especially surprising is its cuisine and the daily availability of meat in the assortment so tasty that it melts in your mouth, which is rare even in 5 * hotels, and, moreover, 3 * and 4 *. In addition, surprisingly, alcoholic drinks are in a natural fortress, not diluted! Which is also a rarity in the restaurants of other hotels.
A feature of the Sand Beach Hotel was a large number of Arab tourists, to whom the state paid 50% of the cost of tours. And many of the 250 guests of the hotel were invited to the wedding and arrived the day before 2-3 days before the wedding. This is very convenient: after the celebration, which ended after midnight, there were no problems getting home. In addition, it is possible that all these vacationers and guests were relatives of the bride, whose rest was paid for by the groom. In this regard, briefly about the wedding traditions in Egypt.
Any man of mature age (according to Arab laws from the age of 18) has the right, according to the Koran, to have up to four wives.
The main condition is to provide for their children and wives who do not work for them. And the second essential duty of the son-in-law is to provide for the wife's relatives, if they need it. In the tradition of the Egyptians, when betrothed, the bride must be given a ring with a diamond and two more gold jewelry, a necklace and a bracelet can be given - this is called "makhra", as well as gifts to the bride's relatives from the groom, called "shabka". The Egyptian here also shows his incredible passion for trading: they usually trade with their characteristic passion. I just don’t know if the price for a bride is initially raised by 3-5 times, as in the market in bidding with us, Europeans, or not? . . The size of the “cap” depends on many factors, but mainly on the data of the bride (youth, beauty, education, etc. ), as well as on the difference in the ages of the bride and groom.
In such a cheerful accompaniment, the young people slowly follow past the reception, through the terrace and pools to the guests, who are already looking forward to them. Everyone rises and greets them with applause. The bride and groom go up to the wedding scene and sit down on a smartly tidied sofa. This scene with flashing lights is designed in the style of paintings from the fairy tale 1001 nights. Everything is so beautiful and solemn.
But here is the slow music for the dance of the bride and groom ...This is the first and most gentle dance that I have ever seen. With what tenderness, dancing, she hugs her betrothed by the neck! In this first dance with her future husband, I saw everything: the trembling of her fragile body in front of intimacy, and her feelings of her family with little children in her own house - a full bowl. And I enjoyed it all with her. In this wedding, in the Egyptian bride, I saw all of Egypt!
It was the Egyptian bride that seemed to me a symbol of all of Egypt: its thousand-year historical past, the present in many respects, and, as I was convinced, looking at the bride, the bright future of this country! And the groom, as a man, took full responsibility not only for his wife, but also for the future of all of Egypt...
Inwardly, I felt that this wedding dance of the bride and groom is magic, part of the ritual, and it has a deeper meaning than I understand it. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite figure it out...
What happens next is not so impressive, but very interesting. The disc jockey plays traditional Egyptian and modern music at full power. Young Arabs - friends of the groom with unprecedented southern excitement are included in an endless dance with a change, without any breaks, melodies. I just marvel at their energy. The joy and temperament of youth fills the dance floor.
And fun has no boundaries and limits. There is no alcohol at an Egyptian wedding, and a treat in the form of a cake and a drink is not the main thing. The main entertainment is dancing and an expression of stormy joy and delight, which does not subside during the entire celebration (I never heard the songs). I even got the impression that such a daring irrepressible temperament can only be the result of some stimulants: and since the Arabs do not drink alcohol, one thing remains - hashish drugs) ...
And no variety. On the fifth wedding celebration, except for the unprecedented temperament of dancing young Arabs, there was nothing to see. Only at two wedding celebrations did I see a belly dance, a torch show, and a skirt dance. The rest were more modest in this sense.
The expected magnificent feast was not one of the five times.
Everything is modest: each guest was given a small cake and a bottle of Coca-Cola or Fanta, which were quickly consumed and drunk. I used to sit far above the last pool and watch the celebration. And yet, at the very first wedding, I was treated to a cake and Fanta, which I consider my direct introduction to the Egyptian wedding.
Around midnight, the bride and groom leave their wedding scene and slowly head to the exit, where a car is already waiting for them to take them to a new apartment. The new family, as the basis of the state of Egypt, begins its journey into Life.
"Little" trick of Arab girls
It has been so customary for centuries in Egypt with Muslim customs and tradition that an Arab woman must marry without fail, being a virgin. But, unfortunately, this tradition of premarital virginity is opposed by Nature.
The peculiarity of this passion, called sexual, is that it, vile, turns off the mind when Nature begins to dictate its Laws. Paradox! A reasonable person (Homo sapiens) ceases to be such from the moment this passion arises until it is satisfied!
In such a situation, the taboo against Nature comes out for the preservation of virginity, laid down in generations and transmitted by the mother to her daughter. But how to submit to Nature and at the same time not break the taboo? In our concepts and in our terminology, it sounds like this: “So that the sheep are safe and the wolves are fed! »
And the best daughters of the Arab people came up with a very simple solution to this puzzle: to use non-traditional methods to satisfy the passion between a man and a woman ...
So, in my story there is He and She (and how can there be a wedding night without them? ) Moreover, both of them are local - Egyptians!
Location - Egypt, the resort of Hurghada, specifically the Sand Beach Hotel. Time - 2016, the month of July.
July 5: Ramadan, the month of obligatory fasting for Muslims, ends. And in connection with the end of the fast, the Arabs began to marry. And I was lucky to get exactly “Sand Beach Hotel”, where the owner of the hotel, a kind soul, allows everyone to hold weddings in Hurghada. Only we have the freedom to choose any cafe or restaurant for wedding celebrations. In Egypt, this is problematic: after all, in any restaurant that is always attached to hotels, tourists living in the hotel eat. And how to combine rest with a violent celebration and even, as vacationers noted in their reviews, with shooting from guns? However, the Sand Beach Hotel manages to do it. Such is the specificity of the tourism business in Egypt - the main source of income for the country's budget.
On this wedding night, I saw the union of two opposites - male and female Yin and Yang, the Chinese would say. Although under normal conditions, two opposites cannot be combined into one whole - that's why they are opposites. But the founder of our World (Muslim Allah, and in our opinion, the Almighty (God) made an exception, connecting two opposites, cementing them with the help of passion. At the same time, he extended the possibility of life to infinity. So in all Nature, not only in the example of Man, but also in all other objects of living Nature and even in its phenomena. But the last in our story is the most important, because it is about natural phenomena that we will talk about ...
Exactly, I would like to dwell on the phenomena of Nature. And, above all, because, among other things, I consider myself a pagan!
The sea element is the mother of all life on Earth. There is no need to convince anyone of this.
Life arose from the water and after a while it got out onto land. Yes, and the Man himself is 78% water, and his blood in its composition approaches the chemical composition of sea water.
In Nature, in addition to the sea element, a significant place is given to the Wind. After all, it was not in vain that I devoted many of my essays to him, in its various manifestations: Wind Howl, Vetrugan, Vetrovoi, etc. But today I saw him in a completely different capacity ...
This night I saw a combination of two elements: Sea and Wind (her and him). Something like sexual intercourse, as a result of which children are born. And from this union of the Sea element with the Wind, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of children appeared before my eyes. What a fruitfulness! These kids are waves. And these children from the place of intercourse of father and mother fled over the surface of the Sea after the Wind, who did his noble deed and tried, like a negligent father and a malicious aliment defaulter, to escape from the children.
And these Waves, as the fruit of love between the father - the Wind and the mother - the Sea element, in their pursuit of the father near the shore, gained such strength that they were ready to destroy any obstacle in their path. But on the concrete breakwater they extinguished their ardor, turning into tens of thousands of fine drops of the sea soul. And it was with such extinguished Waves that I perceived them on myself. But in myself I kept a much significant impression of them ...
P. S.
And in the morning, already in daylight, in the continuation of the night fairy tale, in the waves hitting the breakwater, I saw these small children of the Sea element and the Wind in all their glory and heard their voices more clearly. And, surprisingly, they were all different in appearance and in voices: I was trying in vain among tens of thousands of Waves to choose at least two similar to each other both in appearance and in their voices.
July 16.2016. Saturday
Arab children
One of my acquaintances counted dozens of planes coming in to land at the Sharm El-Sheikh airfield from Russia and Ukraine in a couple of night hours. (She was probably tired of counting the stars, and she decided to transfer her account to airplanes - also an equally interesting activity at night on the Red Sea).
And since November 2015, after an airliner with 224 Russians was shot down over the Sinai Peninsula, a bummer has set in: not a single Russian plane has flown to Egypt since then. (But in fact, the roots of this conflict are much deeper. Egypt, at the suggestion of the United States, pulled out from under Russia's nose the world's largest aircraft carrier, the Mistral, which France was building for Russia, but due to sanctions after the annexation of Crimea, it could not (Russia) to implement).
But, as they say, there is no evil without good.
This foreign policy "bummer" made it possible for the multi-million Arab population to take advantage of the benefits of their country, which Nature has bestowed on them with such generosity - the Red Sea and man-made oases of hotels in the coastal zone. So the state decided: so that this segment of the economy would not collapse and in order to maintain the spirit of the people, as well as score political balls, it threw considerable subsidies for partial or full payment for the rest of poor Egyptians in hotels that were breathing its last. In addition, hundreds of thousands of jobs were saved. And now many Egyptian families can have a good rest for "ridiculous" money, eat plenty in hotel restaurants and swim in their pools. The only thing they regret, and I saw it in their eyes, is that they cannot eat for a whole week or two in advance, especially since an example of this is camels before their eyes every day.
And this purely speculative conclusion of mine was supported twice every day by facts: during breakfast and, especially, dinner: their tables were bursting with a desire to eat a lot, in particular, bakery products and cakes, but the real possibilities of the physical body limited their ardor and half of what they took remained on tables untouched.
Ukraine, with its people impoverished to the limit, with no less, if not more, crisis than in Egypt, as well as a war, cannot fully load even budget hotels in Egypt, not to mention five-star ones. Just imagine, in the "Sand Beach Hotel", where I rested in July 2016, there were no more than five Ukrainians with me for the entire hotel! 2-3 more people. - Belarusians, 1-2 people. from Georgia, sometimes from Russia (flights through Minsk or Kyiv, or even through Istanbul! ), and the rest are Arabs. Moreover, the Arabs with their large family.
If we imagine an Arab family, then associations with our large gypsy family involuntarily arise. Only more cultured and in all respects more decent. In addition to two moments that fall out of the ordinary and "hurt the eye" - this, as I already noted, at the table in the restaurant and in the pool, where women of all ages and, mostly, lush builds, dressed from head to toe in black, splashing with children from morning to night. They practically do not exist at sea, except, perhaps, on the shallows, in the lukomorye itself, formed between two breakwaters-berths. In addition, once there was a commotion in the hotel: the child drowned in the sea near the shore, and they gave it out as if he was drowning! And therefore, the bulk of children from a year to six, and there are a dozen of them three or four, splash around with their mothers and fathers in a shallow children's pool. Moreover, babies up to a year are in the hands of their parents.
Once, passing by this pool, I involuntarily stopped: what was happening in the pool is beyond description! Joyful cries and exclamations in different tones and keys, but incredibly all at the maximum volume, as soon as a child can scream or squeal. Here is such an incredible joy of Egyptian children for water - a blessing that is so rare in a 90% desert country. The originality and individuality of the behavior of each child is such that it is difficult to imagine any single core line of their behavior in this jumble of movements and sounds. Everyone imagined and lived only in his own world and the way he wanted to. And in this, no one interfered or forbade him.
