Assalah town, north Dahab. All photos by author.
There are nine goats lounging in the shade of a pebbly grey wall, staring at my dog. Eighteen bulging, cross-slit eyes, expressionless. My dog is staring at the camel standing haughty across the street. The camel is staring at the man sitting outside the café: white galabaya, purple headscarf, smoke from his cigarette rising through the dust-dry air. He is staring at me. Caught in an inter-species Mexican stand-off, I try not to stare anywhere.