Meditation, yoga safari and underwater yoga are new terms being used in Egyptian coastal tourist resorts. Rehab Saad looks them up Stresses of life have changed travel trends. Two decades ago, travellers looked for culture holidays where they could visit ancient sites and museums. When city life stress increased, the trend changed to resorts where travellers could spend most of their time relaxing on a beach, swimming, snorkelling and diving. Travellers of today are more demanding. On top of the sand, sun and sea, they want something that really releases the tension, something that solves the difficult equation: how to spend free time on a vacation doing something positive with your body, mind and soul. From here came the introduction of meditation and yoga in several Egyptian resorts. Many in South Sinai, particularly in Dahab, are offering yoga vacations for beginners and experts. These include practising yoga in simple but clean hotels, usually run by the Bedouins of Sinai. Sometimes, the itinerary transcends the boundaries of the hotel and into the desert for meditation in a peaceful and serene atmosphere or deep into the sea for a unique experience. YOGA ON A SHOESTRING: A possible yoga vacation is offered by Yoga on Shoestring Holidays. They have packages in Dahab from 2 to 9 April, from 16 to 23 April and from 23 April to the end of the month. Accommodation will be in Amanda Hotel which offers double rooms and huts with twin beds. Mornings begin with meditation and pranayama (breathing techniques) for early risers, followed by another class from 8.30am to 10.30am. There is an evening yoga class at 5.30pm. Each holiday has an overnight trip into the desert. Delicious food cooked on open fires prepared by the Bedouins, camel riding and sleeping under the stars all combine to make this an amazing and unique experience. Your mere presence in Dahab, this small village in South Sinai, is an exclusive adventure. Dahab offers an array of exciting things to do from snorkelling, scuba diving and windsurfing to horseback riding, camel riding and jeep driving in the desert. Dahab in fact has many diving centres offering introductory dives, PADI certification and dives for the more experienced. The tranquil Bedouin village of Abu Gallum is a glorious walk from the famous dive site at the Blue Hole. Mount Sinai and St Catherine Monastery are a short drive away from Dahab. The package offers a night-time walk up Mount Sinai to view a spectacular sunrise. For more information log on to www.yogaonashoestring.com/ holidays_dahab.htm OPEN SKY RETREAT: This package by Open Sky Retreat combines the desert and coastal environments which provide a tranquil environment for yoga and meditation. The dates for the package are specifically chosen to coincide with full moon nights. The eight-day itinerary starts with an accommodation in Coral Coast Hotel on the northern side of Dahab's seafront. On the second and third days there is a daily workshop in Coral Coast's rooftop yoga room that enjoys inspirational views across the Gulf of Aqaba. There will be an average of two yoga workshops every day, one in the early morning and one in the afternoon, 90 minutes each. The morning session will focus on meditation, hatha yoga and relaxation. The evening will concentrate on slow meditation. From the fourth to the seventh day you will leave all unnecessary personal belongings behind in the hotel to start a camel safari adventure. All necessary kit/yoga mats, food and plenty of bottled water are loaded onto the camels. The trek on camelback or by foot thus starts. The days spent in the desert are similar to those spent in Dahab in terms of the various workshops, however, activities will take place in a more breathtaking environment. Every day, travellers will trek a short distance and camps will be set up where they will be introduced to traditional Bedouin herbs that have been used for medical and cooking purposes for centuries. Evenings in the desert are probably the most exciting part of the journey. Sunsets over the Sinai mountains, sitting around the campfire and gazing at the stars with its awesome display of planets, constellations and shooting stars, is certainly an experience you won't forget. At the end of the seventh day you will be taken back to the hotel. On the last day, you will have another yoga session and the rest of the day will be yours to do whatever you want. For more information log on to www.responsibletravel.c om/Trip/ Trip100426.htm FROM THE PYRAMIDS TO THE RED SEA: This 10-day yoga holiday offers travellers almost everything. It takes you from Cairo to Dahab in South Sinai, offering exciting opportunities to visit the Pyramids, shop in Khan Al-Khalili bazaar, ascend Mount Sinai, scuba dive, and try a wide variety of holistic therapies. All this plus plenty of relaxing on the Red Sea's wonderful beaches. On day one, yogis will meet their tour leaders and yoga instructors at Mena House Oberoi Hotel overlooking the Pyramids of Giza. Day two will be dedicated to an early morning yoga session in the gardens of the hotel watching the dawn light upon Chaeops's Pyramid. You will then visit the Pyramids and the Sphinx before some afternoon shopping in Khan Al-Khalili. There will be a morning yoga session on the third day before leaving Cairo. By lunch time you will reach Moon Beach Resort, on the Gulf of Suez, in Ras Sedr City, where you will stay for two nights. In Moon Beach you can treat yourself to holistic therapies and a massage and perhaps see dolphins from your bar on the beach. On the fourth day there will be an early yoga session followed by a full day's relaxation. You can also try your hand at windsurfing or snorkelling. There are also possibilities of visiting hot springs in the desert nearby before the evening yoga session. You will have your lifetime experience on the fifth day when you travel to Mount Sinai where the Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses. A gentle climb halfway to the summit with Bedouin guides and camels is followed by a night under the stars in a sheltered nook on the mountain. There will be a yoga session in the mountains. On the sixth day you will walk down the mountain to visit St Catherine Monastery. Later you will cross the desert to Dahab, on the Gulf of Aqaba, where you will stay for three days. You will relax in Dahab on the seventh, eighth and ninth days. You will have twice daily yoga sessions and there will be an opportunity to try scuba diving, holistic therapies, excursions into the desert or just snorkel, shop and relax on the beach. The tour ends on the 10th day. For more information visit www.yogatravel.co.uk/home.htm