And at those prices for tours, especially since out of $50-60 per day that we pay for tours, only less than $20 remains for the hotel (and this includes food, and maintaining the hotel’s infrastructure in perfect working condition, renting land, remuneration to staff and etc. ) to make money in Egypt, not even in a crisis, is very difficult). Therefore, sometimes I even feel sorry for the Egyptians, who, in the name of our comfortable rest on the Red Sea, plow for pennies. And they appear to me as slaves in that historically distant Ancient Egypt, and I act as some kind of pharaoh, or at least his governor or patrician ...
Children, they are children in Africa. And I see the children of the Arabs the same as the European ones. Children have a special, their own world, and only partially they allow us into it. Because they feel us in their world as foreign bodies.
And, sometimes, even harmful...It was easier for me to find an entrance to this children's world and find friends in it, and all because I can look at our world through the eyes of a child. Up to reincarnation into their peers, with similar thoughts, feelings and experiences, which often manifest themselves with a “co-” particle.
When I got to know the children better, I noticed, to my surprise, that many children know English at the level of conversational, and some of them even like their native Arabic. Despite the general poverty in Egypt (I can even compare it with Romania in the late seventies - early eighties), the education of children in Egypt is given great attention, and it has a high degree of centralization. The Free Compulsory Education Act of 1981 obliges all Egyptians between the ages of 6 and 14 to have a basic education that includes primary and preparatory levels.
In the future, the education of children: secondary and higher depends on their ability.
But I can only feel and understand small children until the negative of our cruel life breaks them off at the root. But after - I cease to understand them, I lose contact. For me, children become impenetrable after 8-9 years. And because of them, and older, I can not write anything, although I see them every day and no less than the little ones ...
Night on the Red Sea
Today, for the first time, in a few days of my stay in Hurghada, I began to learn what a night on the Red Sea is. More precisely, opened the veil of the previously unknown. I will not describe the features of the nightlife of the resort, which a person creates for himself, since I have not plunged into all the mortal sins of mankind and therefore I do not know. And I won’t write about them without being an eyewitness, but according to my friend Olga from Slavyansk, who called Hurghada a city of bl . . dey.
New portions of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks of various colors of the rainbow, execution and content, pizza and other light snacks begin to appear on the tables in even greater quantities. And in the light of night spotlights, of course, the hookahs gave a metallic sheen, the smell of smoke in the immediate environment. The Arabs, and they were in the majority, according to the old habit, “were delayed” at night after the fast of Ramadan, when it was forbidden to eat or drink anything, and also to lead a life full of pleasures, they tried to restore the disturbed balance of Soul and body…
Having seen enough of this small segment of the nightlife of the resort and felt its obvious inferiority, I was drawn to Nature, to the sea.
And therefore, after a fun and noisy life, on the territory of the hotel, illuminated by bright spotlights, I decided to go to the sea, into the darkness, and see how it lives, my beloved Sea, to which I so aspired for thousands of kilometers and with which I promised to be not only during the day, but also at night. Fortunately, in the Sand Beach Hotel, the sea is ten meters from the last pool, and therefore the coast is considered a natural extension of the hotel. Unlike the beaches in other hotels, where the entrance to the sea is locked after six in the evening, here go and see, admire the sea at least until the morning, just don’t swim - it’s not safe! It's just that there's nothing to hang a lock on. Especially since the sea, consider that it is under my balcony: you went down from the second floor and you are already on the shore.
I went to the sea and...Oh, horror! Instead of the beautiful elements of the daytime sea, just to look at which those who wish for tens of thousands of kilometers from all over the world go, I saw a horror that cannot be described.
However, the legs do not obey your mental commands. You are like in a dream: you order yourself to do something, but the body is uncontrollable. And all because in this world and in you at the same time there is a more significant force, controlled by the thirst for knowledge. And I bow to her.
All that I have described is the external effect of the “charm” of the night sea. But inside it is even more than that. Yes, such that the limits of his terrible madness cannot be imagined. But I can only imagine how all the evil of the Red Sea, which during the day was hiding in the pits and gorges, suddenly fell out into the open spaces and took possession of the entire thickness of the sea and, moreover, climbed ashore! And from the depths - the deadly bewitching look of the Gorgon Medusa ...And therefore, in order not to be upset by the disappointment of the Red Sea, I went to my room past the sea, trying (but I did not always succeed) not to pay attention to its hellish blackness.
Already half a term has passed my stay in Hurghada. There are 11 days left.
Everything is going smoothly, without any peculiarities and unforeseen. The only thing that made my holiday unusual was the raging sea. I have never seen such a Red Sea in summer. True, our Black Sea sometimes storms and worse. It's scary to even remember. And on the other hand, the stormy sea awakens the sleeping Spirit of the poet, speaking in ordinary language, promotes creativity. And the more it storms, the more it excites the Soul. And an agitated Soul cannot but create. And at such moments, I usually create ...
July 18.2016 Monday
And in the summer there are winds ...
Today, from the very night, the wind decided to show all its indefatigable power. Such a wind and waves raised by it on the sea happened only in winter during my vacation in Sharm El Sheikh. Unlike our intermittent squall wind, on the Red Sea it blows strongly and continuously, as if some giant had taken in a full chest of air and began to exhale it continuously.
The wind carries countless white scallops over the surface of the sea, rolling large waves from a distance from the horizon towards the shore. And if there is an obstacle on their way, for example, in the form of a breakwater, then these waves splash up several meters, as if these furious waves are fired from a cannon. Then the wind picks them up, whipped up to small drops and fog, and carries them along the entire breakwater to the screech of vacationers who dared to capture themselves in the thick of this veil. The sea shower is warm, like the whole sea, but the unexpectedness and strength with which it pours over you from head to toe, of course, dressed not for swimming, involuntarily makes you scream.
Thus, I have not taken sea medicinal baths for two days because of the storm.
And I can’t, wearing a mask, admire the views of the underwater world of the Red Sea, but I try to fill my Soul with the impressions of the storm in order to somehow compensate for this weather discomfort and splash all of them onto a clean sheet of paper. And now I have sketched only a draft design from these impressions for their further development ...And in this I see the important role of the Diary in the kitchen of the creative process.
July 20.2016 Wednesday
And after the wind...
On the third day the sea calmed down. More precisely, it was not the sea that calmed down - it was just a visible effect, but the wind pacified its ardor and violence. But in order not to lose his position at sea at all, he was present and pleased in more than forty-degree heat with his light fresh breath. Because it blew from the sea, and not from the desert because of the hotels, as often happens in August. And so it was filled with sea freshness.
If you feel more deeply the impressions that the wind leaves behind, then you can imagine it trembling, and even restrainedly affectionate. It was as if he asked me for forgiveness for those three days and nights of his violence and brute force in relation to my beloved Red Sea. He also tried to rehabilitate himself in front of the sea: he rolled along the surface of the water with his light air waves, and the sea barely had time to follow him with his small waves, sometimes whipping white scallops on their tops, apparently for beauty. And near the shore or breakwater, when the wind, with an unusual ease, only peculiar to it, rose slightly upward from the surface of the water, blowing over the hot bodies of beachgoers, the waves with noise and indignation at the fact that the wind had left them, extinguished their anger on the stones, rolled onto the shore and, having lost all hope, exhausted, rolled back into the sea.
Although I have been watching this picture for more than two weeks, but without much surprise and conclusions. It turns out that due to the fact that this beach was covered with an incredible amount of sand (and there is plenty of sand in the desert), the coast stepped a hundred meters into the sea and, most importantly, all the corals were covered with sand and a shallow sandy beach area was formed, sufficient to simultaneously accommodate hundreds of bathers. Resting Arabs took advantage of this, instead of pools with chlorinated water, they moved here - to the natural waters of the Red Sea.
Invisible forces pulled me into the midst of this bubbling, splashing and noisy array of bathing Arabs. I gave an explanation for this: if you want to know and understand the people, be as close to them as possible, and even better - in the thick of it, which I did: I swam from my breakwater in their direction.
I have been living among the Arabs for almost three weeks, but only today a thought flashed through me like lightning, which put everything in its place: “So this is their Egypt, the Red Sea, the land by the sea, on which hotels with bizarre architectural forms are built and oases of garden design...And all this to us, foreigners, the owners of the earthly Paradise allowed us to use it for a meager fee. At the same time, many of the vacationers in their comments on the Internet about hotels and the Arabs serving them are so sophisticated in slander and verbal vulgarism that one wonders where they learned this? Especially when I personally observe a striking contrast between what they write in the reviews and what is in reality.
This applies to the Sand Beach Hotel where I stay, which is quite decent for its level of hotel with excellent cuisine with an abundance of meat dishes, skillfully cooked beef that melts in your mouth and, not least, undiluted spirits. And so I involuntarily remembered the proverb "No matter how much you feed the wolf, he still looks into the forest. "
The Arabs, the poorest people in their mass, are ready to “plow” like a horse for $100 (they have a donkey, a camel) in fifty-degree heat in order to provide us vacationers with abundant and varied food and to make us comfortable in the rooms, on the beach and by the pool - with the high kindness of his Soul, like a hospitable host receives guests. And many of us, like spoiled bares (and in fact, slaves of our impoverished Souls), try to spoil their Arab home with words and our reviews.
In response, they sometimes receive a proudly upturned nose and an impenetrable expression on the face of a mannequin, if not contempt with the condescension of a gentleman or lady, doing a favor to the owners in the form of $ 19 per day for the provided comfortable rest and the Red Sea, which is given to these people by God (Allah). I felt these relations between the vacationer and the local Arabs. And, in order to somehow rehabilitate my compatriots, I greeted almost every Arab, Arab woman or their children, tried to thank their country and express my admiration for it (for example, by saying “Good Egypt”). I tried to smile at the meeting, raise my right hand and say “Hello”, or put it to my heart and greet in Arabic: “Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatu - chopping block! ", which means: "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah! »
July 27.2016. Wednesday
For me, the most difficult thing is to pick up a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Often there is laziness to do it.
But perhaps this is a kind of protest of the mortal body against the impulses of the bright Soul? But, as soon as I pick up a pen and paper and can no longer hold back the seething stream of thoughts and feelings, which, without my participation, falls on paper in the form of words and sentences ...
Understanding language
I have been in a foreign country for twenty-one days. I do not know the language of this country, however, I communicate with the "natives" so deeply, even without understanding the meaning of communication with the mind, that I would not communicate like that if I knew the language of this people. Subconsciously, I determined the password to enter this world. And it turned out to be a simple greeting that everyone in the world knows: “Hello! ”(it is perceived by the ears and mind), as well as an open friendly smile and the same open and kind expression of the eyes. And this is enough to start making contact with a person whose language you may not know at all.
With children there is a change of their true essence to the false essence of our world. After all, our world is almost 100% riddled with lies, deceit, hatred. And if a hearth of truth appears, for example, love, then it is destroyed under the heavy onslaught of oversaturated evil. And, perhaps, that is why for a child, maternal love is that painless guiding star that leads him from the children's world to our adult world.
Man has already crossed the line when language contributed to his intellectual development, as it was in the past, and you can read about this Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels about the role of language for ancient man. But man is no longer ancient. And, paradoxically, the language became a brake on its development. And even in the area where it was of decisive importance - in the sphere of the mind. I even had aphorisms about this: A smart man is not talkative, a fool is not silent. Language is a hole in the mind.
The tongue is at work, the mind is sleeping, the mind is working - the tongue is silent. Don't talk too much, lest your stupidity be shown. Mouth would be priceless if it had a valve. (Sasha Sim. PSS in 12 volumes, vol. 1. Placer aphorisms. Anecdotes. - Kyiv: SIM & HAM Publishing House, - 2014. - 359s. , 61 il. , p. 290-293)
Moreover, the language and various speech formulas and cliches are actively used by swindlers, deceivers and others - from the street level to the state level. By the way, the election campaign, which makes millions of people suckers, is an example of this. Even in our personal lives, who would have thought (! ), ordinary flattering words and compliments to a woman with the hope of arousing love (“a woman loves with her ears”), is a perverted form of deception in the realm of great feeling.
