We were up at 1:45 am (yes - AM) to climb Mt Sinai to catch the sunrise. Apparently it's what you do - there were lots of other people with the same idea. We bused to the start of the ascent.
We took camels for the first hour of the walk - they seem to be able to see well in the dark and they find their way up the winding switchback camel path from St Katherine's Monastery at the bottom to a saddle near the summit. Others walked up the path. It might have been more comfortable walking, but the camel ride was interesting. These camels had smaller saddles than those at Wadi Rum, so it was a tight fit between the front and rear 'horns' of the camel saddle - every time the camel moved upwards quickly, the rider got a quick punch from the front saddle horn in the belly.The stars sun brightly in a clear night sky as were rode.
From where the camel left us, it is a walk up 750 rough stone steps in the dark to the summit. There we all waited for the sunrise at 5:50am. Apparently it wasn't a busy day, but there seemed a crowd to me. Some groups sang hymns and others simply waited. At the expected time, the sun rose, much as it does anywhere else on the planet. However, there is a good view over the rugged Sinai mountains (this really is a wilderness).
Then it was down the 750 steps (at least it was now daylight) and then a walk down the winding camel path, which took us to the ancient St Katherine's Monastery, still the home of about 22 Coptic monks. We got into the grounds, but no further (it was closed on Sunday).
Back to the hotel for breakfast and a shower and then onto the bus for the trip to Cairo. This takes over seven hours and crosses the Sinai to the Red Sea coast, then across the Suez Canal (in fact, under, by tunnel) and then straight on to Cairo. You see the strange sight of ships proceeding across the desert as they move along the Suez (you can see the superstructure above the canal banks).
Cairo is a very populous city and traffic is terrible at most times. Our bus took about an hour to get from the outskirts to our hotel near the west bank of the Nile. We arrived by about 8 pm and were tired and ready to drop. We had a quick meal at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel (the Indiana Hotel).
We took camels for the first hour of the walk - they seem to be able to see well in the dark and they find their way up the winding switchback camel path from St Katherine's Monastery at the bottom to a saddle near the summit. Others walked up the path. It might have been more comfortable walking, but the camel ride was interesting. These camels had smaller saddles than those at Wadi Rum, so it was a tight fit between the front and rear 'horns' of the camel saddle - every time the camel moved upwards quickly, the rider got a quick punch from the front saddle horn in the belly.The stars sun brightly in a clear night sky as were rode.
From where the camel left us, it is a walk up 750 rough stone steps in the dark to the summit. There we all waited for the sunrise at 5:50am. Apparently it wasn't a busy day, but there seemed a crowd to me. Some groups sang hymns and others simply waited. At the expected time, the sun rose, much as it does anywhere else on the planet. However, there is a good view over the rugged Sinai mountains (this really is a wilderness).
Then it was down the 750 steps (at least it was now daylight) and then a walk down the winding camel path, which took us to the ancient St Katherine's Monastery, still the home of about 22 Coptic monks. We got into the grounds, but no further (it was closed on Sunday).
Back to the hotel for breakfast and a shower and then onto the bus for the trip to Cairo. This takes over seven hours and crosses the Sinai to the Red Sea coast, then across the Suez Canal (in fact, under, by tunnel) and then straight on to Cairo. You see the strange sight of ships proceeding across the desert as they move along the Suez (you can see the superstructure above the canal banks).
Cairo is a very populous city and traffic is terrible at most times. Our bus took about an hour to get from the outskirts to our hotel near the west bank of the Nile. We arrived by about 8 pm and were tired and ready to drop. We had a quick meal at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel (the Indiana Hotel).
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