The Pink Inn: Dahab's First All-Female Guesthouse

Just off the coast of Dahab’s Eel Garden, Egypt, there is a simple white house with pink doors. It, naturally, raises questions about the potential identity of its residents - perhaps it’s a fictional character like the Powerpuff Girls or Strawberry Shortcake. Perhaps it’s an old lady who decided to live a freer life after turning 65. Or perhaps it’s a group of girls in their 20s living out the live-with-your-best-friends fantasy. Perhaps it is all three. 

The mysterious pink house is actually known as the Pink Inn, an all-female guesthouse made to allow women to travel freely, safely and make friends in the process. The story of the Pink Inn began when, after being born and raised in the United States, Dasin Gouda flew from New York to Egypt to be with her mother, who had moved back to the country a few years prior. COVID-19 hit, and she had to stay in Egypt, which helped her realise that she wanted to remain in the country. The only question left was where. She moved between Cairo and Alexandria before realising she didn’t want to live in a big city any more. 

In an attempt to explore the less crowded areas of Egyptian terrain, Gouda set her sights on Dahab, and sought out a place to stay where she could be safe and still meet people who could help her get acquainted with the seaside city. “I was used to using AirBnB in the US, but it didn’t work as well here," Gouda tells SceneTraveller. "I felt weird about staying in guesthouses or motels with men. I didn’t know where to go.”

Gouda ended up renting an apartment, and meeting people out on the beach. As she gradually set down new roots in Dahab, she began furnishing AirBnBs for travellers like her younger self on the hunt for places to stay. Then, she decided the Pink Inn was something people needed.