Find Your Harmony With Nature
Egypt is a very beautiful country. My family is mostly Egyptian and we have lived in the great city of Cairo for about eleven years now and although the a lot of the time all we can see is pollution, at times, when it has all cleared up, the breathtaking view of the sun setting behind the pyramids of Giza never ceases to amaze me!
I remember when we first moved here my parents would take my brother and me to all the touristic areas so that we could really appreciate our country. We went to Sharm El Sheikh, the Giza and Step Pyramids, felucca rides on the River Nile and all the other typical touristic attractions. I will never forget when we went to Sharm, we went on a snorkeling trip to the beautiful coral reefs of Ras Mohamed. It was better than anything I had ever seen on marine life on the Discovery Chanel! Last Spring break my friend from America came to visit me and so I, of course, planed all the regular touristic sites and this time around, since I am now older and more understanding, I learnt much more about my country and culture and seeing my friend’s reaction to all the wonderful things I introduced her to made me proud to call Egypt my country, my home.
When my friend was here I took her to my beach house by the Red Sea and we took a small boat to go out into the sea and explore and not too far away from the shore we found a beautiful little reef, not like the ones I saw many years back in Ras Mohamed but still, amazing! We had to stop the boat far away and swim to the reef because the sound and movement would scare away the fish and the closer we got the more we noticed how the reef is starting to die all around it’s edges. Is it because it is so close to the shore or is it because of the factory only three kilometers away?
We became worried about the reef so we have not told anyone about it because the more attraction it gets the less likely it is to survive. Another reason why this small reef is deteriorating may be because of the rapid climate changes happening all over the world and also fishermen who just want to make money. What we can do to help prevent this reef and others like it from extinction is to take care of our environment by reducing our sound and air pollution, create awareness of the issue and living in harmony with nature.
Comments
Your blog reminds me a lot of sailing with my family on the New England Coast. I know the feeling of finding a magical little place and hoping that it could stay that way. But more importantly, someone in the research lab that I work in is studying coral bleaching. It's a really fascinating, but sickening, phenomenon. The coral polyps have a delicate symbiosis with a unicellular algae that lives in their gut and provides them with a lot of their nutrition. As of yet, the causes of coral bleaching are unknown, but we do know that when corals lose their algal symbionts, death almost always results. It is also known that there is a correlation between increased water temperature (even by only a few degrees) and bleaching--perhaps the factory near your reef has raised the temperature and disrupted the symbiosis. The delicacy of the relationship between coral polyps and algae reminds me strongly of our relationship with nature.
Posted by: Emma Sedivy | April 26, 2009 09:00 AM
I really enjoyed this narrative, both for the personal aspects about pride in your homeland and the rediscovery process that comes with sharing your experiences and perceptions with others, and also for the insight it offered on the coral reefs, one of the most amazing components of the any natural shallow sea ecosystem. Coral reefs are a hotbed for diversity, and yes, they are certainly being affected and threatened for a number of reasons, but I find the global warming aspect particularly intriguing. A change of 1 or 2 degrees in shallow waters throughout the year is not that difficult to come about, and yet it can have an enormous impact on thousands of species living in the reef. 1 or 2 degrees equals an irreversible pressure on diversity. If we scale this process up to include all the other surrounding ecosystems, it is truly incredible the influences that we as humans have on comparatively limited aspects of the environment, which in turn have almost unlimited, gross impact on so many other elements.
Posted by: Kelly Lacob | April 27, 2009 04:09 PM
Hi, I love Egypt also! What part of Egypt are you from.
Firme de communication
Posted by: Firme de communication | October 23, 2009 06:31 PM
I love your appreciation for nature! The Great Outdoors, the infinite places to explore, these are things worth preserving. Your first hand account with the dying environment is moving. To think, this place you found, that can be yours, is being destroyed for unnecessary reasons. What alarms me is that someday people will no longer have the chance to experience the joy in exploration and the beauty of nature.
At Stanford, I have also been fortunate enough to explore and enjoy the environment. Since Stanford used to be a farm, many of its vast lands are still rolling hills of green, with all sorts of beautiful views. There are mountains, views of the Bay and all sorts of wildlife. I love it.
Anyway, it is good to know that someone on the other side of the world also shares the same enthusiasm for nature. Keep it up! I look forward to hearing more from you.
Posted by: C. Hewitt | October 28, 2009 05:12 PM