By the way, a great feeling of Love is capable of reviving in a Human the ability to communicate without words through a glance, touch, etc. , and, moreover, even without the participation of any sense organs of the physical body, but only through the feelings of the Soul.
It is the transmission of information through subtle energy, one of the ways of which are the feelings of the Soul, that, in my opinion, is a promising and promising way of communication that contributes to the accelerated development of a Human in the near future.
Poverty of a wealthy land
Yesterday I went to the city. Fortunately, it is nearby and starts as soon as you leave the hotel. It was then that I felt a real crisis, which in the hotel where I settled, manifested itself only occasionally and in passing thanks to the skill of the owner to restrain it. But for us, who had previously vacationed in Egypt and knew him in the pre-crisis period, this was a shock and as a reason for negative reviews about the hotel. At the same time, these “hacks” want to say: “Do you have a conscience? Aren't you tired of pouring salt on the wounds of those who are sincerely trying to make you comfortable in this difficult time of crisis?
The sellers also stopped so actively dragging everyone passing by into their stores, because they know that the current tourist from Ukraine or Belarus, apart from what they need, will not buy anything else due to the lack of extra money. And in general, on the streets of the resort, once noisy and cheerful in the evenings of the city, there was a certain hopelessness and discouragement. It was painful for me to watch. And I hurried back to my little Paradise, which was still held with such difficulty by the staff of the Sand Beach Hotel.
July 28.2016. Thursday
Last moment on the Red Sea
Last moment on the Red Sea. There are two hours left before the transfer. I am on the pier to the sound of the surf and the wind in my ears, and under the gentle touch of the rays of the setting sun on my body, I am trying to extract the chords of the feelings of my soul. I would not say that the Soul does not react to the pictures of the external world and attempts to stir it up, but it does not give out its feelings into this world. She is half asleep.
Maybe because in three weeks she was fed up with all the beauties that the Red Sea can bestow and is now resting. But, most likely, because in an hour or two I will have to part with the Red Sea, and in another four hours I will leave Egypt. And that is why there is sadness in the Soul. The sadness of a forced parting with the Red Sea, as I say in such cases, deportation.
But there are two options to extend your stay on the Red Sea: either go on cheap last-minute tours more often, or rent an apartment in Hurghada for $100 a month, pay 15 pounds ($1.5) daily for the beach and cook your own food. The last option was suggested to me by two women from Austria, who were relaxing in this way on our beach.
In four hours I will leave the sea, fly away to my Kyiv. But I will not leave the element of high water, because I live on the banks of the Dnieper!
And who prevents me from waking up at 4-5 in the morning and going to the Dnieper, to my favorite island, away from the world of evil that people create and at the same time create an even greater impetus for creativity? And, maybe, and move to a new level of creativity. Ideas and thoughts about this already exist. And the idea is this: to put aside this childish game of creativity, which is not able to convey the whole gamut of my feelings of the Soul with the help of words and phrases, and go 90% into the world of the feelings of the soul. But the question remains open: as a body with 10%, will the allocated share of “attention” be enough for it?
Summing up my relatively long stay at the Sand Beach Hotel, I can say that the Sand Beach Hotel 3 * (“Sandy Beach”) is an excellent hotel for a 3 *. The sea is much better than in "Mirage New Hawaii" 4 * - and there are more colorful fish, and there are corals with a reef, however, not the same as in Sharm El Sheikh, but worse.
Last night I was still escorting the Sun to rest behind the low Sinai Mountains after a sultry African day, and this morning I already met the dawn in Kyiv, at the Boryspil airport. The circumstances of my life are changing so quickly! Just one night and a 3.5 hour flight from Egypt to Ukraine, and such a striking contrast between what was yesterday and what is today. And this contrast is most noticeable in the first hours after the flight, while the pictures of the past are still fresh in the memory and Time has not erased them with its ruthless hand.
I am sure that most of the more than two hundred passengers who just yesterday were relaxing on the Red Sea and admiring the colorful fish are today already absorbed by the concrete of an urbanized civilization, in its highest, one might say, false-elite manifestation - the capital.
But, since I am not yet part of “their” elite circle and cannot appreciate the charm of “their” being, therefore, I will focus on comprehending the miracle of Nature, which, with such an unnatural revelation, tried to open up before me and show all its beauty. At the same time, she, like a woman who loves me, tried to prove to me, a traitor who exchanged her for the harlot Nature of Egypt, that she was much better than her! And I accepted the terms of her game...
I opened my eyes wide and saw the beauty of my native land, moreover, I comprehended it not only in visual images, but with the feelings of the Soul, with inner vision. And for the umpteenth time I was upset that I would not be able to accurately convey what I felt with the tools of this world - in words and phrases. But all these sensations remained in my heart, in the Soul ...
Stop watering these areas of the oasis in the desert and in a day or two the grasses and bushes will wither, and in a month or two the palm trees will drop their leaf fans to the ground and the desert will come up to the Red Sea itself, “whirl” with sand storms ...And the tendency to this, unfortunately, it already is: over the past nine months, many hotels in Egypt have been closed or half-filled with vacationers due to political misunderstandings with Russia and the “taboo” for Russians to visit resorts on the Red Sea.
And now I am comparing our Ukrainian Nature with the Nature of Egypt. And our Nature appears to me in the form of a young maiden - a Ukrainian woman, who naturally every year in the spring is reborn from the fertile Ukrainian land and indomitably bustlingly rages all summer, until late autumn, finally showing herself in her highest beauty - in the form of Indian Summer!
He bathes, cleansing himself, in the pouring rain and listens with pleasure to the rolls of thunder under the dazzling flashes of lightning. Can you see this in Egypt? And I can’t believe that the true beauty of the Nature of Egypt is hidden from prying eyes - just like the beauty of an Egyptian woman under black clothes and a turban ...
Fresh water, so necessary for Life and in such abundance with us, in Egypt, is worth its weight in gold. Even having paid for a tour in a three-star hotel, there is no guarantee that you will be able to drink plenty of clean water (and not boiled from the tap) and will not end up dying from dehydration, like one of our tourists ...
And so I, not even trying to understand all this so deeply, but simply succumbed to propaganda and intrusive advertising, for the umpteenth time this year, rushed from our lush-blooming Nature to Egypt. Okay, in January, during Epiphany frosts, it would be worth doing (a migratory bird is not stupid, but why am I more stupid than her?
), but in July ...And only now, on the second day after arriving from Egypt, on the banks of the Dnieper, I realized what I had exchanged for the miracle of the natural Nature of Ukraine - for an overseas artificial miracle! But it was enough immediately, after the first visit to Egypt last summer, to go to the Dnieper, plunge into the greenery of the grove, inhale the aroma of herbs and flowers, in order, as now, to understand that there is no better land in the world than the native Ukrainian! And Alexander Vertinsky is right, expressing this with such inspiration in just a few words ...
In abbreviation. Full text: "Holidays in Egypt"
https://www. facebook. com/sashasim. Egypt/
July 7.2016. Thursday
sickness by the sea
July. Mid summer. And so pulls on the sea! Looks like I got sick from the sea. That long-term supply that I had from the Black Sea, when I went to the sea every year, even for the whole summer, seems to have already exhausted itself. And previous trips to the Red Sea seemed fleeting. And I feel this even in my physiological state: sometimes in the winter I began to catch a cold. Not to mention spirituality...
And I decided, at the first opportunity, to resume my life on the sea and with the sea. Not all the time yet, but at least sometimes, several times a year. And now this "sometimes" has come today. In addition, after June and until September, I am free from any significant obligations in relation to the outside world and I can afford it. And allowed, for starters, for as many as 22 days in Hurghada! Departure late tonight. The bag is packed and waiting in the wings.
Air gates of Kyiv and Hurghada
The trip to the airport and the flight for me is becoming familiar. After all, since June last year, this is my fourth flight, and that's it - to the Red Sea! I no longer have that unusual pre-flight elation, as it was in previous times. And this is so necessary for creativity! And so I don't expect there to be any revelation in this section of my travelogue. ...Everything has become normal, like a trip to the railway station to the train. Moreover, I was afraid to be late for check-in for the flight. Yes, it almost happened: I was one of the last to board the plane.
Metro - Bus - Check-in - Landing - Plane ...Everything is going according to plan.
We taxi to the runway (runway), then at the start we take off and rush along the impeccably smooth concrete surface ...And at top speed, when the entire space along the runway turns into a continuous smeared picture behind the window, we break away from the Earth. And, continuing to pick up speed, we rush sharply into the sky so that our ears are pawned. All this for me is a common occurrence and there is no longer the former fear. But still, a small fraction of it remained. Only one thing never ceases to amaze me: how can this hulk of several tens of meters in length (and in a narrow cabin this distance doubles) with two hundred passengers and crew can take off? What kind of strength do you need to have for this? ! But when the plane took off from the very start, it accelerated so much that an unknown force pressed me into the seat, I believed in this “power” and respected it, and already I had no doubts about its capabilities. Everything was relieved, and I breathed a sigh of relief ...
And the acceleration is more and more...And it seemed to me that I was starting to break away from this World, but until the complete separation was prevented by a dense environment ahead - time, but not space. And therefore, a real opportunity arose, without leaving our World, to leave only the Earth and rush into the Cosmos. But this did not happen, since the plane, having gained the required altitude and speed, “released the gas”. I experienced a similar feeling of acceleration in my youth when I got behind the wheel of a motorcycle or car and gave full throttle. By the way, this unusualness of my sensations during acceleration and overcoming the forces of gravity, Nikolo Tesla explained, as the presence of ether, denied by Einstein ...
Three and a half hours of flight at an altitude of ten kilometers above the Earth. This time, during the entire flight, there was not even turbulence. There were no sandwiches with a delicious bun, as in previous times. Such a surprise!
And I was so hoping to have a bite to eat and, as usual, fall asleep, right up to landing. This time neither succeeded. Although it was already well after midnight, I still did not manage to fall asleep: only sometimes I dozed lightly. But more often he stared: now through the porthole, hoping to see the lights of the Earth, then into the cabin. Nevertheless, the time passed quickly and at dawn we were already flying up to the airfield of Hurghada.
Landing for me was more disturbing than takeoff. According to all the laws of physics, I understood that we are flying at low level, which means that we are completely given over to the elements and its laws. And it seemed to me that, God forbid, a sharp gust of strong wind could overturn us...But such storms do not happen in Egypt in summer. There aren't even any. And that's why it calmed me down...
We landed to the applause of the passengers to the commander of the airship and after the usual passport, customs and visa procedures, and baggage claim, we sat on the buses - transfer to the hotels.
First day in Hurghada, summer 2016
Hurghada airport. Everything is like last summer. Only until my foot crossed the threshold of the front door from the side of the runway. I was surprised by a certain sadness and emptiness inside the terminal that caught my eye. No, there were people, albeit in much smaller numbers than last year. But there was an inevitable hopelessness in the air, emanating from every Arab who worked at the airport. And if you feel it to the depths of your soul, then it will certainly pinch in the Soul and tears will spontaneously roll into your eyes. Egypt's tourism crisis...
