Dawn on Sinai

by Maxine Bates

In February, Travel SIG member Helen B and I spent a week in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh. This is primarily a diver’s paradise and, whilst neither of us are water babes, we did partake in some alternative lofty activity.

Having read in advance that one can climb Mount Sinai, we packed our trainers with the intention of doing that and at the same time visiting St Catherine’s Monastery at the base of the mountain. Upon arrival we discovered that Thomson did not operate this excursion during the winter, but could arrange it with a private guide at a cost of £65 per person. Thinking this a tad expensive - for what turned out to be an endurance test! - we wandered into nearby Na’ama Bay and found a local travel agent who happened to be taking a tour to Mount Sinai that evening at the somewhat more reasonable price of approx. £25 per person. We promptly signed up for it and handed over our Egyptian pounds.

What we hadn’t gleaned in advance was that the treks up Mount Sinai take place overnight in order to view sunrise over the Sinai, Egypt, Jordan and Israel from the summit. We were picked up from our hotel at 10.30 pm and joined an American girl, two German ladies, an Egyptian couple and five Latvians on this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 After a three hour drive across the desert we arrived at the mountain and began the climb at 3.00 am. It was at this point we realised the path was not lit at all and our guide did not have a torch! We had to rely on the few people in our group who had a small torch to illuminate our way and stick closely by them! As we circled St Catherine’s Monastery the path was wide, sandy and had only a small incline. Soon after it narrowed and turned to layers of small rocks, so a very stumbly walk when you couldn’t see what you were doing! At one point there was a sheer drop to our left and a row of camels to our right, which we didn’t know were there until we heard their snorting and nearly trod on their tails!

The ascent took three hours with several stops en route at shelters where you could rest on benches covered in blankets or buy hot tea, chocolate bars or souvenirs. There was the option to ride on a camel, but this struck us as even more madness as they slipped on the stones and I’m not aware of the animals having good night vision! The final stage got much steeper with no camels allowed that high and, although fairly fit, we both struggled to catch our breath as the group was moving at quite a pace. Two young bedouins grabbed our arms and basically hauled Helen and me up to the summit - then demanded the equivalent of 10 Euros in ‘baksheesh’ for the privilege!

We spent half an hour at the summit watching the sun rise with hundreds of other people. We had no idea where they had appeared from, as it had been so dark we hadn’t noticed them before! It was bitterly cold until the sun warmed us up on the descent. I’d definitely recommend gloves! In daylight we could not believe where we had just walked! The climb of nearly 7,000 feet was difficult and dangerous and we’re sure tour operators would never have been allowed to organise such an excursion in the UK. Or at least made us sign a disclaimer first!

Had we driven so far into the desert to solely visit St Catherine’s Monastery we would have been disappointed. The monastery itself is only open for two hours each day, so consequently it is jam packed with tourists being rushed through in under 20 minutes. We did manage to see the famous ‘burning bush’ and the elbow bone of St Catherine famed for being tortured on a spiked wheel for her beliefs and thus having a spinning firework named after her.

In one way we’re glad we climbed Mount Sinai as it certainly was an experience even though neither of us are religious. On the other hand, had we known what it entailed, we probably would never have booked! It definitely ranks in the top ten of “stupid things I’ve done on holiday”!

Was it a meaningful experience following in Moses’ footsteps or just plain madness? If you’re ever in Upper Egypt, go climb Mount Sinai and let me know

 First published in VISA issue 68 (Aug 2006)