Blogs from St Catherine, Sinai, Egypt, Africa

The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands. - Sir Richard Burton We were met this morning at 7:30 by our guide Ebad and driver Hassem, for our "Egyptian Desert Experience" day tour. We munched on our breakfast boxes as we drove out of Dahab. We had to bring our passports with us as we pass into UN controlled territory and they check visas. There are numerous checkpoints we had to go through, the one leaving Dahab which we passed through coming from the airport on our way here, and a couple of other checkpoints in the South Sinai. They keep very good track of tourists going into the Katherine protected area. The scenery as we drove into the Sinai desert changed from rugged granite mountains to softer sandstone hills. ... read more

It was a magical journey that began with as little as one hour sleep. I’m not sure if I was nervous about the climb but it was my only sleepless night so far during my travels. I think I finally fell asleep at midnight and was awakened by a wakeup call at 1:30am. We had a guide named Moses – really that was his name! We were fortunate enough to have a full moon that night to guide us up Mount Sinai; one barely needed the light of a headlamp. I wonder if Moses himself was as blessed as we were? Although some archaeologists and historians dispute Mt Sinai’s biblical claim to fame, it is revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, all of whom believe that God delivered his Ten Commandments to Moses at the summit. ... read more

Never trust a guidebook. The lesson of the day. After spending the night on Mount Sinai, I had been planning on getting either the 1pm bus, or one of the 'frequent' minbuses that my guidebook said run from St Catherine to Suez, where I could then catch the overnight bus to Luxor, saving me spending a night in some deadbeat town or at worst the bus station, and giving me time in Luxor and Aswan before the ferry to Sudan. But once I was back from the summit, I was told there was only a 6am bus to Suez. And nothing else. No 1pm bus. No minibuses. Nothing. My only option was apparently to hire a car for 120EP, more than my previous 5 nights accomodation. It may have only been 12GBP, but still. It's all ... read more

Spirits soaring we decide to head off bright and early to Mount Sinai the next day to see Catherine Monastery. Again we aim to try the hitch hiking route. Were both keen to see how it goes hitching in Africa and how it differs from the experiences I have had in Asia, Europe and the US. We seem to be successful initially explaining to the driver that we have no money. We get to the police check point and he insists he will take us no further unless I give him a kiss. My friend Kostya who hitch hiked significantly through the Middle East, says this is the problem for girls if choosing to hitch hike through the Middle East. Generally its fine, but you will more then likely get some harassment so your better off ... read more

Photos of Egypt on the way to St Catherine...... read more