But all of us, the two hundred passengers of the airliner, missed it casually, by ourselves, as we were absorbed in the upcoming vacation on the Red Sea, living in comfortable rooms and anticipating the devouring of gourmet dishes. I myself, like everyone else, was in these rosy dreams and only already in the hotel I realized what I subconsciously perceived at the airport, but it was repeated all subsequent days when I saw Arabs in the hotel, on the streets of Hurghada and in other places. And this hopelessness flowed from every Arab as a result of the global economic crisis that hit every Egyptian and drastically reduced their standard of living. This is all because Russia has banned any flights with Egypt for political reasons. And tens or even hundreds of thousands of Russians could not buy tours to the Red Sea. That is why most hotels, even in season, were half empty, if not even closed.
And now I involuntarily recalled an almost similar picture at the Boryspil airport. There was no hopelessness, but there was some inferiority and the same small number of passengers, as if I had ended up not in the capital, but in some provincial airport terminal. And everything, as in Hurghada, for the same reason: Russia has established a taboo on air flights with Kyiv, and passenger traffic has decreased several times. And the crisis in Ukraine has limited people's ability to fly...
Settlement
Knowing the features of the settlement in the hotels of Egypt, I did not worry much and, moreover, I did not complex about this. I knew in advance that I would be offered the worst room in the hotel, and then everything would develop, depending on my reaction and behavior. Almost exactly what happened. The main thing is not to rush to settle in the room that you are offered. In any hotel, the system is as follows: after registration, they give the key and indicate the number.
The porter keeps his ear sharp, like a hunting husky. As soon as he hears what number, he immediately grabs your suitcase, even without your permission, and quickly rushes forward - towards his dollar or chocolate bar. You can't even follow him. You only have time to ask the porter (reception): “Good room? » To which the receptionist, so cute, smiling, always says: “The best room! "Well, how can you not believe such amazing courtesy? . . (What happens next, I will not write - read in every second review of any hotel in Egypt).
So, slowly, without fuss, even if the late check-in, having tamed the ardor of the porter and so that he put the suitcase in place, you go to look at the room. And you always refuse it, even if you like it (you can always return to it), indignant: “What did I pay $ 600 for? (I had a check-in for 22 days (21 nights), "All inclusive".
Such an amount acts magically on the reception worker, although he may not realize that the hotel from this amount, after all sorts of different intermediaries, such as "Anex Tour" and travel agents, remains ridiculous crumbs. Naturally, they give you the best… But how to get the best number is a separate conversation (and such advice costs money! )…
Surprisingly, the next room turned out to be excellent in terms of internal condition - quite comfortable. And this is surprising for the usual "troika"! Therefore, my opinion about the Sand Beach Hotel went up by three orders of magnitude after the undeserved negativity that I read in reviews about it on the eve of departure. But, as for me, for a person of a creative nature, there was a huge drawback: the windows overlooked a two-meter wall that separated our hotel from the neighboring one. I reported this to the porter service (reception) and they immediately, without any objection, were provided there, but on the second floor overlooking the buildings and the pool of the neighboring hotel.
This number could already suit me, but I plucked up the courage (or impudence - let who knows how), motivating me by the fact that I have a triple tour of 7 days (21 nights) in terms, hinting that this is beneficial for the hotel - so everyone would! and in return for this benefit for the hotel, I would like to have a special benefit for myself as a writer (I gave them my book about the resorts of Egypt "Resort. Love. Wedding ... ", which I wrote based on the results of my three previous visits to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada - see above). For creative inspiration, I need a good view of Nature and, preferably, the Sea! Unfortunately, the clerk of the porter service (reception) did not solve such a problem: apparently, only the Owner of the hotel had such rooms in reserve. And I was asked to wait an hour for him. The hour of waiting was worth it to live comfortably and creatively on the Red Sea for 22 days from the next day ...
By the will of fate and thanks to the kind heart of the owner of the hotel (pah, pah, so as not to jinx it), since the second day of my vacation (and in fact a creative business trip), after the best room has been vacated, I have the opportunity to be with the sea every second: and during the day and at night. I was given a room on the very shore, with a two-sided sea view from the second floor of the bungalow, with a large terrace and a table with an armchair on it - convenient for fixing my resort impressions.
Now, to the place to describe the hotel where I will be for the next twenty-two days.
General information about the hotel
"Sand Beach Hotel" is located in the Old District of Hurghada. The hotel is 11 km from Hurghada International Airport. The hotel consists of a main 3-storey building and two 2-storey buildings.
"Sand Beach Hotel", which means "Sandy Beach", is located on the very shore of the Red Sea. Three stars, but in some positions it is not inferior to four-star hotels.
Against expectation of the worst, I was pleasantly surprised not only by the condition of the rooms, but also by many other items.
Rooms
Number of rooms - 144: Standard Room, Family Room, Suite.
Restaurant
The main restaurant - food according to the "Swedish table" system.
bars
Bar on the beach (10:00 - 17:00). Oriental Cafe - Turkish coffee and hookah (10:00 - 14:00.17:00 - 22:00). Bar Pergola (17:00 - 22:00). Pizza Pub II (24/7).
Sea
First of all, and the most important thing for me, is the location of the hotel on the first coastline, right by the sea. Especially for summer, during the season: at any moment of the day or night you can safely go ashore, listen to the surf, dream, if you wish, meditate ...And in the daytime, armed with a mask, admire the beauty of the underwater world of the Red Sea right at the pontoon and for several hours in a row - the purity and temperature of the water (up to 28? C) allows you to do this. Honestly, there is no such abundance of marine exotics as when going diving or in five-star hotels in Sharm El Sheikh.
And, apparently, because there are no living corals near the coast due to the destructive human civilization advancing on the Red Sea. This winter I was in Sharm El Sheikh at the Poinciana Sharm Resort, but on the second line. And for the Egyptian winter with its strong winds and not always beach weather, although the water is here in winter 22? C, such a distance from the sea is not significant. But in the summer to live, literally, ten meters from the sea, which is always favorable for swimming, and at any moment to be on its shore, as in this Sand Beach Hotel - super!
I am not new to the sea. Back in the 80s, every year for 24 days I went to Berdyansk on the Sea of u200bu200bAzov and to Alushta - on the Black Sea. In the 90s he lived all summer by the sea, and a day later he spent the night in a beach house, working in the children's health camp "Cascade" in the same Alushta. And after the well-known events of 2014, as a patriot of Ukraine, I lost the opportunity to visit Crimea for political reasons.
And so I transferred my Crimea to Africa and Sinai, to Egypt, to no less, but even more wonderful than the Black Sea, to the Red Sea. And I was convinced of this this morning, during a small storm, so, balls 2-3, when the waves, hitting the concrete blocks of the breakwater, refreshed me with their spray. And I, bathing in this finely dispersed grace, caught the iodine smells of the sea with my nose. Nostalgia for the Crimea and the Black Sea pinched my heart so that tears came out and ran down my cheeks in salty streams ...I did not betray the Crimea. I still love him, but I hate those who made Crimea inaccessible to me. To hell with all these politicians with their aggression and wars, who, with their dirty deeds, are trying to upset the balance of naturalness and goodness ...
I am aware of my oneness with the Sea. And therefore, more and more often I go to the sea, despite the increasingly complicated possibilities of access to it. Now only by plane, with two customs and passport controls.
Yes, and a date with the sea has become many times more expensive.
The sea is unstable and changes several times during the day.
Morning. The sea belongs to itself. A person is still sleeping or just waking up and does not yet bring his mostly negative essence into this world and into the sea. And in these pre-dawn hours, I love to go to the seashore and absorb its pure grace.
In the afternoon, from the very morning until sunset, the seashore is filled with the bodies of vacationers and their polyphony. But that's not the point. Although on vacation people are much kinder, but still, they cannot completely eliminate their negativity, which fills the sea.
At night. And only after sunset, when the last beachgoer leaves, the night sea is gradually filled with its own negativity in the form of various predatory creatures. And so on until the morning, and then again all in a circle.
Hotel area
The area of the hotel is small but cozy.
The main territory, apart from the buildings, is occupied by three cascading pools with different water levels, ranging from 70cm for small children to 2-20m for adults. And right next to the sea there is a small, but very well-groomed green area saturated with vegetation, where two friendly gardeners are constantly bustling about. And the result of their fuss is obvious: as soon as you step into this front garden, you find yourself in the micro Botanical Garden, as if in a fairy tale - such bizarre plants here! And nearby, almost a continuation of this front garden, but already on the territory of the neighboring hotel, there are huge cacti several meters in height, some of them blooming...
July 8.2016. Friday
Thirst for the sea
Today, even before breakfast, I felt the urgent need for the sea. But not only feelings moved me, but also consciousness and subconsciousness demanded and set me up for constant contact with the sea. And really, why did I come here?
After all, not for "all inclusive" practically for "freebies" ($35 with a flight, a luxurious room and other services - it's practically for nothing! ) The sea invisibly draws me to itself! And this, perhaps, is a sign of some kind of kinship with him, which I feel subconsciously, recreated from ancient times, when the first signs of life were just emerging in the sea. And this magic took possession of me twenty years ago, when for several years in a row I was at the Black Sea in Alushta all summer ...
The world of civilized revival of mankind
Now, in my desire to know the truth in the sea (although, according to Omar Khayyam, here, in the resorts of Egypt with the “all inclusive” system, there are ample opportunities to know it in wine), I have the opportunity to revive the golden age of human civilization from the times of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Of course, I cannot create masterpieces of that level, perhaps because I am alone.
Alone in such an aspiration for tens and hundreds of kilometers of the Red Sea coast, but, most importantly, with an irresistible desire to create high spiritual every second. In addition, there are conditions for this, as in ancient times: numerous slaves (may the hotel staff forgive me), and a carefree life provided with everything necessary, which removes disturbing thoughts: how to live and survive ...That is, full scope for creative realization his, truly human essence, and not the essence of a slave in the current power-oligarchic "elite". And that's why here, on the sea, you feel like a Man!
In this regard, taking into account the broadest communication possibilities of the Internet, thanks to the opening of a community of Creators of spirituality, for example, on the LiveJournal platform or Facebook, I will be able to create a permanently existing “World of Civilized Revival of Humanity” based on creativity.
And in order to become a member of this community, one must at least write or draw something new, or create something else creative, coming from the depths of the Soul, in spite of all kinds of restrictions imposed by the mind and body. And in order to stay in this community, you need to constantly create: in the first month at least once a week, and later - several times, up to daily creations according to the principle: "Create like breathing. " If these conditions are not met, the candidate for the "World of Civilized Revival of Humanity" is excluded. The president of this world is the creative person who has created the most new creations in the last month.
Depravity of mind and body
I felt all the negativity and vicious ballast of mind and body in the Red Sea, at dawn, when I plunged into the sea and wished to fulfill one of my cherished desires - to connect with the sea element.
After all, I have had this obsessive intention and goal for more than a dozen years. And I felt that such a unity can only happen when the mind and body senses are completely turned off, and full scope is provided for the Soul. But then the logic of the mind warned that in the final limit the result of such a reincarnation could be the death of the physical body, without a real possibility of returning back to our world, even if only to describe the sensations that I experienced.
And the circle of the unknown world will close, engulfing me in itself...And involuntarily I remembered Gogol, who, after a long stay in that good world of inspiring feelings of the Soul, tried to return to our world, but apart from horror in a grave under a two-meter layer of earth, buried alive, nothing more, I couldn’t do how to roll over in a coffin… Maybe that’s why, according to tradition, the deceased is given to the earth on the third day to enable the “dead” to return to our world after a temporary withdrawal from it, for example, during a lethargic sleep. And I imagine how many people, as a result of violation of this ancient tradition, were buried alive or killed after a premature autopsy, as if a corpse, but in fact, a living person ...But the latter can be humane: a person gets rid of the horror of being buried alive. After such reflections (and just imagine: here, on vacation on the Red Sea!
