Trip to the Holy Land (Part 3 - Sunrise on Mt. Sinai)

After a long bus ride, we arrived at the monastery of St. Catherine's at the doorstep to Mount Sinai.  The air was  crisp and much cleaner than Cario, although that should have been expected since we were in the mountains away from all the cities and it was cold... very cold.  (I was glad I packed my winter jacket with a ski hat and gloves.)  We ate a cafeteria dinner that was just barely on the side of edible (that is - portions were) and had to keep the stray cats at bay to finish our meals in the group dining hall that seemed to have no barriers to keep the pesky critters out.  But they seemed to enjoy the meal better than anyone else as it looked like this was a common disposal method for the food.

The wake-up call came at 1:00am to board the bus for a short ride to the base of the mountain and the same chef provided a bagged breakfast meal that I should have left behind as it only added dead weight for the assent to the top.  Apparently neither dinner nor breakfast was his specialty.

At 2:15am we mounted camels that would be the best mode of transportation for the first part of the journey.  We had a choice.  The options were to walk all the way, OR pay for a camel to take us the first 4 miles to a base camp and then continue on our own for the final assault of 750 "steps" to the very top.  The camels were a good choice.

Immediately the head guide paired each of us with a local Bedouin who took us separately to his camel.  At that moment, I became a bit concerned as my daughter was separated from me and it was pitch black and I couldn't see more than 2-3 feet beyond my hand.  Even though I called out to her seconds after we left each other, there was no response and I didn't like the situation.  Then my Bedouin handler said to me, "You tip me."  I think that was the only English he knew and I wasn't sure if it was for the ride or to get my daughter back.  For the next hour and a half I rode this camel that seemed to be thinking he would prefer to walk me off the edge or brush me off on the mountain ledges.  The handler must have been commanding the camel left or right in Arabic every time he got close to the edge.  But in any case, I never would have made the first 4 miles on my own stumbling over the uneven and rocky path in the dark.

While it was a bit disconcerting not knowing where my daughter was, the solitude was amazing and I had never seen so many stars before.  With no light for hundreds of miles around, the stars were all out and I stopped counting after 20 plus shooting stars.  At the base camp, she was waiting for me in a warming tent with a few others from our group.  I gladly tipped every Bedouin once I saw her.

We waited in the warming tent to avoid the cold and then made the last push to the top a little before sunrise.  The term "750 steps" is nothing I expected.  First, there had to be more than 750 of those buggers and steps... if they were that, they definitely did not meet code.  This was treacherous walking and a flashlight was a must have device, but it would have been better had I been in shape.  I then remembered that it was a mere 8500 feet in elevation and the lack of oxygen took it's toll.

However, the Lord did not disappoint and He greeted us with a beautiful sunrise and topped it off with the clouds in the shape of a cross.  This had to be one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed.

I am not sure how many photos I took, but I did not want to miss this sight.


It was amazing how many people were there to share the experience from all over the globe.  The most memorable were all the Nigerians singing on the way up and several singing on the way before the sunrise ever got there.  I think they did not expect the cold weather as we passed them on the way up.  I hope they did not miss this.




Here is a look back to the mountain we climbed.  We could not see this in the dark... only flashlights bouncing along the trail way above our heads.

It took a little over 2 hours to walk back down and our head guide stayed with us the whole time.  His name was Saba and he is pictured in the middle with my daughter.


















The camels made for great images... not something I get to see everyday.


Also, along the way, Saba pointed out Elijah's basin.  Please see the video attached at the bottom.


Here is one last look at the mountain view after sunrise.

On the way, I took this picture thinking that when Moses spoke to the Israelites after getting the 10 Commandments from God, he might have stood on this ledge or one like it.

I always wondered how so many Israelites could be in one place to hear Moses, but the valley opens up below providing a great amphitheater.








Later that day as we were on the bus headed north toward Israel, the guide had us look at the mountain range that would run continuously toward the Holy Land.  Mount Sinai was made of granite but these mountains were made of sandstone and it was notorious for being a place that one could get lost and guides were needed since every canyon and turn looked identical.  The Arabic name for the range meant "maze" and that made complete sense that Moses would not proceed unless he had God leading the way.

