St Katherine's
Trip Start
Oct 27, 2006
1
4
9
Trip End
Nov 11, 2006
Mount Sinai, Red Sea and Sinai, Egypt
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
The idea to go to St Katherine's Monastery and climb Mount Sinai was a spark of (alcohol inspired) genius. I still remember Mum and I on the phone going on about how fabulous it would be to go to the place where Moses was given the ten commandments. Ridiculous coming from a couple of die hard atheists, but lucky too because St Katherine's is one of the best places I have ever been. Plus Mum and I have made a habit of visiting Christian holy sites and only once have we been spotted as the heathens we are. Mum was the one who was chased from the tomb of Mary by a bunch of cranky Armenian ladies the first time we went to Jerusalem.
Hurm... We arrived in the dark and it was really cold there so I confess I was completely unenthused about getting out of bed the next morning. Sure the blankets were dusty and had caused my eyes to swell and nose to block, but they were warm and hiding under them seemed better than braving the cold. Not to mention the lone mosquito that managed to survive my massacre of its brethren the night before (I think I mentioned this in an earlier message... given the message about Cairo and the bus ride, you can probably understand what brought on the blood-lust that sent me bouncing from bed to bed slaughtering mosquitoes with my magazine) had been doing hourly flybys on my head and I was loathe to give it an opportunity to avenge its family members by uncovering any skin. That was until Mum opened the curtains and (through a crack between the blanket and the pillow that I had left as an airhole) I caught a glimpse of what was outside. Bright blue sky and red rock mountains. Stunning. The view sent me hurtling out of bed and into my hiking boots.
Mum and I were so enthusiastic about hiking up Mt Sinai that we went bounding straight down a path that went up the wrong mountain. Oops. The views were great and we managed to work off some of our giddiness (not to mention the sinfully delicious breakfast we had scoffed at the guesthouse) stampeding up that mountain and down again. We stopped for a coffee and a toilet break back at the monastery and then rushed off down the camel track once more, this time up the right mountain. The hike was fairly gentle, but it was under a blazing sun and we kept stopping every 5 minutes to take photos and exhaling a steady stream of "Wow"s which was pretty much what my vocabulary was limited to at that stage because the scenery was too beautiful. Anyway, for this reason it took a while to ascend and the last part before the top almost killed me because the path met up with the steps of redemption, the other way up the mountain from St Katherine's. At the time I could have sworn were made with the express purpose of punishing naughty atheists like me before they get to the peak... you know, a "yes you may come up, but you will pay for it...mwahaha". They were made by a monk as a form of penance. I think you would have to be truly penitant (or a complete masochist) to go up all of those stairs. And have much tougher legs than me! The camel trail is much easier.
We shared the peak with a great flock of Americans who were extremely grateful when Mum and I offered to take their photo. I did not realize this would lead to us being inundated with cameras of various descriptions thrust in our direction. The two of us perched on a rock trying not to knock any of the cameras off the mountain and set to work. I got bored of saying one two three in English, so amused myself by counting in other languages (I think I got through six or seven before I got stuck and one of the Americans had to prompt me with some Spanish) and felt pretty smug when counting in Korean got a big laugh from one woman and her husband, confirming my suspicion that she was probably of Korean descent.
We went down the steps. It was quick but nasty on the knees. I was extremely happy when we finally made it back to the monastery. The hike was spectacular but I was desperate to go to the loo. One of the other people on the peak had warned us that the WC up there looked like a camel had exploded in it and I am not heathen enough to sneak off the path and take a leak on Mt Sinai, especially not with a bunch of camel-riding Bedouins on the loose. Mum had to scold me into the shower before dinner (I was huddled under a blanket shivering from exhaustion and cold). We limped into the dinner hall, scoffed huge amounts of food, guzzled a bottle of wine, then limped back to our room and slept like logs.
I cannot rave enough about St Katherine's and the guesthouse there. If you like hiking and spectacular scenery you should go to St Katherine's. If you like old buildings you should go to St Katherine's. If you are interested in the old testament at all, thou shallt not miss an opportunity to go to Mt Sinai. Even the food was delicious. If Cairo has left you with your knickers in a knot and ready to get on the first available mode of transportation out of Egypt (I am sure it is not just me who has felt this way), do not give up on the country yet... let St Katherine's change your mind. You will not regret it. Pyramids shmyramids! Get thyself to St Katherine's!!!