- they will certainly think about my inadequacy) I completely abandoned such a desire to penetrate into the blissful world of spiritual feelings without control by third parties. Even the closest relatives in the role of these third parties may neglect their duties in the name of a rich material inheritance, if any. Thus, a complete and uncontrolled "shutdown" of the mind and body senses can lead to death ...
Describing the option of familiarizing with the other world, for example, with the elements of water (seas, rivers, lakes), I remembered the well-known character of Russian folk tales - the Mermaid. Just the Mermaid is that element of the other world, seductively beautiful, which levels the human mind and, in an unconscious state, pulls a person into its penates ...And also folk art reproduced in the epic the image of the Forest King, sung by Goethe in the poem of the same name. But this is no longer the element of water, but the possession of the god of Nature - Pan. Although the essence is the same.
The Forest King also dragged into his other world a baby - the son of a galloping father-rider. And the boy, despite the persuasion of his father, did not have the willpower to resist the temptations of the other world. And he left our world for that enchanting other world. We think he died. It is possible that sooner or later each of us, now living in this world, will face a similar phenomenon...And this enchanting world was “invented” humanely: it will not be so scary to leave this world! And there are many such examples in fairy tales and other examples of folk art.
But this is all the boundary layer of our life, from which that other world is visible. But there is no less beautiful our world.
True, for some, it closes with the brilliance of diamonds, unfading gold, tight bundles of dollars, or a table bursting with an incredible amount of delicious dishes and an immeasurable amount of alcohol, or a small dose of a drug; for others, by the perception of those miracles that bestow the feelings of the Soul, and which, as I am sure, are scooped from the other world. It is hard only for our brother the poet (and any creative person) to resist the temptation of “everything and at once”, which always lies outside our world ...
July 9.2016. Saturday
Joining the Sunrise
The third day of my stay at the Red Sea in Hurghada began from the moment the sun rose. Throwing back the heavy light-tight curtains from the windows, I saw how a small orange edge, the impressive size of the Sun, begins to “hatch out” from the shell of the night, which by that time had almost lost all its positions and turned into a pale bluish dawn.
And this small edge of the orange disc put an end to all her atrocities, starting from the late evening of the previous day.
I quickly, driven by the unique and unrestrained process of the Sun’s ascent into our daytime world, and if you miss it, then for the rest of my life, in a few seconds, I packed up and jumped out of my nocturnal abode so as not to miss a single moment of this wonderful phenomenon. But the main thing, in parallel to this, I had a desire to plunge headlong into the sea as quickly as possible and feel not only with every cell of my physical body, but with all the fibers of the Soul, the grace of the sea. After all, the night, even with my long daytime bathing for several hours, introduced a certain alienation into my relations, like a night-timer. I felt it in the most obvious way, as if the sea was for me in the role of a beloved woman, and the night was like a depraved temptress ...
I noticed in myself one feature.
When I observe the pictures of Nature or its phenomena, they involuntarily appear to me in the form of real images and, moreover, they appear in my idea of them inspired, like living beings. Apparently, I have renewed my ability to see the world as I saw it in infancy until the age of three, memories of which sometimes, like a kind of bright burst of light, appear in my memory. That is why I perceive all this as an element of paganism, and therefore it was not in vain that I opened my page on Facebook “I am a pagan”, where I “dump” all my similar “visions” and which by this moment have accumulated a lot. After all, I live it every day, not only here, on the Red Sea, but also at home, in Kyiv, because I live with Nature.
In those few seconds while I was getting ready and running out of the room, I lost, as it seemed to me, whole hours, if not days of my life - this is how I evaluate the significance of every moment of the appearance of the Luminary in our world.
A moment of uniqueness and originality. And what happened to the Sun during its transformation from a bright point on the horizon into a dazzling half-disk, according to our earthly time standards, is these few seconds, and the impressions from this process could be not just hours and days, but a whole life of impressions! Realizing this, I realized how much we lose, I would say, more than one of our lives, when we give ourselves to the murderous everyday bustle, at a time when Nature works wonders in the world around us and makes it possible to live more than one life in this charm ...
And still, during all this absorption by the sponge of the Soul of the pictures of the rising Sun, I did not leave the desire to connect with the sea and unite these two wonderful phenomena: the sunrise and the sea font in the focus of my body and Soul.
After all, uniqueness and a special attraction at the level of comprehending some miracle also arise in us when we desire night bathing (safe - on the Black Sea) - and an irresistible desire arises to combine the elements of the Sea and the mystery of the Night. And this desire increases many times when the mind, at least partially, turns off and does not restrain the desires of the Soul, which happens after taking several glasses of Crimean wine (in the Crimea) or glasses of Sambuca (at the resorts of Egypt).
Night seaside. Wind
Two o'clock at night. Freeing myself from the shackles of the night in the form of a sweet dream and overcoming the heavy boundary layer between sleep and reality, I stepped into the reality of nightlife. And the night seemed to me a completely different world, compared to the day, which I knew well. First of all, this is the night sleep of all daytime inhabitants and the wakefulness of night inhabitants, about which, both at home and, moreover, here, in a foreign country, I know practically nothing.
I am fenced off from this world by the impenetrable walls of my dwelling, in which I submerge (and, in fact, turn off) with the onset of night darkness. And today, in the middle of the night, I entered it.
I felt that the night had swallowed me up, enveloped me with its dark veil and was not averse to showing myself from the inside. The companion of the night was a strong wind, which was extinguished by trees and various buildings inside the hotel. But as soon as I went outside the hotel to the seashore, the wind broke out from behind a small building (a warehouse of oxygen cylinders for diving) and abruptly, as if specially waiting for me, hit me with an unprecedented squall. I realized that I had come into direct, immediate communication with the night Nature. Realizing this and overcoming some discomfort, I accepted the blows of the wind as a greeting from the night and went along the breakwater, closer to the open sea.
To my right was a more or less calm backwater, a lagoon that gleamed with water blacker than oil. Such was the reflection of the night world in her.
Outside the coastal strip, the sea, in alliance with the wind, drove pretty decent-sized waves with whitish crests on their tops. But it was no longer black as oil, but dark blue. But still, there was some fear. Fear of what was going on inside him. I just imagined how many predatory sea creatures came out of their daytime hiding places to hunt. And I was seized with trembling and horror as soon as I thought about the night swimming, which I allowed myself on the Black Sea in the Crimea ...Only one thing calmed me down: the night is not eternal, 2-3 hours will pass tedious and terribly terrible, morning will come, and the sea will again will drive all his predators into crevices and reveal all his charm of the underwater world - “Do not be afraid, dive and absorb it with all your feelings and, if you are able, even with the feelings of your Soul!
But that will be all later, but for now I am standing on the very edge of the breakwater and watching how the waves, breaking on the breakwater, are still trying to get me, but in vain. The only thing they can do is spray me with a fan of their sea moisture.
The wind blew from the West along the coast in a strong continuous mass. It was unusual for me, as I was used to even stronger, but gusty winds, as they happen in Ukraine. Here the wind was so strong, but more angry and merciless, and it seemed that he was trying to blow me off the breakwater and throw me into the blackness of the sea to be eaten by predators. And therefore, involuntarily, in revenge, I made myself his enemy ...And then I felt my mistake: it seemed to me that not only the wind, but the whole of Nature took up arms against me. And this contradicted all my aspirations and principles: to make Nature a friend, so that she would open up before me, and I could know her.
It took me a lot of time to establish friendly contact with the "evil breeze" and with the evil of the night Nature, and this is not so easy, it took me a lot of time.
The wind transferred its anger to the sea, raised large waves on its surface and rolled them to the shore, breaking a breakwater protruding tens of meters into the sea. I, in order to be closer to the sea, as usual, went to the very edge of the breakwater, but quickly retreated from there, as another wave, broken on the edge of the breakwater, rose two meters above the edge of the breakwater and sprinkled me abundantly from head to toe.
The wind, as it seemed to me, was always in a hurry somewhere, slipping past me. And now my goal was not the sea, but the Wind and to talk to him. Yes, where is it: he was in such a hurry that after himself he left only noise in my ears and not a single more or less intelligible phrase. What am I to him? One of the seven billion, besides, he imagined he knows what, in order to talk with the Wind itself!
Also, my attempt to delve into the essence of the Wind was not crowned with success. And all because I tried to comprehend the essence of the Wind with the mind and feelings of the physical body, and the essence of the Wind is not material, but spiritual, from the subtle world. And posturing is just a form of its manifestation in this world. And suddenly, amazingly, with my inner ear I still heard the voice of the Wind: “Why are you trying to comprehend with your mind or hearing what is not comprehended in this way? Enter our world and you will know everything, and not only me! And I, following this advice, began to meditate. And what I learned and felt allowed me to draw a paradoxical conclusion: soon I will completely quit writing, as an unnecessary occupation and playing an adult uncle in children's games.
It seemed to me that everything that is written today, even by the geniuses of the pen, is perceived from the standpoint of the cognized Truth by the feelings of the Soul as primitive rock paintings of an ancient man who, I do not argue, also with the enthusiasm of that level, tried to share his impressions of mammoth hunting, fishing and etc. Primitivism, similar to antiquity, is inherent in the present. I am not calling on everyone on earth to stop writing or reading. But this is a dead end branch of Human development...
July 10.2016. Sunday
Therapeutic sea procedures
After a sleepless but creative night, I woke up when the Sun had been conquering the heavens and the world below them for about an hour, rushing towards its zenith. Before breakfast - a little over an hour and I decided to catch up with the lost time, and for all this time I plunged into the blessed Sea. How else?
After all, it is necessary to carry out the plan of marine procedures outlined by me for 5-6 hours daily: an hour or two before breakfast, a couple of hours before dinner and three hours before sunset. I think the plan is real.
Today, surprisingly, and which is not typical for summer Egypt, and even during the day - a small, 2-3 balls, storm. Most likely, not a storm, but big waves. But you can swim. If you gape, then the wave will cover you with your head, and you will sip a bit of the sea wave - so, for medicinal purposes, which often happened to me. It is impossible to lie down on such a shaky surface of the water for the same reason. And if you want to relax on some underwater island-coral, then the waves will not give you this: the surface of the sea will sink to your very knees, and then it will cover you with a wave almost up to your very ears and knock you into the depths. And, of course, again you will swallow plenty of sea water.
July 11.2016. Monday
The Art of the Chef at the Sand Beach Hotel
At the same time, often, in such "feasts" I remember my, I would say, difficult childhood that fell in the early-mid 50s of the last century ...(Read more in my "Diary").
Soul Feelings and Creativity
A hearty dinner with two half-glass portions of strong Sambuk and in the evening - a terrace with a fresh breeze ...what else is needed for complete happiness? Yes you are right! For complete happiness, I also need some piece of clean paper and a pen to throw out the whole gamut of feelings that the Soul cannot contain, and they are rushing out of their good World. Recently, especially here, on the Red Sea, I have often been visited by such outbursts of feelings of the Soul, and as quickly as a dying wave, they disappear somewhere there, in the ether. (By the way, this ether appears to me as a border zone between our World and another world – the Spiritual).
And they will disappear forever if I cannot hold them with my creative energy, develop them and transfer them truthfully, in words and phrases, to a blank sheet of paper. That is why, wherever I am and at any time of the day, a clean sheet of paper and a pen are always with me. And I feel real spiritual discomfort if, for any reason, they are not next to me.
July 12.2016. Tuesday
I'm on the sea!
I took a tour of 22 days to the Red Sea and it doesn't matter which resort or hotel. It is essential that I should be at sea. And not in the sense that you lie on the beach all day, sunbathe, play cards, chat with a friend or girlfriend, sleep, and lower your body into the sea only when the sun burns you hard. And I did this until I visited the Red Sea. The main value of the sea, as for me, is a riot of creative inspiration.
