One of my dreams during my stay was to climb on Mt. Sinai. I had few days off in May and flew to Sharm el Sheikh to realize my desire.
Our Egyptian guide picked me up 22:15 from the hotel, and the others after me: 3 French-Egyptians, 4 Russians, and 2 Egyptians. I didn't know beforehand that it would be a 3-hour drive to the base, 1500 m from the sea level. We reached the gate of the national park 2:25 am. Each was given a bottle of water and a flashlight. And then we started climbing.
The trail was quite narrow, and we had to beware of camels, that were available, if anyone would get too tired to hike. Every 40 minutes were took a rest of 5 minutes and then we pressed on. We were not alone on the mountain: every night about 3,000 pilgrims venture towards the top, so the huts along the trail and the path was quite crowded at times.
I felt dizzy and slight headache in the beginning, but it passed after I took some painkillers. After a couple of hours of climbing I didn't feel tiredness or the altitude, just totally at balance. It was full moon, so we could see the outline of the surrounding mountains and numerous stars. The trail was dotted with hundreds of torchlights of fellow climbers coming up the rugged terrain.
The last leg before the top, 2285 metres, was the steepest and the most dangerous. We stepped into 350 stone stairs in pairs, and every now and then we had to stop to wait, because of the long queue ahead: everyone wanted to reach the top before sunrise.
Finally, after 7 kilometres and 3 hours of climbing, we were on top. It was cold (+10 C), but the scenery was breathtaking: sharp mountaintops reaching into 2000-3000 metres everywhere around us. The rising sun coloured the sky orange long before we saw the red ball of sun emerge in the east. We took our time to snap pictures and admire the barren beauty of the uplands. Then we took a steep plunge down: 700 stone blocks and 2 hours later we we back in the starting point, St. Catherine's monastery. We paid homage to the Burning Bush and the well of Moses, where he supposedly met his wife-to-be, Zipporah.
In Egypt you have a change to plunge into the depths of the sea or to the bottom of the pyramid, or to reach the heights of the highest peaks. The hike was no walk in the park, but absolutely an experience to remember for a lifetime.
Our Egyptian guide picked me up 22:15 from the hotel, and the others after me: 3 French-Egyptians, 4 Russians, and 2 Egyptians. I didn't know beforehand that it would be a 3-hour drive to the base, 1500 m from the sea level. We reached the gate of the national park 2:25 am. Each was given a bottle of water and a flashlight. And then we started climbing.
The trail was quite narrow, and we had to beware of camels, that were available, if anyone would get too tired to hike. Every 40 minutes were took a rest of 5 minutes and then we pressed on. We were not alone on the mountain: every night about 3,000 pilgrims venture towards the top, so the huts along the trail and the path was quite crowded at times.
I felt dizzy and slight headache in the beginning, but it passed after I took some painkillers. After a couple of hours of climbing I didn't feel tiredness or the altitude, just totally at balance. It was full moon, so we could see the outline of the surrounding mountains and numerous stars. The trail was dotted with hundreds of torchlights of fellow climbers coming up the rugged terrain.
The last leg before the top, 2285 metres, was the steepest and the most dangerous. We stepped into 350 stone stairs in pairs, and every now and then we had to stop to wait, because of the long queue ahead: everyone wanted to reach the top before sunrise.
Finally, after 7 kilometres and 3 hours of climbing, we were on top. It was cold (+10 C), but the scenery was breathtaking: sharp mountaintops reaching into 2000-3000 metres everywhere around us. The rising sun coloured the sky orange long before we saw the red ball of sun emerge in the east. We took our time to snap pictures and admire the barren beauty of the uplands. Then we took a steep plunge down: 700 stone blocks and 2 hours later we we back in the starting point, St. Catherine's monastery. We paid homage to the Burning Bush and the well of Moses, where he supposedly met his wife-to-be, Zipporah.
In Egypt you have a change to plunge into the depths of the sea or to the bottom of the pyramid, or to reach the heights of the highest peaks. The hike was no walk in the park, but absolutely an experience to remember for a lifetime.
