All the young and ambitious from our hotel donned their warmest gear and piled in a cramped van at 10 PM to start the long walk uphill. We were all exhausted and tried in to sleep on the bus but found ourselves unable to. Just like the trip from Cairo to Dahab, the trip to St. Catherine's Monastery/Mount Sinai was littered with military check points. In the course of three hours, I think I counted 9 passport checks. I understand the security measures, especially considering the current crisis in Gaza (which isn't too far away from Dahab), but this just seemed a bit excessive.
When we finally arrived we all quickly discovered it was A LOT colder up there in the desert mountains than we had all thought and Mount Sinai seems to be home to some of Egypt's most vicious touts. If you ever consider doing this trek yourself, be smart and bring a head lamp. We were lucky to have bought some before we left Korea but several people were doing this thing without it and you could hear them stumbling along in the dark. It was rocky, the trails were numerous and split in many directions, and there were plenty of hills and obstacles. At one point we stumbled upon a camel camp in the middle of the trail where hundreds--literally!!--of touts and camels were waiting and hoping for some wimpy tourist to give up and hop on a camel instead of walking up the mountain. I'll admit it, I considered taking a camel but thought better of it. I'm on a budget and my legs work just fine. But stumbling through that camp was a nightmare! There were camels sleeping in the middle of the trail, touts leading them up behind you in the dark--and they don't care if they run you over either!, crap all over the place, and not to mention tons of people calling out to you in the dark (or following you) saying, "Camel? Camel? Yes, madam? Camel? You want? Good price!!" At one point my head lamp strayed to the trail's side just in time to see a sick camel puke all over the trail. I missed the puddle but I'm sure several people didn't. When/if you go, make sure to get a guide because visiting the site has removed all doubt/wonder of how those Israelites wandered in that desert for 40 years--it's vast, empty, mountainous, and pitch black. Just be careful of your guide: our's kept stopping and asking me if I wanted to hold his hand as we went up! A big no-no for Muslim men... Could he not tell that my boyfriend was there next to me to help me up if I needed it? (Not that I did.) Um, yes, so keep those perving Egyptian guides in their place.
The trek up was exhausting though. We made several stops along the way at numerous little cafes where the prices were unreasonable and toilet extortion was at it's peak: $1 to use a dirty squat toilet?? $2 for a Snickers bar?? $3 for a cup of tea?? It was trail-way robbery! But I was eventually worn down into buying a celebratory Snickers bar for the grand event. I figured we had earned it.
Once we got to the top (or near top that is), sometime around 3:30 AM, our guide led us into a cafe to rest and wait a bit for the sun (it wasn't going to rise until 6:30). There we found ourselves assailed from all sides by touts trying to rent you blanket and mat for $4 each. Now, I know you're probably thinking, "Not bad!" but by Egyptian standards, that's pretty pricey. It was really cold though and windy too so most people took the bait and got one. We didn't and regretted that a bit. All I had on my feet were my Keen sandals and some socks. They're better than regular sandals--these are the trekking type--but my feet were so cold they eventually went numb and that made me cranky. Bless Jeremy for putting up with my whining!!
The cafe we stopped at was selling water and this guy was making overpriced tea behind the counter.
Everyone huddled up and trying to keep warm in the cafe.
One of the Egyptian guides fell asleep. Even they get tired.
Though our guide suggested we go up to the top and wait at 4:30 in order to get good seats, I refused. I wasn't going to spend 2 hours in the cold wind with what little clothes I did have on. We summitted sometime around 6 AM and still managed to get prime seats (with a little climbing, of course).
The sun just before the reached the horizon.
J thought it looked like a nuclear blast. :)
Handsome.
The big show was pretty awesome though and a very memorable event. As the sun made it's way closer to the horizon, people played music, sang songs, prayed, huddled together, shared some whisky (which apparently one couple were successful in trading it for a blanket and mat), and just chilled (hahaha, another bad joke). It was beautiful and I was so glad to once again share such a remarkable event with a remarkable person.
The way down was exhausting as well and since I could no longer just sneak off behind a shack and pee in the dark, I was forced to pay for the toilet. Ick. Going down though was just as interesting as the sunrise it's self and you couldn't help but well up with pride when you saw all that you had traveled across in the dark.
The surrounding mountains (like Sinai) were super craggy and desolate but amazingly beautiful in the morning sun.
Here it is, our mountain.
The trail down through the valley. Such a spectacular view.
The camel camp was gone though (much to my disappointment--I wanted photos) as the majority of tourists do the hike at night since the middle of the day is too hot. But I did manage to get a few camel shots along the way where touts were willing and waiting for those weak ones to once again give up on the hike down and opt for an expensive ride.
A spiritual camel, I assume.
A guy who set up at one of the cafes downhill who was selling agates and geodes.
A woman and her donkey taking up the next night's Snickers bars. :)
When we reached the bottom, we visited St. Catherine's Monastery--the oldest Christian monastery in the world. They claim to have a bush/tree growing in their courtyard that is a descendant from the original burning bush of the Old Testament. I'm not sure I believe it. They did have an interesting treasury though with a document signed/finger-printed by the prophet Mohammad saying that this monastery is a sacred and protected place, thus allowing it to remain as long as it has.
Inside the monastery.
The ride back was long and painful, and we rolled in sometime in the afternoon, all of us in a sleepy daze. But we loved the adventure and would do it again!
1 comment:
GORGEOUS photos, Kort!!!
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