Tuesday Travel Blogging – Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine’s

Almost two years ago, I went to Egypt for spring break. The trip itself was a bit of a mixed experience for reasons that I won’t go into too deeply here, but I loved Egypt and, despite some annoyances and several teary-eyed cab rides back to my hotel and hiding the trip from my parents (sorry Mom and Dad), I had a fabulous time. My favorite part of the trip was climbing Mt. Sinai to watch the sunrise — yes, it’s the ultimate tourist experience, but it was phenomenally beautiful, and I can see how one would feel particularly close to God up there.

And while it is touristy, it is quite an experience. It’s freezing cold when you start climbing around 2am, and while you’re in the middle of nowhere, the moon is so huge and bright that you don’t need a flashlight. Once at the top, you’re waiting for any peak of sunlight; it’s packed with people, many of whom are there with religious groups and are chanting, singing and praying. Mt. Sinai is the tallest mountain in the area, and there are jagged purple and blue mountain peaks sprawled out below as far as you can see. As the sun starts to rise over them, the singing and chanting and praying grows louder; people start to wail; people start to cry. The sound follows the path of the sun, breaking as soon as sunlight fully clears the mountains. It is, in a word, intense. My pictures don’t nearly do it justice, but you can check them out here anyway (and several of them aren’t mine; they’re from the friend I traveled with).

After watching the sunrise, we climbed down and went on a tour of St. Catherine’s, which is stunning. Random story: When we were on Mt. Sinai, there was a group of Nigerian Jews who had traveled to Egypt to climb the mountain. As the sun rose and the chanting and singing got louder, and just as the sun peaked over the mountains, one of them had a heart attack and died. He was carried down the mountain on the back of a camel (you can’t exactly drive an ambulance up Mt. Sinai). While death is always sad, I couldn’t help but think that that’s a pretty decent way to go.

Now, pictures:

Sunrise over Mt. Sinai, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

More below the fold, and the full set here.

Mt. Sinai sunrise, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

The prayerful on Mt. Sinai, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

Mt. Sinai, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

Walking down Mt. Sinai, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

Mt. Sinai sunrise, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

Sinai, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

St. Catherine’s monastery, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

Monk making a coffin, originally uploaded by JillNic83.

St. Catherine’s, originally uploaded by JillNic83.