At 8:40 AM in the morning, we flew over the western tip of the Red Sea to the city of Sharm El-Sheikh. Once there, we would drive to Mt. Sinai and the climb for 3 hours to the summit.
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| Welcome to Sharm El Sheikh! :) |
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| The airport is a tiny oasis in the middle of the desert :) |
Well, the drive was a few hours, so we had time for a few more lessons...
Short Lesson on the Interaction of the OT with Egypt
Quite a few of the patriarchs visited Egypt:
- Abraham went here, early on in his travels. He had spoken a half-lie, saying that Sarah was not his wife, and the Pharaoh of Egypt then tried to marry her.
- Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, and he ended up in Egypt (This was where he brought his entire family)
- Moses' life started out in Egypt too (as we saw in the section on the Temple of Hatchepsut)
The Kings of the Old Testament also interacted with Egypt somewhat frequently. For instance, the Bible mentions Pharaoh Shishak, who provided refuge to Jeroboam during Solomon's reign, and Pharaoh Necho who ended up killing King Josiah.
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| And so the beleaguered travelers... |
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| Reached our Hotel at the base of the Mountain |
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This was our room
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| The pool at our hotel. |
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| So... grateful for instant soup! Our only meal before the climb! :) |
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| Approaching Saint Catherine's Monastery |
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| "Bob", debriefing us about the Sherpa guides |
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We arrived at the base of spot where Mt. Sinai is traditionally located; a place upon which a monastery by the name of Saint Catherine's was founded.
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| Arrival at the Entrance of St. Catherine's Monastery |
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| Our Sherpa guide, and Ricardo |
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| To the left of the path to the base of Mt. Sinai |
Saint-Catherine's Monastery is run by 15 Greek monks, and it's unfortunately open only at certain times.
I think it's kind of based on whether they feel like meeting people or not.
As we trudged up to the monastery, we found out that they were not going to be open for the time when we would be around...
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| The sun was totally blinding... (this hat came in handy in so many ways... except for hair and photos) :) |
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| Saint-Catherine's Monastery... Closed. :( |
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| But there was a passageway... |
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| "Is this Mt. Sinai?" "No, we're walking to the base of it." |
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| Just looking back... |
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| "Is this Mt. Sinai?" "No, Mt. Sinai is *much* bigger than that." |
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| Some people chose to take camels up halfway. Cost: $25 USD |
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| Looking back after 15 minutes of walking. Still not at the base on Mt. Sinai. |
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| The camel-riders went ahead :) |
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| Dukjoong! He totally had the same hat idea :) |
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| Snack Bar & Rest Stop. Yes, Mt. Sinai has these... |
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| Climbing Time: 1 hr |
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| Ok, through that narrow valley is where we're going... |
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| A picture of the "Mt. Sinai" in actual publications |
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| The valley below... Rest Stop #2: 1.5 hours (Keep in mind, the temperature is like 42 C and it's a dry heat.) |
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| Rest, hydration and pictures are essential! |
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| These Sherpas built huts and rest stops all along the way! People 80 years or older do climb this mountain. |
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| Jean, sur son chameau (Jean, on his camel) |
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| Barb, Kitty and Chris |
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| Barb and her camel |
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| Me, at 2.50 hours in |
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| Kitty and her camel |
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| Remember the Land Before Time? |
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| This felt like we were gonna see: "The Great Valley" :) |
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| Ok, now we're at the base of the steep part of Mt. Sinai |
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| Another angle |
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| The ascent (looking back down) - I couldn't get pictures, but they bring tiny donkeys up this steep slope |
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| This was seriously starting to get steep. Imagine going stair climbing for like 700 steps. |
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| Some views were just breath-taking! |
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| There are snack bars, and outhouses the entire way up! |
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| Looking down! |
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| The summit! (Yeah, they built a monastery and a mosque on top) |
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| Lai En and Peter |
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| The church was locked... |
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| The view from above... |
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| Resting and relaxing... |
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| Sermon on Mt. Sinai :) (by Dr. Moskala) |
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| Listening... |
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| We made it! :) |
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| Mt. Sinai! |
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| Here I stand. :) |
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The way down was *intense* as there are no lights on the mountain and it's a five hour ascent.
We descended shortly before sunset, and after three hours, we reached the tour bus
From there, we headed back to the hotel for supper.
That's amazing! I wish I had gone up the Sinai! Did you arrive there by plane? Our group left Cairo by bus. It was supposed to be an 8-hour long trip that ended up taking about 18 hours! It was terrible!
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