Even though Moses had spend his middle 40 years in this same desert before leading the Israelites at this moment in time, he knew he could not make it through those mountains without God.  After the golden cafe incident, God threatened to let them go on without him, but Moses would not leave Mt. Sinai until he convinced God to lead them.  I guess Moses understood what he was up against for the final part of the journey as he knew they would have been lost in the maze without God.


Next blog - Petra in Jordan.

Trip to the Holy Land (Part 2 - Travel to Mt. Sinai)

I was happy to leave Cario.  While it has so much history and many sites to see, the city is very polluted and several in our group developed persistant coughs and irritations.  The heavy, humid air keeps the pollution around, but it does provide for spectacular sunsets.

I had no time to setup for this shot and I snapped this out of the bus window and was pleasantly surprised by the results.











We left Cario on a bus headed toward the Reed Sea area (not the Red Sea as we were a bit to the north) to cross under the Suez Canal.  I have no pictures of the Canal and the authorities try to prevent easy access to the area by making large berms to restrict the view and keep it secure.  Sorry - but nothing to look at, although the guide did say the view of a large container ship passing across the desert floor looks a bit out of place, but none were seen as we drove.

We stopped at two oases where Moses brought the Israelites along the way to Mt. Sinai.  The first stop was Marah where the water was bitter, but became sweet when Moses threw a stick into the water.  I did not think it was wise to sample the water so I do not know if it was still sweet or not, but it looked a bit muddy to me.  I don't think my immune system could handle this one, so I passed.

At this stop, I became a bit more aware of potential dangers.  Throughout our time in Egypt, the travel agency provided armed guards to accompany us everywhere.  Once we left Cario, I felt a bit relieved to be away from so many people, but our guard stayed alert.  At Marah, our group out numbered the locals trying to sell items, but it seemed strange to see a 60 plus year old man dressed in a ragged "Tourist Police" uniform (gold stripes on the shoulders) chasing down a young boy that was probably 10-12 years old.  Apparently the kid had done something to provoke the "policeman" and when he finally caught him, he was berating this kid and slapping him across the face.  This was upsetting to see, but then I noticed our guard pull his sports coat to the side and place his hand on his revolver.  His next reaction seemed strange as then he looked everywhere but at the policeman and the hysterics happening right in front of him.  I suspect he was thinking this could be a diversion to something a bit more sinister.  He did not intervene in the local dispute, but I learned that he did not trust anyone.

The second oasis was Elim where the Bible noted there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees.  We were the only ones around and spent some time wandering the area and climbing to get better views of the colorful mountains.  This was a welcome break from the drive.







After traveling through the Desert of Sin, we stopped at a Bedouin camp to have some tea mixed with local herbs.  I had several cups and the mixture was very soothing so I decided to buy a bag of this herb, which only takes a very small pinch to provide an over-powering aroma to the tea.

After the negotiation process, they gave me a clear plastic bag with chopped up leafy green particles.  When I went through US Customs, I felt like a smuggler trying to bring in some illicit drug.  There was no identifying label, but the baggy made it through every check point along the way.

While we were there, the Bedouin let us handle the farm animals.  When we came back to the US, does this mean I need to claim I was around livestock?

The Bedouin's camp (or village) is situated close to the valley of Rephidim where Joshua fought the Amalekites and where Moses watched the battle in the valley below.  As told in Exodus, when Moses raised his arms to God, the Israelites were winning the battle and when he let his arms go down, they started losing.  To help Moses, his brother Aaron and another named Hur held his arms up when he could no longer do it on his own.  I always envisioned a large mountain with Moses looking far off into the distance to see a battle on some plains.  After driving through this valley, it was much easier now to see Moses looking down several hundred feet into a very tight gap in the mountains which seemed only wide enough for a highway road.

After this, we were on our way to Mount Sinai and arrived at the camp just at twilight, but not in time to see the mountain we were to climb later that night at 2:30am.

Next blog:  Mt. Sinai at dawn.