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Published: March 16th 2008
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Waiting for the Dawn
Taking photos at the summit of Mt Sinai - it was cold!! Photo courtesy of Craig Goldsmith. Leaving Luxor by bus convoy, we drove through a barren, featureless landscape for several hours before arriving at the soulless, characterless city that is Hurghada. On the shores of the Red Sea, this city is a major destination for low budget, package tours from Europe, particularly the former Soviet Union. The city is filled with plain, ordinary looking resorts and hotels, which is a shame as the sea and coastline are quite beautiful. After lunch we had a walk around town, but as I was starting to feel unwell headed back to our hotel for a rest. That evening I apparently missed a fantastic steak dinner due to a case of "upset stomach" - would have been my first decent steak in months - doh!!
The following day we boarded a high speed ferry to cross the Red Sea - we were leaving the African continent for the first time in months!! The ferry crossing was very rough and quite uncomfortable as the boat was crowded, the day was hot and the air-conditioner couldn't keep up. Many of us tried to retreat to the forward bow, but got told off by the crew and had to return to the stinking,
hot interior of the boat. After arriving in Sharm el-Sheikh and hauling our packs to a waiting bus, we drove a few miles to the seaside town of Dahab. Now this is somewhere I could have spent a few days hanging out - won by Israel during the Six Day War and returned to Egypt after the Camp David Peace Accords, the Sinai peninsula, including Dahab, is a beautiful stretch of coastline along the Red Sea.
During our brief stop, we had a great seafood platter, but unfortunately I was still feeling a bit poorly and couldn't enjoy it as much as I normally would. Later that evening we arrived at our very mediocre hotel close to St Catherine's Monastery and the legendary Mt Sinai, had dinner and went to bed early to prepare for the VERY early wake-up call. At 3.45am the next day, woke up and it was COLD!!!! Absolutely freezing - as such, Janice decided to stay in bed as her cough was still very bad, I dressed in about four layers of clothes and thermals and headed off to climb to the summit of Mt Sinai.
Entering the trail, groups of people are already
assembled and waiting to ascend the mountain in the cold, dark night. After meeting our 'guide' (a local Bedouin has to walk up the mountain with you though they do nothing), we begin walking and I became very grateful for the thermals - it was freezing. Turning back, you could see a procession of torches slowly snaking their way up the mountain in the pitch black as tourists and pilgrims alike climbed the trail to witness the sun rise over the desert. Believed to be the biblical Mt Horeb, the summit of Mt Sinai is supposed to be where the prophet Moses spent 40 days and nights prior to receiving the Ten Commandments from God. I hope for his sake that it was summer when he visited.....
Reaching the summit just prior to dawn, I carefully made my way through groups of muslims praying to Mecca across the pathway (literally had to duck behind them as the knelt forward in prayer) and found a spot where I could sit and watch the sun come up. It was then that I realized just how many people were up there - the place was packed with tourists and pilgrims of all
Here Comes the Sun
Dawn breaks through the fog in the Sinai desert faiths - jews, muslims and christians all milling about in groups, praying and singing hymns. Clearly this is a very holy place to all religions and it was nice to see them all get along and keep out of each other's way.
The sun then rose over the surrounding hills and valleys, creating a beautiful effect as it's rays struck the mist hanging between the mountains. With the sunrise over, we begin to descend down the 3,700 "Steps of Repentance" after a hot chocolate at Elijah's Basin, the place where those traveling with Moses waited while he went to the summit alone. While the path down is steeper and more strenuous than the trek up, it is a lot quieter and provides the opportunity to really enjoy the serenity and beauty of the surroundings. It also offered the best spot for taking photos of St Catherine's Monastery, thought to be the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world. Unfortunately, the monastery was closed the day we visited so we didn't get to see the interior or the descendant of the "Burning Bush" that spoke to Moses which was disappointing.
After a brief stop at the hotel (where
St Catherine's Monastery
Home of the Burning Bush the shower is disappointingly cold), we re-board the bus and head back to Cairo for our final "group" dinner as some people are due to depart early the following evening. The next day we spent almost all day at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo which is stunning - at first it was extremely crowded, but thanks to our guide Iman, we managed to see all the major pieces without too much hassle. The standouts were the palette of King Narmer recording the unification of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt in 3,100 B.C and the treasures of Tutankhamun - standing in front of the golden funerary mask and looking into the 'eyes' of the boy king dead for over 2,500 years was incredible. Equally amazing was seeing just how many objects and treasures were found in the tomb we had recently visited in the Valley of the Kings - there wouldn't have been much room to move!!
In the late afternoon, we head out to Coptic Cairo and wander through the narrow backstreets and alleyways before visiting the Hanging Church, the Church of St Sergius (where the Holy Family sheltered in a cave during their flight to Egypt)
and the convent of St George - who was apparently a Roman legionnaire - to take a look at the chains in which he is supposed to have been bound. Then it was time for a final dinner with those left - as far as tours go this had been a great one and we were lucky to have traveled with such a nice bunch of people.
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