Day 4. Tue 16th September
Mount Sinai. Dahab.
The earliest rise of the trip, we are awakened at 2:00am to walk up Mt.
Sinai. Bleary eyed we grab a quick coffee and a packed breakfast and by
2:30 are on the road to St Catherine's Monastery which lies at the foot
of Mt. Sinai.
There are two routes up Mt. Sinai, or Mount Moses to give it its local
name, the camel path and the "steps of pennance", allegedly laid by monks
to atone for some sin (a pretty horrendous sin, judging by the number of
steps). The camel path is longer but less steep, and this is the one we
climb. The reason for its name becomes quickly apparent, as, despite the
hour, we are immediately set upon by camel owners offering rides up the
mountain "very cheap". The path is wide and not steep, but it takes 2½
to 3 hours to climb, and the idea of riding a camel becomes increasingly
attractive. We can walk at our own pace, and there are tea shops dotted
along the path. Nevertheless I quickly become aware of how unfit I am,
but I am determined to keep going. Jenny and Lisa, however, run out of
oomph about half-way up and decide to take a camel the rest of the way,
so Maria negotiates a good rate for them.
A little way below the summit the two paths join, and the final climb
up the "700 steps" is very steep. By this time I am completely knackered,
and I really do not think I can make it up this final stretch, and quite
decide to stay at the tea shop at the bottom of the steps with Jenny and
Lisa (camels cannot climb this last bit). However, Chris very kindly stays
with me, and even carries my rucksack for me, and with his encouragement
I finally make it to the top.
In typical Egyptian fashion the place is swarming with tourists and
souvenir sellers even at half past five in the morning. The chapel on the
summit was originally built by Justinium in 532AD, but was repeatedly destroyed,
and the current edifice was built in 1934 using the orginal materials.
The eastern sky is just beginning to lighten, and the view of the Sinai
Mountains is quite breathtaking. As the sweat cools it becomes quite chilly,
but traders are on hand to rent mattresses and blankets, and, of course,
sell us souvenirs (very cheap!). There must be 100 people or more sitting
on the rocks or standing around the chapel. Mt. Sinai is not even the highest
peak on Sinai, that honour goes to Mt. St. Catherine, but the religious
significance of the mountain makes this an ever popular pilgrimage (particulary,
it seems, for Russians, who are in abundance).
A cry goes up as the sun's disk appears over the mountain tops. Capturing
either the magnificent scenery or the spectacular sunrise with a camera
is all but impossible, but nevertheless we all have a go.
Once the sun is well and truly risen everybody sets off back down the 700
steps. Maria says that it is now up to each of us whether we want to take
the camel route down, or the steeper "steps", or to go down on a camel.
Nobody really fancies the latter option, which Maria quickly rephrases.
In the end about half the group take the camel route, the rest of us, for
variety, go down the "steps of pennance". We are very glad that we didn't
try and come up this way, it is a good deal steeper, and in the dark would
have be very treacherous.
We get back to St. Catherine's monastery about 9 o'clock, feeling like
we've already done a full day.
St Catherine was born in 294AD. During the persecution of Christians
in the early 4th century she was tortured for her faith, finally being
bound to a burning wheel, this giving rise to firework known as the Catherine
Wheel . Legend has it that her body was removed from the wheel by angels
and transported to the top of Mt Sinai. The monastery was built in the
6th century, and due to the protection afforded it by various rulers, was
never pillaged or destroyed. However, the number of monks living here began
to wane, until, miraculously, St Catherine's remains were suddenly discovered
on Mt Sinai and brought to the monastery, where they remain to this day.
A remarkable piece of mediaeval PR!
We spend half an hour or so looking round the monastery, but we are
exhausted after the climb and our hearts aren't really in it, and we jump
on the bus and drive back to the hotel.
We must pack up straight away. It is about 2 hours to our next stop,
Dahab, known as the hippy town of Egypt. Set on the Red Sea coast it is
also well known among scuba-divers, the Red Sea offering some of the best
scuba diving in the world.
Maria has chosen a hotel well out of town and we reach it by driving
a couple of miles across the beach. (This is also a Daniella hotel, owned
by the same couple who own the one in St. Catherines, an Egyptian called
Caleb who married an Italian called Daniella and named all his hotels after
her.)
The afternoon is free. Snorkeling is an option but there is a stiff
breeze and big surf, so no one goes for that. We order chicken and salad
for lunch and either sit around the hotel pool or, as in my case, return
to the room and collapse for a couple of hours.
Come evening a few stay at the hotel for an early night, and the rest
of us head into Dahab for a bit of shopping and a meal. We are picked up
in three jeep taxis which proceed to race each other in a madcap ride across
the beach.
Dahab (the name means 'gold') is a colourful tourist town full of the
usual souvenir shops, restaurants, bars, internet cafes and diving shops.
For the five rogue males the 'shopping' is a beer in a bar overlooking
the bay.
We meet up to eat at an outdoor restaurant on the edge of the ocean.
From our table we can see the lights of divers under the water. The meal
is excellent (I treat myself to a seafood platter) and afterwards several
of us sample a "shisha", the Egyptian hubble-bubble pipe, not stuffed with
opium or hashish, but a very squidgy mixture of tobacco and molasses. There
is a choice of flavours, but Nigel, who, although a non-smoker, claims
to be experienced in these matters, recommends apple. The smoke is very
mild so that even non-smokers enjoy it.
The racing taxi driver thrill us with another hair-raising drive across
the beach back to the hotel, and so to bed. Tonight I share with the other
Dave - he coughs, I snore so we agree to call it quits.