Especially, this applies to the Red Sea, since it is also the only sea in the world with a unique and healing biocenosis. And only on the Red Sea do you begin to truly believe that all life on Earth originated from the sea. Life came out of the sea onto land and received, thanks to the sea, a significant impetus for its development. (I admit that, perhaps, death from the killer in the person of the Unreasonable Man "Homo non sapiens"). The Red Sea is so rich in life and has amazing healing properties, because, like at the dawn of life on Earth, life in the Red Sea is seething in the full sense of the word. Try crumbling bread into water and see for yourself. Just do not try to put your finger into the water at the same time - they will bite off in an instant! Or, at least, they will bite painfully - these peaceful, gambling and always hungry "gold" fish.
"At sea" should sound like "at sea"!
And therefore, following this principle, I set myself a plan to be at sea for 5-6 hours a day, and in total for the tour to gain at least 100 hours! And so far, this plan has been successfully implemented.
The sea is a self-sufficient system
On Earth, life can exist only in two environments: in air or water (in water) - where there is the possibility of absorbing oxygen for redox reactions within a living organism. This is about life as we understand it. But there is also the life of inanimate objects and objects of our World, for example, a stone in the multimillion time scale, as well as the life of a tree or any other plant, lasting from a year to several hundred years...
The sea is a closed self-sufficient system for the life of most of the creatures included in it. But this is from the point of view of the biosystem.
The sea can also be viewed from the point of view of Good and Evil, the good and evil forces of our World.
The day, both on land and in the sea, is the time of maximum manifestation of the forces of Good, the night is the time of Evil. During the day in the Red Sea there comes an increased tension of the forces of Good, which is compensated at night by the forces of Evil. That is why during the day the Red Sea has a maximum, not only healing effect on the physical level, but also on the spiritual level. Therefore, a person, getting into this marine environment, restores his balance, in the sense of physical health - many diseases are eliminated - even those that the person himself did not suspect, but they have already arisen and should manifest themselves in the future and are hidden. And I, after a 100-hour stay in the Red Sea, was convinced of this. And the healing of my Soul was manifested in the emergence of new significant ideas and in the increased intensity of my creative process.
As I understood, the Red Sea absorbed many of my illnesses of the physical body and healed the Soul, removing the negative from it.
In fact, living in the air environment of the Earth, for a long time (100 hours) I placed myself in the self-sufficient water environment of the Red Sea and balanced my not only physical, but also spiritual state.
July 15.2016. Friday
Arabic wedding
The month of Ramadan is over - a period of Muslim fasting with many restrictions, mainly for the physical body. And it became possible to hold wedding celebrations on the occasion of marriage and the creation of new Arab families. And the most convenient and traditionally used place for this was the Sand Beach Hotel, where I checked in the day before (a week ago). I was looking forward to this celebration in order to see with my own eyes how it happens. Because you won’t see it otherwise: no one will invite you to a wedding as a stranger, and even a non-believer.
I read a lot about these weddings at the Sand Beach Hotel in the reviews of former vacationers, but, unfortunately, in a negative perspective: they, you see, did not like the noise and the loud Arabic music that kept them awake until late. Nevertheless, I was even glad that wedding celebrations take place in this hotel and this fact was favorable for me in choosing a hotel. And I was not mistaken. Looking ahead, I will say that I have already received this pleasure to contemplate an Arab wedding five (! ) times. And the first time was today.
The venue is a small platform, fifteen meters long below the third and last pool, in front of a front garden of various African plants, behind which was immediately the sea. Therefore, the coolness of the sea with a light breeze created a pleasant feeling for all the guests.
But the evening is still far away, and therefore all this beauty was under the scorching Egyptian sun all day. I even felt sorry for the draperies and tablecloths: they can burn out!
This is where all the preparations on the street end. Everything else is done in the hotel restaurant: a two-story wedding cake is prepared, cakes for guests and non-alcoholic drinks are purchased in sufficient quantities.
Judging by the way the restaurant staff is fussing and, given the significance of the wedding celebration, it could be assumed that the groom does not spare money for this. And since all this takes place in our hotel, our well-being and, above all, the quality of food, depends on the generosity of this philanthropist-groom. This was the secret of the fact that, despite the widespread crisis in the hotels of Egypt, the Sand Beach Hotel, one might say, if not flourishing, but steadily afloat.
Especially surprising is its cuisine and the daily availability of meat in the assortment so tasty that it melts in your mouth, which is rare even in 5 * hotels, and, moreover, 3 * and 4 *. In addition, surprisingly, alcoholic drinks are in a natural fortress, not diluted! Which is also a rarity in the restaurants of other hotels.
A feature of the Sand Beach Hotel was a large number of Arab tourists, to whom the state paid 50% of the cost of tours. And many of the 250 guests of the hotel were invited to the wedding and arrived the day before 2-3 days before the wedding. This is very convenient: after the celebration, which ended after midnight, there were no problems getting home. In addition, it is possible that all these vacationers and guests were relatives of the bride, whose rest was paid for by the groom. In this regard, briefly about the wedding traditions in Egypt.
Any man of mature age (according to Arab laws from the age of 18) has the right, according to the Koran, to have up to four wives.
The main condition is to provide for their children and wives who do not work for them. And the second essential duty of the son-in-law is to provide for the wife's relatives, if they need it. In the tradition of the Egyptians, when betrothed, the bride must be given a ring with a diamond and two more gold jewelry, a necklace and a bracelet can be given - this is called "makhra", as well as gifts to the bride's relatives from the groom, called "shabka". The Egyptian here also shows his incredible passion for trading: they usually trade with their characteristic passion. I just don’t know if the price for a bride is initially raised by 3-5 times, as in the market in bidding with us, Europeans, or not? . . The size of the “cap” depends on many factors, but mainly on the data of the bride (youth, beauty, education, etc. ), as well as on the difference in the ages of the bride and groom.
In such a cheerful accompaniment, the young people slowly follow past the reception, through the terrace and pools to the guests, who are already looking forward to them. Everyone rises and greets them with applause. The bride and groom go up to the wedding scene and sit down on a smartly tidied sofa. This scene with flashing lights is designed in the style of paintings from the fairy tale 1001 nights. Everything is so beautiful and solemn.
But here is the slow music for the dance of the bride and groom ...This is the first and most gentle dance that I have ever seen. With what tenderness, dancing, she hugs her betrothed by the neck! In this first dance with her future husband, I saw everything: the trembling of her fragile body in front of intimacy, and her feelings of her family with little children in her own house - a full bowl. And I enjoyed it all with her. In this wedding, in the Egyptian bride, I saw all of Egypt!
It was the Egyptian bride that seemed to me a symbol of all of Egypt: its thousand-year historical past, the present in many respects, and, as I was convinced, looking at the bride, the bright future of this country! And the groom, as a man, took full responsibility not only for his wife, but also for the future of all of Egypt...
Inwardly, I felt that this wedding dance of the bride and groom is magic, part of the ritual, and it has a deeper meaning than I understand it. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite figure it out...
What happens next is not so impressive, but very interesting. The disc jockey plays traditional Egyptian and modern music at full power. Young Arabs - friends of the groom with unprecedented southern excitement are included in an endless dance with a change, without any breaks, melodies. I just marvel at their energy. The joy and temperament of youth fills the dance floor.
And fun has no boundaries and limits. There is no alcohol at an Egyptian wedding, and a treat in the form of a cake and a drink is not the main thing. The main entertainment is dancing and an expression of stormy joy and delight, which does not subside during the entire celebration (I never heard the songs). I even got the impression that such a daring irrepressible temperament can only be the result of some stimulants: and since the Arabs do not drink alcohol, one thing remains - hashish drugs) ...
And no variety. On the fifth wedding celebration, except for the unprecedented temperament of dancing young Arabs, there was nothing to see. Only at two wedding celebrations did I see a belly dance, a torch show, and a skirt dance. The rest were more modest in this sense.
The expected magnificent feast was not one of the five times.
Everything is modest: each guest was given a small cake and a bottle of Coca-Cola or Fanta, which were quickly consumed and drunk. I used to sit far above the last pool and watch the celebration. And yet, at the very first wedding, I was treated to a cake and Fanta, which I consider my direct introduction to the Egyptian wedding.
Around midnight, the bride and groom leave their wedding scene and slowly head to the exit, where a car is already waiting for them to take them to a new apartment. The new family, as the basis of the state of Egypt, begins its journey into Life.
"Little" trick of Arab girls
It has been so customary for centuries in Egypt with Muslim customs and tradition that an Arab woman must marry without fail, being a virgin. But, unfortunately, this tradition of premarital virginity is opposed by Nature.
The peculiarity of this passion, called sexual, is that it, vile, turns off the mind when Nature begins to dictate its Laws. Paradox! A reasonable person (Homo sapiens) ceases to be such from the moment this passion arises until it is satisfied!
In such a situation, the taboo against Nature comes out for the preservation of virginity, laid down in generations and transmitted by the mother to her daughter. But how to submit to Nature and at the same time not break the taboo? In our concepts and in our terminology, it sounds like this: “So that the sheep are safe and the wolves are fed! »
And the best daughters of the Arab people came up with a very simple solution to this puzzle: to use non-traditional methods to satisfy the passion between a man and a woman ...
So, in my story there is He and She (and how can there be a wedding night without them? ) Moreover, both of them are local - Egyptians!
Location - Egypt, the resort of Hurghada, specifically the Sand Beach Hotel. Time - 2016, the month of July.
July 5: Ramadan, the month of obligatory fasting for Muslims, ends. And in connection with the end of the fast, the Arabs began to marry. And I was lucky to get exactly “Sand Beach Hotel”, where the owner of the hotel, a kind soul, allows everyone to hold weddings in Hurghada. Only we have the freedom to choose any cafe or restaurant for wedding celebrations. In Egypt, this is problematic: after all, in any restaurant that is always attached to hotels, tourists living in the hotel eat. And how to combine rest with a violent celebration and even, as vacationers noted in their reviews, with shooting from guns? However, the Sand Beach Hotel manages to do it. Such is the specificity of the tourism business in Egypt - the main source of income for the country's budget.
On this wedding night, I saw the union of two opposites - male and female Yin and Yang, the Chinese would say. Although under normal conditions, two opposites cannot be combined into one whole - that's why they are opposites. But the founder of our World (Muslim Allah, and in our opinion, the Almighty (God) made an exception, connecting two opposites, cementing them with the help of passion. At the same time, he extended the possibility of life to infinity. So in all Nature, not only in the example of Man, but also in all other objects of living Nature and even in its phenomena. But the last in our story is the most important, because it is about natural phenomena that we will talk about ...
Exactly, I would like to dwell on the phenomena of Nature. And, above all, because, among other things, I consider myself a pagan!
The sea element is the mother of all life on Earth. There is no need to convince anyone of this.
Life arose from the water and after a while it got out onto land. Yes, and the Man himself is 78% water, and his blood in its composition approaches the chemical composition of sea water.
In Nature, in addition to the sea element, a significant place is given to the Wind. After all, it was not in vain that I devoted many of my essays to him, in its various manifestations: Wind Howl, Vetrugan, Vetrovoi, etc. But today I saw him in a completely different capacity ...
This night I saw a combination of two elements: Sea and Wind (her and him). Something like sexual intercourse, as a result of which children are born. And from this union of the Sea element with the Wind, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of children appeared before my eyes. What a fruitfulness! These kids are waves. And these children from the place of intercourse of father and mother fled over the surface of the Sea after the Wind, who did his noble deed and tried, like a negligent father and a malicious aliment defaulter, to escape from the children.
