Mt. Sinai and Saint Katherine's Monastery

Saturday morning, after playing at the beach, we headed 3 hours south and inland and reached the Bedouin village of St. Katherine and the Monastery located at the base of Mt. Sinai and Mt. Katherine (the highest peak in Egypt). At the monastery we slept in the guesthouse, which was a very sparse room with 6 beds in it, a bathroom and that is it (no phone, tv, etc….) and had a wonderful Egyptian dinner. The kids loved the yellow lentil soup and the fava bean/tomato/cucumber/cabbage salad. Emma liked the fresh watermelon for dessert best I think!
We explored and “bouldered” around Saturday evening. Almost all the picture I took of the monastery and Mt. Sinai (aka Mt. Horeb or Moses’ Mount) were from high up from the mountains on the opposite side of the little valley.

Sunday morning we hiked up the camel trail way so the little girls could ride most of the way. Then after reaching the very top all together (we had to get off camels and climb last 800 “stairs”) we all came down the more direct, but extremely steep and muscle-taxing, “3800 stairs” way. The stairs are really rocks placed strategically by a penitent monk some years ago. The top of the mountain is not in the pictures you see…..it is behind the face of the mountain, though it is the same mountain. On the top is both a small stone church with a cross on the roof and a small stone mosque. This site is important to both Christians and Muslims in the world. The guide who took us up (from the local Bedouin tribe) showed us inside the mosque, helped us find the path down, and spoke English well enough to give us a little history of how the Greek Orthodox monks and the Bedouin tribe work together to preserve and share the holy mountain. Hamin, the guide, spoke with reverence about the mountain and showed us where it is believed that Moses actually prayed (under the mosque side, naturally!). It was amazing, breathtaking view and incredible to be surrounded by the peace and quiet of the mountains. I am glad we went! After the 6 hour mountain trek, we grabbed an ice cream from the gift shop at the monastery and then headed 5 ½ hours home to Maadi and arrived without any troubles:)
The pictures just don't do the whole experience justice, but they will have to suffice. Feel free to visit us anytime for a more tangible experience:)

Just a note: the face of Mt. Sinai is not where the top is....you can't even see it from there. The stairs go right up through the rocky area in the face, while the camel trail goes around the back. Once around the back, you see the mountain extends much farther back and higher. The very top of the highest part is where the church and the mosque are built.