Sinai Camp & Musical Culture Tour of Cairo

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The exact price for your holiday depends on the type of accommodation you choose and the amount of food and drinks you buy every day and how many tours you take part in.
But here is a guideline of how much you may have to expect to pay:

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Sinai Workshops:
We charge £200 per week and £300 for two weeks for the Sinai workshops. This payment needs to be paid to us in advance.

Musical Cultural Seminars in Cairo:
We charge £120 for the week as musical cultural seminars.
This money needs to be paid to us in advance.

Food, Accommodation and Tours are paid directly to Rocksea Camp and the Hotel Roma and Restaurants in Cairo.
For more info about Rocksea Camp please click here.

TRANSPORT:

You need to book your own flight to Sharm el Sheik or Taba for Rocksea Camp and to Cairo.
For example: easyjet.com offers flights from London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester to Sharm el Sheik.
Thomson offers flights from: Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester, Newcastle
Birmingham, Manchester and London Gatwick to Taba or Sharm el Sheik in the Sinai.
www.flight.thomson.co.uk

You might find cheap offers for flights to and from Cairo on the following website:
www.farecompare.com
www.flightcentre.co.uk

RockSea’s Airport Transfer

You need to book your Airport Transfer with RockSea Camp they try to get as many people as possible on each transfer.

For more info contact Maren: marenlueg@yahoo.co.uk

Middle Eastern Music and Dance Seminar in Cairo 2009:

For more info click here

RockSea Camp is a collection of bungalow / huts situated right on the Gulf of Aqaba near Nuweiba, The Sinai, affording instant access to beautiful coral reefs.

Check out what we got up last year – Workshops / Parties with visiting musicians / Camel trek into the Sinai with local Bedouin / Trek up Mount Sinai / Chilling at Rock Sea Camp.

Workshops

Rocksea Camp parties with visiting musicians.

Rocksea Camp Camel trek into the Sinai with local Bedouin

Rocksea Camp trek up Mount Sinai

Chilling at Rock Sea Camp

Feedback

“It was the best thing I have ever done, both educational and culturally immersive. It has inspired my passion for Arabic music even further”

“We did everything i wanted to do and more – trip of a lifetime. I would recommend it to anyone, especially those with an interest in Arabic culture” Jeff Dale.

TEACHERS

Middle Eastern Percussion – Chas Whitaker

Arabic percussion includes frame drums, goblet shaped drums (Darabuka) and finger cymbals. The rhythms are easy in their basic forms and so several can be learned in the workshop leading to a composition which could accompany melody or dance. Basic technique and correct playing styles are introduced and participants are encouraged to begin improvising and working together as a drum orchestra. Suitable for all levels of drumming experience.

Chas Whitaker- Darabuka / Douf / Riq / Zills.

Chas has been teaching and performing Middle Eastern Percussion for over 15 years . Chas has travelled extensively through the Middle East and North Africa and has studied in several countries. He plays in several bands and accompanies many Oriental dancers, specializing in drum solos. For more information on Chas and Arabic percussion in general visit – www.arabicdrum.co.uk

Middle Eastern Music Workshop – Maren Lueg

The course would provide a unique opportunity for musicians to explore the relationship between Middle Eastern and Western music.

Participants will bring their own melody instrument, which they already have a basic proficiency on and are able to learn simple melodies either by ear or from sheet music (provided). Arabic scales are introduced which do not use quarter notes but sound very “eastern” and melodies based on these scales will be learned. Improvisation is a very important element in Arabic music and participants are encouraged to explore their improvisational abilities in a supportive structure. Arabic music forms and scales with quarter tones are introduced and demonstrated for participants to help in their appreciation of Arabic music.

Maren Lueg – Arabic Nay Flute, Mizmar and Saxophone and Silver Flute.

Maren has been teaching and performing Middle Eastern and Balkan music for over 10 years playing Western and Middle Eastern wind instruments. She performs regularly with British and Arab musicians around the UK and has studied such traditional Middle Eastern wind instruments as the Nay (bamboo flute) and Zurna (double reed pipe) in Turkey and Egypt. Maren is currently working on her Masters in Arabic Ney and Middle Eastern Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (London University). For further information and to hear some of Maren’s music please visit www.myspace.com/marenlueg

Middle Eastern Dance to live music – Carmen Jones

These workshops will help the dancer to gain greater understanding of Middle Eastern rhythms and melodies and how to interpret them. There will be focus on technique, step combinations and in developing personal expression in the dance.

