On the Road with Brent & Erika

View from Mt. Sinai at sunset

For a little excursion away from the beach for awhile, we thought we couldn't leave the Sinai Peninsula without visiting Mt. Sinai. Sometimes referred to here as "Mount Moses," this site holds a special place to Christians, Jews and Muslims because of the role it played in biblical history. After doing a couple day-tour-type things earlier to see some of the sights along the Nile, we wanted to be independent this time especially because we wanted to spend the night at the top.

First, we paid a visit to St. Katherine's Monastery. It has been a home to Christians since the 300's when people began to pilgrimage to this remote spot at the base of Mt. Sinai. It has been built upon several times since and now supposedly houses the burning bush and the well where Moses met his wife. Although we shared the monastery with many tourists, it still had an ancientness about it that was serene and special.

Some sights inside of St. Katherine's Monastery:





Our first view of the burning bush


People were reaching to pluck off pieces of it



About midday, we began the long slog to the top of Mt. Sinai. Most of the tour groups hike in the middle of the night in order to be at the top for sunrise, but we wanted to experience both sunset and sunrise. So the trail to the top was pretty much deserted as we took shady breaks and even napped for a short time on the way up. At the top, after renting mats and a camel-smelling blanket to sleep with, we shared a picnic with a generous family from New Zealand as the sun set. After they went down, we settled in alone for a still and quiet night. Our entertainment was the sky darkening to be filled with insanely brilliant stars while Bedouins sang songs nearby. Extremely peaceful.


Although we took the gently sloping camel trail to the top, there are over 700 steps at the last bit to summit the mountain


There were little rest stations along the way offering tea, snacks or a place to sit


Having only eaten our free hotel breakfast and a bag of chips, we opted for something a little more substantial for dinner - tuna macaroni made by a mountain-top rest station man.


Us watching the sunset


There was a little chapel at the top that unfortunately was locked up


Erika bedding down for the chilly night on top of Mt. Sinai

At about 3am, our on and off sleeping was majorly interrupted by the arrival of loud-talking, flashlight-wielding tour groups jostling for the best sunrise-viewing spots on the mountain. Luckily, we already had our little piece of prime real estate. There were church songs and cheering as the sun peeked over the horizon for the first time. As the sun drenched the surrounding mountains in morning light, we discussed where the Israelites may have been hunkered down as Moses encountered God up on this rock. We were so glad to have been able to experience this place.


Sunrise the next morning


Erika admiring our sunrise view


A group of people had a little service on top complete with Communion



Next up - leave Egypt for a spell to enter Jordan for a visit to the ancient city of Petra!

--Brent