And these Waves, as the fruit of love between the father - the Wind and the mother - the Sea element, in their pursuit of the father near the shore, gained such strength that they were ready to destroy any obstacle in their path. But on the concrete breakwater they extinguished their ardor, turning into tens of thousands of fine drops of the sea soul. And it was with such extinguished Waves that I perceived them on myself. But in myself I kept a much significant impression of them ...
P. S.
And in the morning, already in daylight, in the continuation of the night fairy tale, in the waves hitting the breakwater, I saw these small children of the Sea element and the Wind in all their glory and heard their voices more clearly. And, surprisingly, they were all different in appearance and in voices: I was trying in vain among tens of thousands of Waves to choose at least two similar to each other both in appearance and in their voices.
July 16.2016. Saturday
Arab children
One of my acquaintances counted dozens of planes coming in to land at the Sharm El-Sheikh airfield from Russia and Ukraine in a couple of night hours. (She was probably tired of counting the stars, and she decided to transfer her account to airplanes - also an equally interesting activity at night on the Red Sea).
And since November 2015, after an airliner with 224 Russians was shot down over the Sinai Peninsula, a bummer has set in: not a single Russian plane has flown to Egypt since then. (But in fact, the roots of this conflict are much deeper. Egypt, at the suggestion of the United States, pulled out from under Russia's nose the world's largest aircraft carrier, the Mistral, which France was building for Russia, but due to sanctions after the annexation of Crimea, it could not (Russia) to implement).
But, as they say, there is no evil without good.
This foreign policy "bummer" made it possible for the multi-million Arab population to take advantage of the benefits of their country, which Nature has bestowed on them with such generosity - the Red Sea and man-made oases of hotels in the coastal zone. So the state decided: so that this segment of the economy would not collapse and in order to maintain the spirit of the people, as well as score political balls, it threw considerable subsidies for partial or full payment for the rest of poor Egyptians in hotels that were breathing its last. In addition, hundreds of thousands of jobs were saved. And now many Egyptian families can have a good rest for "ridiculous" money, eat plenty in hotel restaurants and swim in their pools. The only thing they regret, and I saw it in their eyes, is that they cannot eat for a whole week or two in advance, especially since an example of this is camels before their eyes every day.
And this purely speculative conclusion of mine was supported twice every day by facts: during breakfast and, especially, dinner: their tables were bursting with a desire to eat a lot, in particular, bakery products and cakes, but the real possibilities of the physical body limited their ardor and half of what they took remained on tables untouched.
Ukraine, with its people impoverished to the limit, with no less, if not more, crisis than in Egypt, as well as a war, cannot fully load even budget hotels in Egypt, not to mention five-star ones. Just imagine, in the "Sand Beach Hotel", where I rested in July 2016, there were no more than five Ukrainians with me for the entire hotel! 2-3 more people. - Belarusians, 1-2 people. from Georgia, sometimes from Russia (flights through Minsk or Kyiv, or even through Istanbul! ), and the rest are Arabs. Moreover, the Arabs with their large family.
If we imagine an Arab family, then associations with our large gypsy family involuntarily arise. Only more cultured and in all respects more decent. In addition to two moments that fall out of the ordinary and "hurt the eye" - this, as I already noted, at the table in the restaurant and in the pool, where women of all ages and, mostly, lush builds, dressed from head to toe in black, splashing with children from morning to night. They practically do not exist at sea, except, perhaps, on the shallows, in the lukomorye itself, formed between two breakwaters-berths. In addition, once there was a commotion in the hotel: the child drowned in the sea near the shore, and they gave it out as if he was drowning! And therefore, the bulk of children from a year to six, and there are a dozen of them three or four, splash around with their mothers and fathers in a shallow children's pool. Moreover, babies up to a year are in the hands of their parents.
Once, passing by this pool, I involuntarily stopped: what was happening in the pool is beyond description! Joyful cries and exclamations in different tones and keys, but incredibly all at the maximum volume, as soon as a child can scream or squeal. Here is such an incredible joy of Egyptian children for water - a blessing that is so rare in a 90% desert country. The originality and individuality of the behavior of each child is such that it is difficult to imagine any single core line of their behavior in this jumble of movements and sounds. Everyone imagined and lived only in his own world and the way he wanted to. And in this, no one interfered or forbade him.
And at those prices for tours, especially since out of $50-60 per day that we pay for tours, only less than $20 remains for the hotel (and this includes food, and maintaining the hotel’s infrastructure in perfect working condition, renting land, remuneration to staff and etc. ) to make money in Egypt, not even in a crisis, is very difficult). Therefore, sometimes I even feel sorry for the Egyptians, who, in the name of our comfortable rest on the Red Sea, plow for pennies. And they appear to me as slaves in that historically distant Ancient Egypt, and I act as some kind of pharaoh, or at least his governor or patrician ...
Children, they are children in Africa. And I see the children of the Arabs the same as the European ones. Children have a special, their own world, and only partially they allow us into it. Because they feel us in their world as foreign bodies.
And, sometimes, even harmful...It was easier for me to find an entrance to this children's world and find friends in it, and all because I can look at our world through the eyes of a child. Up to reincarnation into their peers, with similar thoughts, feelings and experiences, which often manifest themselves with a “co-” particle.
When I got to know the children better, I noticed, to my surprise, that many children know English at the level of conversational, and some of them even like their native Arabic. Despite the general poverty in Egypt (I can even compare it with Romania in the late seventies - early eighties), the education of children in Egypt is given great attention, and it has a high degree of centralization. The Free Compulsory Education Act of 1981 obliges all Egyptians between the ages of 6 and 14 to have a basic education that includes primary and preparatory levels.
In the future, the education of children: secondary and higher depends on their ability.
But I can only feel and understand small children until the negative of our cruel life breaks them off at the root. But after - I cease to understand them, I lose contact. For me, children become impenetrable after 8-9 years. And because of them, and older, I can not write anything, although I see them every day and no less than the little ones ...
Night on the Red Sea
Today, for the first time, in a few days of my stay in Hurghada, I began to learn what a night on the Red Sea is. More precisely, opened the veil of the previously unknown. I will not describe the features of the nightlife of the resort, which a person creates for himself, since I have not plunged into all the mortal sins of mankind and therefore I do not know. And I won’t write about them without being an eyewitness, but according to my friend Olga from Slavyansk, who called Hurghada a city of bl . . dey.
New portions of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks of various colors of the rainbow, execution and content, pizza and other light snacks begin to appear on the tables in even greater quantities. And in the light of night spotlights, of course, the hookahs gave a metallic sheen, the smell of smoke in the immediate environment. The Arabs, and they were in the majority, according to the old habit, “were delayed” at night after the fast of Ramadan, when it was forbidden to eat or drink anything, and also to lead a life full of pleasures, they tried to restore the disturbed balance of Soul and body…
Having seen enough of this small segment of the nightlife of the resort and felt its obvious inferiority, I was drawn to Nature, to the sea.
And therefore, after a fun and noisy life, on the territory of the hotel, illuminated by bright spotlights, I decided to go to the sea, into the darkness, and see how it lives, my beloved Sea, to which I so aspired for thousands of kilometers and with which I promised to be not only during the day, but also at night. Fortunately, in the Sand Beach Hotel, the sea is ten meters from the last pool, and therefore the coast is considered a natural extension of the hotel. Unlike the beaches in other hotels, where the entrance to the sea is locked after six in the evening, here go and see, admire the sea at least until the morning, just don’t swim - it’s not safe! It's just that there's nothing to hang a lock on. Especially since the sea, consider that it is under my balcony: you went down from the second floor and you are already on the shore.
I went to the sea and...Oh, horror! Instead of the beautiful elements of the daytime sea, just to look at which those who wish for tens of thousands of kilometers from all over the world go, I saw a horror that cannot be described.
However, the legs do not obey your mental commands. You are like in a dream: you order yourself to do something, but the body is uncontrollable. And all because in this world and in you at the same time there is a more significant force, controlled by the thirst for knowledge. And I bow to her.
All that I have described is the external effect of the “charm” of the night sea. But inside it is even more than that. Yes, such that the limits of his terrible madness cannot be imagined. But I can only imagine how all the evil of the Red Sea, which during the day was hiding in the pits and gorges, suddenly fell out into the open spaces and took possession of the entire thickness of the sea and, moreover, climbed ashore! And from the depths - the deadly bewitching look of the Gorgon Medusa ...And therefore, in order not to be upset by the disappointment of the Red Sea, I went to my room past the sea, trying (but I did not always succeed) not to pay attention to its hellish blackness.
Already half a term has passed my stay in Hurghada. There are 11 days left.
Everything is going smoothly, without any peculiarities and unforeseen. The only thing that made my holiday unusual was the raging sea. I have never seen such a Red Sea in summer. True, our Black Sea sometimes storms and worse. It's scary to even remember. And on the other hand, the stormy sea awakens the sleeping Spirit of the poet, speaking in ordinary language, promotes creativity. And the more it storms, the more it excites the Soul. And an agitated Soul cannot but create. And at such moments, I usually create ...
July 18.2016 Monday
And in the summer there are winds ...
Today, from the very night, the wind decided to show all its indefatigable power. Such a wind and waves raised by it on the sea happened only in winter during my vacation in Sharm El Sheikh. Unlike our intermittent squall wind, on the Red Sea it blows strongly and continuously, as if some giant had taken in a full chest of air and began to exhale it continuously.
The wind carries countless white scallops over the surface of the sea, rolling large waves from a distance from the horizon towards the shore. And if there is an obstacle on their way, for example, in the form of a breakwater, then these waves splash up several meters, as if these furious waves are fired from a cannon. Then the wind picks them up, whipped up to small drops and fog, and carries them along the entire breakwater to the screech of vacationers who dared to capture themselves in the thick of this veil. The sea shower is warm, like the whole sea, but the unexpectedness and strength with which it pours over you from head to toe, of course, dressed not for swimming, involuntarily makes you scream.
Thus, I have not taken sea medicinal baths for two days because of the storm.
And I can’t, wearing a mask, admire the views of the underwater world of the Red Sea, but I try to fill my Soul with the impressions of the storm in order to somehow compensate for this weather discomfort and splash all of them onto a clean sheet of paper. And now I have sketched only a draft design from these impressions for their further development ...And in this I see the important role of the Diary in the kitchen of the creative process.
July 20.2016 Wednesday
And after the wind...
On the third day the sea calmed down. More precisely, it was not the sea that calmed down - it was just a visible effect, but the wind pacified its ardor and violence. But in order not to lose his position at sea at all, he was present and pleased in more than forty-degree heat with his light fresh breath. Because it blew from the sea, and not from the desert because of the hotels, as often happens in August. And so it was filled with sea freshness.
If you feel more deeply the impressions that the wind leaves behind, then you can imagine it trembling, and even restrainedly affectionate. It was as if he asked me for forgiveness for those three days and nights of his violence and brute force in relation to my beloved Red Sea. He also tried to rehabilitate himself in front of the sea: he rolled along the surface of the water with his light air waves, and the sea barely had time to follow him with his small waves, sometimes whipping white scallops on their tops, apparently for beauty. And near the shore or breakwater, when the wind, with an unusual ease, only peculiar to it, rose slightly upward from the surface of the water, blowing over the hot bodies of beachgoers, the waves with noise and indignation at the fact that the wind had left them, extinguished their anger on the stones, rolled onto the shore and, having lost all hope, exhausted, rolled back into the sea.
