I used to get paid to walk up Mount Sinai in the middle of the night to watch the sun rise up over the mountains, or at any rate it was part of my job as a tourleader here in Egypt, and that explains why I’ve notched up so many trips to the top. At least in part. The fact I still continue to take to the camel path (on foot, of course – few despise camels as much as me) seems to perplex some of my friends, and especially those who have just done it the once. It’s a harder walk than most anticipate (as evidenced by those who go up in flipflops or sparkly wedges) and colder – whilst it’s 40-something degrees in Dahab, it will remain under ten degrees at the top, and below freezing during the winter. The first time (which is the only time for most, let’s face it) it’s barely an enjoyable experience, until, that is, the moment that the sun first appears over the Sinai mountain range and begins to reveal the stupendous landscape that you’ve been entirely oblivious of whilst trudging up the mountain, eyes glued to the path so you don’t get caught out by loose gravel, larger rocks, or camels.
It's perfectly acceptable to make slightly silly faces when you get to the top of Mt Sinai
In short, I love and continue to climb Mount Sinai for three reasons. One, the scenery is phenomenal. The night’s starscape is just as mind blowing as the mountain ranges, especially when the moon is absent. Once you’ve made it to the top, you can come down the “Steps of Repentence” – a 3000-step staircase, 3,750 if you count all the steps including the ones after the camel path ends, up to the summit. Some, including the monks of St Catherine’s Monastery whose predecessors built the route, ditch the camel path in favour of taking the steps from the bottom to the top but frankly, I’d like to think I haven’t got enough to repent for to feel the need to put myself through that much punishment. It is a significantly more beautiful route though, and is much more shady than coming down the camel path in the new morning sun. As you descend, you’ll pass a little chapel tucked into the rocks – peer through the keyhole to see some ancient icons. You’ll see some fascinating rock formations, some ancient carvings made by the Greek monks who first painstakingly put those steps together, and if you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse or two of some mountain wildlife.
The second reason, unusually possibly, is the physical exercise…! I don’t get too much of that, and a good up and down of the mountain beats any gym regime I can think of. Although I’ll complain for days afterwards about my locked calf muscles and aching thighs, all those steps reach muscles you never felt before.
Thirdly, and my absolute favourite, the thing I enjoy most every single time I go to Mount Sinai, is the anthropology. Without meaning to insult anyone’s intelligence other than my own (I had no idea what Mount Sinai was, or about its significance, before I got my job in Egypt) Mount Sinai is of huge importance for believers of any of the Abrahamic religion. It’s supposed to be the mountain on which Moses received the ten commandments written on stone tablets (he had to go up twice, apparently, because he broke the first set and had to go back for more. I think, like me, he just liked the challenge). It’s also the mountain on which Moses stumbled across the burning bush, which has had the monastery of St Catherine built around it. The monastery is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world having been built at some point around the year 550, and is still inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. It holds the second largest collection of religious manuscripts, the largest being in the Vatican City. Tourists with religious leanings who have come to the Red Sea for some sun inevitably make the pilgrimage to the site, but Mount Sinai is frequently a destination on religious tours that take in all the significant sites around Egypt, Israel and Jordan. Although I was brought up with no religion, it’s an amazing sound hearing a group of Koreans singing hymns and receiving a blessing from their leader. It’s incredibly humbling seeing very elderly nuns from all over the world being helped up the steps to the summit by a very patient and agile Bedouin guide. It’s heartwarming to have the most enthusiastic and sincere “God bless you!” from a grinning Nigerian whilst he sits and gets his breath back, halfway up the steps. It’s staggering to see the Eastern Europeans in their stilettos and hot pants, picking their way over the stones. It’s awe inspiring seeing the Bedouin guides hop up and down the mountain without getting even slightly out of breath, knowing that they do the same thing several times a week, sometimes multiple times a day. The last time I went up it was during Ramadan, so the majority of the Bedouins are fasting. The mish-mash of nationalities and faiths as well as the spiritual or personal reasons that takes each and every person onto that mountain is probably the thing above all others that keeps me going back, now that I’m not being paid to do it.
How To Do Mount Sinai
Put one foot in front of the other, and walk. Stop when you need to. No, no, no. This section is about the different ways to get there and actually “do” the trip.
If you’re staying in Dahab or Sharm el Sheikh, there are a multitude of travel offices that organise trips out to Mount Sinai. The vast majority of these are overnight trips; a minibus will collect people from Dahab at around 11pm (for Sharm I imagine they will leave an hour or so earlier, so check with the office) and it’s then just under a two-hour journey to the village of St Catherine. You’ll arrive at about 1am, and each group will be assigned a Bedouin guide upon arrival in the car park. You’ll then start the ascent and it takes roughly two and a half hours (but leave three) to get to the top, using the camel path (the full set of steps isn’t accessible in the dark so won’t be offered). There are some “coffee shops” along the way – small wooden shacks selling hot and cold drinks as well as biscuits and chocolate. They’re spaced apart at very handy intervals so you can divide up your walk to make it more comfortable. Leaving at those times, and depending on the time of year and therefore the time of the sunrise, you might end up with a couple of hours to kill at the top. Snuggle under a blanket and enjoy your surroundings. There’s nowhere better for people-watching or shooting star-spotting. Don’t rush to leave when the sun comes up – it takes about 45 minutes to get down the steps or just over an hour to come down the camel path, and the monastery doesn’t open until 9am anyway (and not at all on Fridays and Sundays).
If you don’t fancy an overnight trip, you can climb for sunset. A plus point of this is you are often entirely alone on the mountain, as opposed to being surrounded by hundreds of others. If you opt for this option though, you can pretty much discard the fun of the anthropology, as well as the stars, obviously. Travel offices don’t normally find so many people to do this trip so you might find yourself paying significantly more for a private car rather than a full minibus.
Alternatively, despite the convenience of these trips, don’t rule out going to stay in St Catherine’s. There are some perfectly adequate hotels (one special one with a swimming pool in the shape of a crucifix…) and a great “camp” – budget accommodation with simple rooms and space for tents. There’s not much going on in the village itself but the natural beauty and serenity of the area is enough of a pull for at least a one-night stay. There’s a great little “cultural centre” called Fansina (http://www.fansina.net/english.html) where you can learn more about Bedouin traditions and lifestyle, as well as buy beautiful handicrafts, handmade by Bedouin women across the Sinai. Anywhere in the area, you’re bound to meet Bedouins keen to show you more of the area and might suggest a trip through the gardens of the lower levels of Mount St Catherine, or who might take you to other fascinating spots in the Sinai. We can help you arrange any of these experiences, and we frequently put together overnight camping trips who want to reach a little further into life in the Sinai. Just get in touch with us at Sunrise Lodge for more info.