Carmen Jones , Middle Eastern dance.

Carmen began her love affair with Arabic dance in the early 1990’s. In that time she has acquired knowledge from many great teachers from far and wide. She herself teaches regularly nationwide and especially has a true passion and understanding of live music through the experience of accompanying some of the best bands in the UK, Hossam Ramzy’s Egyptian orchestra being one of the most recent. Carmen works closely with Chas and Maren in several musical projects.

See Carmen performing with MAZAJ – click here and visit Carmen’s own website at www.raqsarabia.co.uk

ROCKSEA CAMP ACCOMMODATION:

RockSea’s accommodation is comprised of wooden bungalows and bamboo huts, which can be shared between two people. Two clean and spacious toilet and shower blocks are within easy walking distance of all accommodation. There is one main communal meeting space where food and drinks are served and several “arishas”, sitting areas covered loosely with canes or other leafy materials scattered around the 400m long beach front. The sunrise in the East, rising over the Hijaz mountain-range of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf of Aqaba is probably the most spectacular sight in this area.

ROCKSEA CAMP TOURS

Rocksea camp overnight Camel Trip

Rocksea Camp overnight camel tour into the desert led by Bedouins:

Rocksea Camp Coloured Canyon

The Coloured Canyon presents one of the most magnificent rock formations in the world. The rock formations are an incomparable attraction: they vary from sandstone to limestone; granite and veins of basalt dominate the scenery through the entire hike. At some places, the rocks radiate crystalline colours, at others; they have a smooth velvety appearance. The canyon is almost 800m long.

Rocksea Camp tour to St Catharine Monastery and Mount Sinai

One of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, St. Catherine’s incorporates the burning bush seen by Moses and contains many valuable icons.

Above the monastery is Mount Sinai (or Jebel Musa, Mount Moses), where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. This area is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

If enough participants are interested Rocksea Camp can also organize a hike up Mount Sinai for sunset or sunrise, which is a fantastic experience. You need warm clothing and good hiking boots for this tour. This is a 2-3 hours hike up and 2-3 hours down

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Nuweiba

The Harbour town Nuweiba offers golden sand beaches, bazaars and restaurants. Nuweiba is about 20 minutes drive from RockSea Camp . A taxi ride to Nuweiba costs about £4-5 return .Nuweiba is a less developed tourist resort on the coast of South Sinai, 70 km south of Taba and 180 km north of Sharm el Sheikh . In the early 80s Nuweiba was the favourite destination for independent travellers due to its ideal central location and its natural beauty. Nuweiba today is still an insider tip for tourists and travellers who are looking for a holiday off the beaten path.

Nuweiba can roughly be divided into 3 main sections:

Nuweiba Tarabin

Nuweiba Tarabin, the northern part, consists of a thick grove of palms, a shallow bay and the ruins of a Turkish fort. Tarabin is known for its lively orientalatmosphere. Restaurant by restaurant and bazaar next to bazaar gives you the impression of a colourful oriental market place. Along the beach you find lively outdoors restaurants furnished in Bedouin style with carpets and cushions that invite to lay back and relax and let the time pass by.

Nuweiba Dunes:

The Dunes are the extension and connection between Nuweiba Town and Nuweiba Muzeina. Along the shore a conglomerate of many camps and family owned hotels exist on a beautiful sandy beaches with spectacular coral reefs. The Dunes are divided in “Duna” and “Small Duna”. Most of the campsites and hotels are built in the southern “Small Duna”, while “Duna” stayed a romantic virgin place with simple accommodation of thatched beach bungalows, a few family owned small hotels and some small restaurants with brilliant views.

Nuweiba Port

Originally Nuweiba port was the summer location for the Muzeina tribe. It was a sparsely inhabited oasis, which came only into life in the late summer, when the Muzeina flocked to the palm groves to pick dates. The thriving trade encouraged the Muzeina clan to settle. They are running their own businesses by renting out their places as shops or other facilities to the Egyptian newcomers.

Nuweiba has a vibrant shopping area and several Banks and ATM machines.

Red Sea Diving and Snorkelling

RockSea : RockSea has its own private access to a coral reef teeming with wildlife and fantastic coral structures.

Ras El Shetan : Another Bedouin-camp that is about 30 minutes walk or 5 minutes by taxi, from RockSea Camp, has two diving places, there are magnificent coral reefs at Ras-Satan, a famous destination for divers, which has been protected for the past fifteen years.