Marina Diaries - Episode 2

If you think what I had already said about the changes in Marina is bad enough, wait till you check this out.

Spending the summer in the same place where the elite and the richest of the Egyptian society spend their vacation sure has its advantages. There's good security, especially where the ministers' villas are located. (I wonder how ministers in our government can manage to afford those fancy villas at the most privileged spot in Marina! It's a mystery if you don't have any bad intentions.) There are all the facilities that you can dream of. It's like Cairo has transferred itself to follow you there. You will find lots of supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, coffee shops, cinemas, you name it. And all shops offer to deliver their goods to your door, a service that became a necessity now after the resort became so crowded. Now, you can't even find a place to park your car just for minutes to order a sandwich to go.

A very funny and common scene was to find a group of young guys wanting to hitchhike. You always find them after midnight, they are guys who are too young to drive, or let's say whose parents still have the wisdom not to allow them to drive (many accidents used to take place because of underage driving). They just keep waving their thumbs and giving you the look if you refuse to stop. I believe the only thing that this resort misses in its current mess is to have cabs to bring those boys back to their homes.

Yet, the presence of security and traffic policemen is strongly felt. At night they will usually stop you to see your driving license, which is great. I wish they are serious about it with everybody, for we didn't try to show them money instead. The outer gates which lead you to the different parts are not all the same when it comes to security measures. Some gates are easier to access than others. For that sake, they made a new system this year, which is that they issue cards to those who own a place there. But they didn't say anything about it, till they already started working by it! We were almost going crazy. We got nothing against the idea, although it doesn't solve the problem for those who rent or those who come from Alexandria for a day use. We only wondered why on earth they didn't give any instructions as to how and where to issue those cards, before they actually stop you to ask about them. Even their stupid magazine didn't mention anything about it. And when you say, I don't have it, security guys look at you as if you are suspicious. You need to yell in order to let them open those gates. They can never show any sign of understanding before they make you reach the yelling phase.

As if this was not bad enough, they inserted inner gates which separate one part from the other internally. Which means that, if you live in Marina 4 and you decide to go to Marina 3, you must get trapped. You will have to pass through one of those ridiculous inner gates, and find a guy who asks you to pay money to pass cause you don't have your card! What on earth?! Are those people nuts? Is this the way to treat families going on vacations? Why didn’t they tell us about those damn cards when we first arrived? Why didn't they announce by any means? Why causing all of this embarrassment and unneeded humiliation to people who did nothing wrong, except deciding to use their summer houses for vacation? Do I have to beg the guard and swear by God that I do have a house there in order to move a few meters away from where I live? I just can't get it.

And what's that thing about the money? Am I traveling? What good will the money do them if I don't have a place there? I'm an intruder who got the few pounds they want, so what? Or worse, what if there is a terrorist who will hand them those miserable pounds in order to blow the whole thing up? What will the money do?

Do they need donations, for instance? Are they in need for more financial resources? If that's the case, why not collect this money in a decent way? Or is it just for fun, to annoy those people who dream about having fun in the sun and all? May be they thought we had no right to do so, saying to themselves "Oh, those vacationers think they've escaped the city and its hellish life, hahaha, let's torture them a bit here in order to remind them of their usual suffering. Yeah, let's surprise them with new rules and everything, and punish them for not following those rules." I fail to find any rational reason behind this pathetic money collecting thing. Can you?

Marina Diaries – Episode 1

Dear readers, I apologize for my long absence. It was a long, most needed vacation and the first with my daughter, who has very recently succeeded in taking her first steps. I'd like to thank all of you who asked about me during my absence and I hope to make a strong comeback by writing my diaries from this summer vacation in Marina.
So, let's get started.

We've been residents of Marina since 2004 only, which makes us relatively new to the community. My husband and I preferred to go there during September when the sea is all ours and things are a lot quieter than during the buzz of the summer. Things were a lot different this summer, for we decided to hit the heart of the season and we were amazed to see changes that we quickly taking place. Aside from the huge difference that the establishment of Porto Marina has made, what grabbed our attention this year was the great number of people and the sharp gap between social classes. There are the morbidly rich, whom you would normally expect to see on the beaches of Palma di Mayorca or something, but they decided to build their own small empires on the Northern Egyptian coast. There are those of the upper middle class, who have managed to buy their humble residences before the crazy auctions which hysterically raised the prices of villas to make them reach 6 and 7 million EGP. There is the typical middle class who rent a place for a week or two during the summer, trying to rub shoulders with the elites. And then there are the workers who serve all those people. (Each villa has an average of 3 or 4 personnel who work as guards, gardeners, maids, babysitters, drivers, cooks, …etc.)

You would think to yourself, "Isn't it amazing that all those different people could enjoy the same beach, the same sea, in the same place." I'm sorry to interrupt your wishful thinking to say that although Marina is not considered to be that big, yet it is already divided into isolated islands when it comes to beaches, night spots, restaurants and the likes. There are the private beaches which you can only visit via membership, a very expensive membership. There are beaches for females only, which means that a woman and her daughters would be at a beach, while her husband and sons will go to another! What a family outing! Then there are beaches in front of private property, and these were made by the owners to become part of their properties, making sure that no intruder would think of getting in. So, although you may think it's the same sea, in fact it is not.

Then there comes water piracy. You might wonder what that could be. It doesn't stop at the beach, no. They've owned the water too. It has become a sort of fashion that you can hardly find any villas that doesn't have a speed boat or a jet ski or both parked by its beach. The beaches overlooking Marina's lagoon have become like a parking lot, with all those private motors that go on cruising the water all day long.

Arriving at Marina will make you think that you've traveled outside Egypt. Suddenly all the cars are brand new, half of which are luxury cars and 4x4s. Villas and chalets also vary according to the place you are in. It is known that the whole concept of the resort was to make all units look the same with a limit for heights so that everybody can enjoy the view of the sea water no matter where they are. Both rules have been sabotaged by the morbidly rich of Marina. They want to feel unique in everything, each one of them have decided to make his own theme on his property, how come you can't tell his villa from his neighbor's? To hell with the beautiful unified look of the buildings, let's build a castle, even if it was only a beach house. The rich have found in this summer spot a new battle field, as if it was not enough to compete in business, let's compete in architecture as well. Let's see whose villa is more luxurious. Even the law that forbids constructing anything which would exceed a 2 storey building was broken by the powerful businessmen of Porto Marina. Where you can see a giant hotel that blocks the eye of the sun. To hell with any rules, and to hell with the others who want to enjoy the scenery. If they don't like what we did with the millions we spent on decorating our exteriors and promoting our business, then let them drink from the salty water of the sea.

Just another facet of the chaos that surrounds us, and the exercise of power from the haves as opposed to the helplessness of the have-nots.. All I needed was some peace of mind by the sea, but who can have it in this country?