In the footsteps of Moses (Mount Sinai (Egypt))

Member Name: steerpyke

Product:	Mount Sinai (Egypt)
Date:	10/05/06 (1490 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a fantastic and beautiful experience

Disadvantages: damned hard work

Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, separates mainland Egypt from Israel and Jordan, and the Mediterranean from the Red Sea. Mount Sinai is a mountain massif in the south central part of the peninsula, where the land tapirs into a triangular point, surrounded on two of its three sides by gulfs of the Red Sea. Mount Sinai is a barren rocky massif, rising from red sandy plains. Well that's what you can get from any atlas or history book anyway. But whilst Mount Sinai is fairly unremarkable in the scheme of mountains, its not the tallest and it looks the same as the others nearby, it has something about it that no other mountain can boast. That claim to fame is that it features as a cornerstone of the three main western religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. As the stories of the Old Testament are regarded as important to all three "Religions of the Book" it is a holy place to most religious worshippers of Europe, The Middle East and large parts of Asia.

For those unaware of the legend attached it is this. Moses lived in Egypt amongst the emerging Hebrew nation who lived as a slave race in that place. After fleeing the land he finds his god who talks to him through a burning bush in the Sinai wilderness coincidentally also at the foot of Mount Sinai. In a world in which nature itself is worshiped, God shows that He rules over it and Moses becomes his follower and prophet. Ordered to return to Egypt to free his people, he eventually leads them across the Red Sea, of which God has parted the waters and takes his people on their first step towards their promised land. In the wilderness Moses climbs Mount Sinai to talk to his God and is given the Ten Commandments, stone tablets that contain the moral basis of the Hebrew Law that will become the main tenants of their society. This is also the mountain of Mohammed; the phrase "if the mountain wont come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain" is based upon this place.

Climbing a mountain as part of a holiday may seem an odd thing to do, but I assure you that it is worth the trip. It is not an easy journey but the end result is worth every calorie expended to make the passage up. The first thing to say is go on an organised tour. Although anyone is allowed up the mountain, go with a group which is led by the local guides as it is not an easy climb and its best to be safe. For those who like to experience such trips for themselves and resent the organised package, this is still the way to do it. Just join the trip and then trail back or head out in front, our group soon spread out along the trail so that you seemed to be walking alone, but you knew that there was always someone just around the corner looking out for you, if they should be needed. The second piece of advice is go at night. This may seem to make the trip pointless; surely the view is the whole point. Yes it is but the reasons for this are twofold. One is practical in nature. The Sinai desert can reach 120 degrees at its peak and a hard walk in these conditions would be torture, so travel at night when the temperature is still what you would call "tee-shirt" weather and save yourself the prisoner of war experience that a day visit would become. The second reason for this is aesthetic in nature. If you climb the mountain overnight you will reach the top as the day breaks and the sun rising over the Red Sea is a view the likes of which you may never see again.

The trip up the mountain is about three hours of gentle but constant slope. It is not for those who aren't reasonably fit as you are going to be walking for most of the day. If you are the sort of person that could do a days rambling for example then you will be up to the job, if that seems too much effort then this is one to avoid. That said the pace of the excursion is fairly easily paced, there are regular stops for drinks and a rest and the cool night will make the walk a pleasant experience. The last forty minutes or so of the climb is a series of over seven hundred carved steps which make for the feel of a sprint finish, but you have enough time on your hands to take things easy and pace yourself. Once at the top you are given time to sit and recover and bath in the emerging light coming from the east. The mountain peaks around you gradually change from dark featureless hulks as the light grows, into red giants standing shoulder to shoulder along side you. Then the first rays of the sun emerge over the neighbouring peaks and the whole region is bathed in gold and red and you are subjected a natural phenomenon like none that you have seen before. If this were a Hollywood film then you would just think "wow, nice cinematography" and carry on with the rest of the film. However to experience this for yourself is something that surpasses words and something that will remain in your head in all its majestic, vivid glory for the rest of your life.

Even as a non-religious person the whole experience can have a profound affect on you. The journey is as much a physical one as it is spiritual. Walking towards the peak as the canopy of stars sits above you in a clear and bible black sky the mind starts to explore many possibilities. Did a man we remember as Moses walk these paths struggling to lead his people to a better life? Then the even bigger questions form, is there something out there that controls all of this, is there a God? Religious books are really a record of mans quest for understanding of his place in the scheme of things, but when all of those are stripped away faith becomes a simpler concept. When you look to the stars above, do you feel the presence of some immense power, whether you call it God, Karma, destiny or even physics? If the answer is yes, you have faith and here it is easy to think in those terms, very easy to experience what you can call a holy experience. Don't think that I'm in anyway preaching, I'm just trying to relate how the experience makes you react, well made me react anyway. If you don't get the same feelings you will still experience some mind altering views and sensations on the way.

But with the day beginning to warm its time to head back down before the day gets too hot and the same journey has to be undertaken in reverse. Despite the excesses of the previous nights journey, the downward slope and the renewed vigour that comes with the achievement of the climb up will carry you down faster than you arrived but the flat ground and the awaiting transport below is a welcome site. At the foot of the mountains, less that five miles away is the famous St Catherine's Monastery that contains the famous Burning Bush and this is very often the second half of any organised trip to this region. That I will tell you about at a later date.

I believe that some of the trips up can be augmented by camel power and although the ride up takes about as long, it cuts down the walking by about two thirds, so if you feel the trip I have described is a bit too much, then look into this option. It is a fantastic experience and a million miles away from most people's idea of what Egypt has to offer, but one that you will come away from feeling differently about the world. At the very least you will realise that nature is more beautiful that you even imagined, and if, like me, you tend to muse over history and spirituality, you will come away with more questions than you started the climb with. Isn't that what life is all about?

Footnote:
Just want to put a note here to say that the link for this review has been set up with Israel as the country. Mount Sinai is actually in Egypt, as you hopefully worked out from the opening paragraph. I'll get it changed ASAP.

Summary: a wonderfully rewarding experience