Although I have been watching this picture for more than two weeks, but without much surprise and conclusions. It turns out that due to the fact that this beach was covered with an incredible amount of sand (and there is plenty of sand in the desert), the coast stepped a hundred meters into the sea and, most importantly, all the corals were covered with sand and a shallow sandy beach area was formed, sufficient to simultaneously accommodate hundreds of bathers. Resting Arabs took advantage of this, instead of pools with chlorinated water, they moved here - to the natural waters of the Red Sea.
Invisible forces pulled me into the midst of this bubbling, splashing and noisy array of bathing Arabs. I gave an explanation for this: if you want to know and understand the people, be as close to them as possible, and even better - in the thick of it, which I did: I swam from my breakwater in their direction.
I have been living among the Arabs for almost three weeks, but only today a thought flashed through me like lightning, which put everything in its place: “So this is their Egypt, the Red Sea, the land by the sea, on which hotels with bizarre architectural forms are built and oases of garden design...And all this to us, foreigners, the owners of the earthly Paradise allowed us to use it for a meager fee. At the same time, many of the vacationers in their comments on the Internet about hotels and the Arabs serving them are so sophisticated in slander and verbal vulgarism that one wonders where they learned this? Especially when I personally observe a striking contrast between what they write in the reviews and what is in reality.
This applies to the Sand Beach Hotel where I stay, which is quite decent for its level of hotel with excellent cuisine with an abundance of meat dishes, skillfully cooked beef that melts in your mouth and, not least, undiluted spirits. And so I involuntarily remembered the proverb "No matter how much you feed the wolf, he still looks into the forest. "
The Arabs, the poorest people in their mass, are ready to “plow” like a horse for $100 (they have a donkey, a camel) in fifty-degree heat in order to provide us vacationers with abundant and varied food and to make us comfortable in the rooms, on the beach and by the pool - with the high kindness of his Soul, like a hospitable host receives guests. And many of us, like spoiled bares (and in fact, slaves of our impoverished Souls), try to spoil their Arab home with words and our reviews.
In response, they sometimes receive a proudly upturned nose and an impenetrable expression on the face of a mannequin, if not contempt with the condescension of a gentleman or lady, doing a favor to the owners in the form of $ 19 per day for the provided comfortable rest and the Red Sea, which is given to these people by God (Allah). I felt these relations between the vacationer and the local Arabs. And, in order to somehow rehabilitate my compatriots, I greeted almost every Arab, Arab woman or their children, tried to thank their country and express my admiration for it (for example, by saying “Good Egypt”). I tried to smile at the meeting, raise my right hand and say “Hello”, or put it to my heart and greet in Arabic: “Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatu - chopping block! ", which means: "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah! »
July 27.2016. Wednesday
For me, the most difficult thing is to pick up a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Often there is laziness to do it.
But perhaps this is a kind of protest of the mortal body against the impulses of the bright Soul? But, as soon as I pick up a pen and paper and can no longer hold back the seething stream of thoughts and feelings, which, without my participation, falls on paper in the form of words and sentences ...
Understanding language
I have been in a foreign country for twenty-one days. I do not know the language of this country, however, I communicate with the "natives" so deeply, even without understanding the meaning of communication with the mind, that I would not communicate like that if I knew the language of this people. Subconsciously, I determined the password to enter this world. And it turned out to be a simple greeting that everyone in the world knows: “Hello! ”(it is perceived by the ears and mind), as well as an open friendly smile and the same open and kind expression of the eyes. And this is enough to start making contact with a person whose language you may not know at all.
With children there is a change of their true essence to the false essence of our world. After all, our world is almost 100% riddled with lies, deceit, hatred. And if a hearth of truth appears, for example, love, then it is destroyed under the heavy onslaught of oversaturated evil. And, perhaps, that is why for a child, maternal love is that painless guiding star that leads him from the children's world to our adult world.
Man has already crossed the line when language contributed to his intellectual development, as it was in the past, and you can read about this Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels about the role of language for ancient man. But man is no longer ancient. And, paradoxically, the language became a brake on its development. And even in the area where it was of decisive importance - in the sphere of the mind. I even had aphorisms about this: A smart man is not talkative, a fool is not silent. Language is a hole in the mind.
The tongue is at work, the mind is sleeping, the mind is working - the tongue is silent. Don't talk too much, lest your stupidity be shown. Mouth would be priceless if it had a valve. (Sasha Sim. PSS in 12 volumes, vol. 1. Placer aphorisms. Anecdotes. - Kyiv: SIM & HAM Publishing House, - 2014. - 359s. , 61 il. , p. 290-293)
Moreover, the language and various speech formulas and cliches are actively used by swindlers, deceivers and others - from the street level to the state level. By the way, the election campaign, which makes millions of people suckers, is an example of this. Even in our personal lives, who would have thought (! ), ordinary flattering words and compliments to a woman with the hope of arousing love (“a woman loves with her ears”), is a perverted form of deception in the realm of great feeling.
By the way, a great feeling of Love is capable of reviving in a Human the ability to communicate without words through a glance, touch, etc. , and, moreover, even without the participation of any sense organs of the physical body, but only through the feelings of the Soul.
It is the transmission of information through subtle energy, one of the ways of which are the feelings of the Soul, that, in my opinion, is a promising and promising way of communication that contributes to the accelerated development of a Human in the near future.
Poverty of a wealthy land
Yesterday I went to the city. Fortunately, it is nearby and starts as soon as you leave the hotel. It was then that I felt a real crisis, which in the hotel where I settled, manifested itself only occasionally and in passing thanks to the skill of the owner to restrain it. But for us, who had previously vacationed in Egypt and knew him in the pre-crisis period, this was a shock and as a reason for negative reviews about the hotel. At the same time, these “hacks” want to say: “Do you have a conscience? Aren't you tired of pouring salt on the wounds of those who are sincerely trying to make you comfortable in this difficult time of crisis?
The sellers also stopped so actively dragging everyone passing by into their stores, because they know that the current tourist from Ukraine or Belarus, apart from what they need, will not buy anything else due to the lack of extra money. And in general, on the streets of the resort, once noisy and cheerful in the evenings of the city, there was a certain hopelessness and discouragement. It was painful for me to watch. And I hurried back to my little Paradise, which was still held with such difficulty by the staff of the Sand Beach Hotel.
July 28.2016. Thursday
Last moment on the Red Sea
Last moment on the Red Sea. There are two hours left before the transfer. I am on the pier to the sound of the surf and the wind in my ears, and under the gentle touch of the rays of the setting sun on my body, I am trying to extract the chords of the feelings of my soul. I would not say that the Soul does not react to the pictures of the external world and attempts to stir it up, but it does not give out its feelings into this world. She is half asleep.
Maybe because in three weeks she was fed up with all the beauties that the Red Sea can bestow and is now resting. But, most likely, because in an hour or two I will have to part with the Red Sea, and in another four hours I will leave Egypt. And that is why there is sadness in the Soul. The sadness of a forced parting with the Red Sea, as I say in such cases, deportation.
But there are two options to extend your stay on the Red Sea: either go on cheap last-minute tours more often, or rent an apartment in Hurghada for $100 a month, pay 15 pounds ($1.5) daily for the beach and cook your own food. The last option was suggested to me by two women from Austria, who were relaxing in this way on our beach.
In four hours I will leave the sea, fly away to my Kyiv. But I will not leave the element of high water, because I live on the banks of the Dnieper!
And who prevents me from waking up at 4-5 in the morning and going to the Dnieper, to my favorite island, away from the world of evil that people create and at the same time create an even greater impetus for creativity? And, maybe, and move to a new level of creativity. Ideas and thoughts about this already exist. And the idea is this: to put aside this childish game of creativity, which is not able to convey the whole gamut of my feelings of the Soul with the help of words and phrases, and go 90% into the world of the feelings of the soul. But the question remains open: as a body with 10%, will the allocated share of “attention” be enough for it?
Summing up my relatively long stay at the Sand Beach Hotel, I can say that the Sand Beach Hotel 3 * (“Sandy Beach”) is an excellent hotel for a 3 *. The sea is much better than in "Mirage New Hawaii" 4 * - and there are more colorful fish, and there are corals with a reef, however, not the same as in Sharm El Sheikh, but worse.
Last night I was still escorting the Sun to rest behind the low Sinai Mountains after a sultry African day, and this morning I already met the dawn in Kyiv, at the Boryspil airport. The circumstances of my life are changing so quickly! Just one night and a 3.5 hour flight from Egypt to Ukraine, and such a striking contrast between what was yesterday and what is today. And this contrast is most noticeable in the first hours after the flight, while the pictures of the past are still fresh in the memory and Time has not erased them with its ruthless hand.
I am sure that most of the more than two hundred passengers who just yesterday were relaxing on the Red Sea and admiring the colorful fish are today already absorbed by the concrete of an urbanized civilization, in its highest, one might say, false-elite manifestation - the capital.
But, since I am not yet part of “their” elite circle and cannot appreciate the charm of “their” being, therefore, I will focus on comprehending the miracle of Nature, which, with such an unnatural revelation, tried to open up before me and show all its beauty. At the same time, she, like a woman who loves me, tried to prove to me, a traitor who exchanged her for the harlot Nature of Egypt, that she was much better than her! And I accepted the terms of her game...
I opened my eyes wide and saw the beauty of my native land, moreover, I comprehended it not only in visual images, but with the feelings of the Soul, with inner vision. And for the umpteenth time I was upset that I would not be able to accurately convey what I felt with the tools of this world - in words and phrases. But all these sensations remained in my heart, in the Soul ...
Stop watering these areas of the oasis in the desert and in a day or two the grasses and bushes will wither, and in a month or two the palm trees will drop their leaf fans to the ground and the desert will come up to the Red Sea itself, “whirl” with sand storms ...And the tendency to this, unfortunately, it already is: over the past nine months, many hotels in Egypt have been closed or half-filled with vacationers due to political misunderstandings with Russia and the “taboo” for Russians to visit resorts on the Red Sea.
And now I am comparing our Ukrainian Nature with the Nature of Egypt. And our Nature appears to me in the form of a young maiden - a Ukrainian woman, who naturally every year in the spring is reborn from the fertile Ukrainian land and indomitably bustlingly rages all summer, until late autumn, finally showing herself in her highest beauty - in the form of Indian Summer!
He bathes, cleansing himself, in the pouring rain and listens with pleasure to the rolls of thunder under the dazzling flashes of lightning. Can you see this in Egypt? And I can’t believe that the true beauty of the Nature of Egypt is hidden from prying eyes - just like the beauty of an Egyptian woman under black clothes and a turban ...
Fresh water, so necessary for Life and in such abundance with us, in Egypt, is worth its weight in gold. Even having paid for a tour in a three-star hotel, there is no guarantee that you will be able to drink plenty of clean water (and not boiled from the tap) and will not end up dying from dehydration, like one of our tourists ...
And so I, not even trying to understand all this so deeply, but simply succumbed to propaganda and intrusive advertising, for the umpteenth time this year, rushed from our lush-blooming Nature to Egypt. Okay, in January, during Epiphany frosts, it would be worth doing (a migratory bird is not stupid, but why am I more stupid than her?
), but in July ...And only now, on the second day after arriving from Egypt, on the banks of the Dnieper, I realized what I had exchanged for the miracle of the natural Nature of Ukraine - for an overseas artificial miracle! But it was enough immediately, after the first visit to Egypt last summer, to go to the Dnieper, plunge into the greenery of the grove, inhale the aroma of herbs and flowers, in order, as now, to understand that there is no better land in the world than the native Ukrainian! And Alexander Vertinsky is right, expressing this with such inspiration in just a few words ...
In abbreviation. Full text: "Holidays in Egypt"
https://www. facebook. com/sashasim. Egypt/
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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