Following the steps of Moses

“In the third month,
when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt,
the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai…”
-Exodus, Chapter 19-

Sinai peninsula in Egypt is totally amazing place to visit! At a first glance it looks kind of dull – just rocks and sand – everywhere the same. But the longer you stay there the more it has to offer. Everybody finds something for himself – rich history, moon-like landscape with colourful canyons, religious experience, sun and sand holidays, local Bedouin culture experience, adrenaline sports or amazing underwater world. It pays to do a little bit of reading before you visit the peninsula. Even if you are not interested in history, it is not hard to imagine that this was the place where Pharaohs were passing when going to wars, where Moses was wandering with his nation and where he received the ten commandments. And recent history is turbulent as well – the building of Suez canal, the six-day war in 1967 and other more recent conflicts with Egypt’s strong neighbor.
One of the must-dos is definitely a climb to Mount Sinai. In local language it is called Gebel musa, which would be translated to Moses’s mountain. The mountain is believed to be the place where Moses received the ten comandments from God. It is a very special place, sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews. At the foot of the Mount Sinai lies the Saint Catherine monastery and this is the starting point of the climb. It usually starts soon after midnight as the majority of people want to experience the sunrise on the mountain. This is also the most crowded time of the day(or night) to make visit. There are allways hundreds of people ascending the Camel route with flashlights, which looks like a serpent of light – you can see this ont the first two photos.

The night sky is incredibly clear – there is not much light pollution around.

Everybody is expecting the magnificet moment – the birth of a new day.

The sun has not risen yet, but the first light has already lightened ridged mountains.

The last climbers are hurrying up not to miss the sunrise.

The moment has come! The amazing sunlight has illuminated the ridge in completely different colour.

A view to the same direction as three minutes ago – what a difference!

Young backpackers enjoying the gentle sun on the top.

Preparing for the morning mass on the top of the mountain. A profound experience!

A view to the south.

A Christian Chapel on top of Gebel Musa.

Bedouin boy named Husein is selling semi-precious stones. He speaks understandble English and he told be a few interesting things. A building behind him is a Mosque.

The night shift is over. Young Bedouin is collecting the warm blankets he rented to pilgrims during the cold night.

Stairway to heaven?

A view to the monastery from the end of the stone step way.

Mighty walls of the monastery.

A climb to Mt. Sinai is an experience you will never forget. It is not demanding as it seems at first – a lot of people I wouldn’t think they are capable of doing it, went right to the top. Everybody can do it with his own pace and if the body lets you down you can always hire a camel:). Maybe the lat part of the way is a bit more demanding due to steepness of the stone steps, but it is just a few hundred meters below the peak. there are two ways to the top – a Camel way, which is easier and most of the people take this one. The other is shorter but more steep and I would recommend it to you on the way back to the monastery. It is not suitable to climb this way up during the night. The climb usually takes around 2-3 hours, but one can be to the top in less than 1,5 hours. It is not a race though.

A trip to Saint Catherine can be easily organised from your hotel or at local travel agencies. You can also rent a taxi or join a private van from all the major tourist towns (Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba,…) at the Sinai coastline. The cheapest way to get there is public bus, but its schedule is not as convenient as with organised trips.

Some additional reading:
All Sinai info
Official tourism portal of Egypt
Moses receiving the 15, oops – 10 commandments.

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