Mount Sinai

On Sunday morning (4th of July!), after almost missing our bus trying to find a parking space near the bus station, Marissa, myself, and two of my Egyptian friends set off to the Sinai Peninsula. We had planned the trip for about 5 days. There is a lot to see and do in Sinai, but I would say two of the most popular places are Saint Catherine City and Sharm el Sheikh. The first is the city where tourists begin the climb to the top of Mt. Sinai and also the location of the Monastery of Saint Catherine. The mountain is thought to be the Biblical place where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God, and now is a type of holy pilgrimage site as well as just a beautiful place to climb and see the sunrise. Sharm is a resort area on the Red Sea, famous for its amazing coral reefs and places to snorkel and dive.

It was a long 8 hour bus ride, but luckily some of us were able to sleep along the way which definitely made it seem faster. We had decided to go the tourist route and climb the mountain at night in order to see the sunrise at 6am. The bus takes a interesting route and first goes east to the Suez Canal, then drives south along the western coast of Sinai until finally heading east into the mountains. We finally reached Saint Catherine around 7:30pm and found a deserted town with hardly any people or signs of civilization. Luckily there was a koshary restaurant which saved us from starvation! It's pretty much the best meal you can eat before climbing up a mountain, as it gives you all the energy you need from all its carbohydrates.

Passed out at one of our many rest stops

After eating we headed to the entrance point about 2km away. There is a fun point when the street lights end and everything goes dark except for the light of the stars and moon- it is a beautiful sight. Never have I seen so many stars! Unfortunately the entrance opens at midnight and we had 2 hours to wait so we slept until we could leave.

Group photo!

It takes quite a while to walk up the mountain, so we left plenty of time to get ourselves to the summit before sunrise. It is required to have a guide with you, and it was good that we did because with only two flashlights and rocks everywhere he was able to lead the way for us better than we could ourselves. The road up, though better than the second path of 3,000 stairs, is not easy and even harder when it's 2am and you haven't slept. Yet, we managed our way and stopped to rest when we had to. It doesn't take long to realize how high up you are and that the view around you is amazing. After about 3 hours we made it to the point where the path ends and the 750 stair climb starts to the summit. Honestly, this part is not fun at all- the stairs are actually made from slabs of rock and can be very slippery and difficult to walk on with no light. Also, it's pretty tough on your legs! We did eventually make it, and rested a while before finally climbing the last 5 minutes to the very top at dawn around 5am.

It's a breathtaking sight when the sun just starts to peek through and the sky gets brighter, lighting up the entire area and you can finally see the entire area around you. The sun itself rises pretty quickly, and then the heat starts immediately- a sign to start going back down. Our guide convinced us that this time we should go the other path because it is quicker and less crowded. Though I was wary of the 3,000 stairs part, we listened to him anyway (and of course it was quicker, but not easy on our legs.) The area was beautiful and we got to see a different side of the mountain this time. After about 2 hours we made it down, and were pretty much ready to collapse.

We quickly toured St. Catherine's Monastery- unfortunately my excitement to see the infamous burning bush was quickly squashed when I saw and realized that it looks just like any other bush. Hopefully the rumors are true. We then found a minibus to take us 3 hours east to Sharm el Sheikh to our lovely Sheraton resort on the beach where we would be spending the next 3 days relaxing!