One of the great things about living in a touristic area are the large parties that are thrown to keep the nightlife fresh and alive. One such party is held at Hurghada's Ministry of Sound three times a year...White Sensation. Moby has friend's visiting from Cairo, and as the White Sensation isn't a party that happens every week, many other Caireans also decided to make the trek up to Hurghada. But I'll get to that in a bit :p
I didn't realise that White Sensation was such a huge party, I thought it was another monthly themed event at MoS. Nor had I ever been to any type of white dress code party before. The effect is quite incredible. It's one of the few times I've seen up to 90 percent of the people dressing according to the theme, and this combined with all the white decorations and white costumes floating around give the impression of partying on the beach, in a snow palace. The music was awesome, the atmosphere was lively, and it was an overall great experience!
As is typical though with most big parties in Cairo, insert Cairean young men with high testosterone, and you're usually gonna end up with a bar fight. It happened during the Sham el-Nissim, huge bar fight at Buddha Bar, at a time when Hurghada was full of men on holiday from Cairo. Last night, same thing. Enter lots of pumped up guys, psyched to be outside of the city and surrounded by scantily clad women, it gets their blood pumping. Of course the MoS bouncers cleared them out pronto...but it really got me thinking.
Hurghada nightlife on a regular basis is a jovial environment, and most people living in Hurghada are extremely laid back. I've never witnessed a fight here other than at times when a lot of people from Cairo are visiting. It really goes to show the psychological impact that living in Cairo can have on you, not to mention the higher levels of aggression that many men in this country suffer from due to the inaccessibility of many women, the restrictions and costs to marry, and the completely frowned upon pre-marital sex. Now don't get me wrong, men in Hurghada often suffer from the same problems, although the influx of foreign women means that they are quite able to find a "partner" for a week, who will conveniently disappear once they leave, who never have to be introduced to either friends or family, you get the picture. And this is a story heard many many times here. But regardless of this, men in Hurghada, and Sharm, and Dahab, are surrounded by Westerners all the time, and Westerners clad in bikinis and beach gear. Not the "conservatively" dressed expats of Cairo.
Is this an indication of what the future holds in Egypt? For those who are more used to the open lifestyle evident in the beach and party towns of Egypt, a life of if not acceptance of a woman's sexuality, at least a tolerance thereof. Whereas should the trends from Cairo increase, a country where women, particularly Egyptian women, are rarely seen out and about, expat women will suffer from jeering and cat calls should they decide to wear even a remotely small tshirt, let alone bikini top, and men run around over-testosteroned and aggressive?
Just some of my thoughts for the day... hmmm...
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