Pilgrimage 2.0-3 : Exodus

Checked out of Movenpick and our bus was joined by a government security officer. His blazer couldn't hide the semi-automatic weapon he had at his hip. Made our way back to the Elizabethan monastery for morning mass. The poor sisters had to clean up after us again after we had raided their restrooms as the taps were still dry due to the waterworks out front. The sisters bemoaned the cruelty of digging up pipes in front of the monastery for the seventh time! DBKL pun kalah.

We bid farewell to the pyramids and started our journey towards the Sinai Peninsular. Moses and his people traveled through the wilderness while we took the highway through the desert. Security was really tight as we approached the Suez Canal as its under Egyptian military control. Could see that each vehicle was searched but since we had special clearance, they didn't open our bags. The bus crossed underneath the canal via a tunnel and voila, we had left the African continent and reentered Asia. Our first rest stop was right after the Suez Canal. Once the shopkeepers roughly knew which part of the world we were from, they started blasting "Syantik" over the speakers. Talk about a customized shopping experience.





Soon after that, we arrived at Oyun Musa, the site of the Springs of Moses. The well looked pretty brackish and unhygienic, and there was even a PET food container floating in it. There were several other springs nearby, but they had dried up. Only seven out of the original twelve remain. Bedouins lived in a small village nearby and made their living selling souvenirs. Couldn't stand the heat.





Continuing the journey, we had to go through more checkpoints. A whole lot of waiting. We arrived at our lunch place two hours late. The restaurant had no signboard, but its interior really reminded me of Malay restaurants in my hometown of Kuantan. Lunch consisted of rice with grilled chicken, omelette, and sour potato soup. Also had a side of flat bread.







The road continued through the east coast with Sahara Desert on our left, and the Red Sea on the right. Checkpoint after checkpoint was passed, each characterized by zig-zag blockades and gun silos. Each time, our security officer would pass a copy of our travel approval to the military. Really wonder how big a stack he prepared.





At around 6:30 PM, we arrived at the city of St. Catherine. In the middle of the city is a mosaic of St. Catherine together with Quranic verses on another side. The hotel is called Morgenland, and like the other two hotels in the city, is unrated. Its a cluster of two storey buildings built around a swimming pool (with a sandy bottom) and reception area. The rooms were dusty and built with bad carpentry. A midnight hike up Mount Sinai was arranged, so we quickly ate, showered, and tried to catch some sleep.





I managed to sleep for two hours before needing to get up and prepare. Had to dress warm and throw on a windbreaker. Everyone who wanted to hike assembled at the reception at 11:30 PM. The shops at the reception loaned out walking sticks with built-in LED torches, but we still brought our own headlamps. A ten-minute bus ride brought us to the foot of Mount Sinai where we underwent a body check. That's also where we met our local Bedouin guides, Hosni and Mohammed.



The arrangement was actually a bit messy because those who booked the camel ride up didn't realize that they had to hike to the so-called camel station. So a few senior citizens struggled and we had to wait for them for half an hour in front of St. Catherine's Monastery. According to our guide, our hike had not officially started. We had 7 kilometers ahead of us AFTER the camel station. Opps. The trail was stone and sand, so it was easy to lose footing.

We didn't hike alone, a whole bunch of camels followed behind us. Camels actually growl and make deep gurgling sounds. And of course they stink. The camel drivers were patiently awaiting for someone to surrender and part with USD30 for a camel ride. With so many camels, we had to be mindful where we stepped because the floor was littered with camel dung. And with dung, came a lot of dung beetles.

The trail had coffee shops along way that sold hot drinks, candy bars, and snacks. Mum made it to the second coffee shop, which was a quarter of the way. Several people stopped there with mum while the rest of us went on. At the third coffee shop, we decided not to proceed as we weren't making good time. There were actually two more coffee shops ahead of us, and 750 steps to the summit. Our guide ran ahead of us to get the others who ascended with camels to descend together. It was a one hour wait, and it did get quite cold. The 'toilets' were behind the coffee shops. Choose a spot in the dark, make sure you don't step on 'mines' (this is where the headlamps come real handy). Halfway down, the sun was out and we finally managed to admire the true beauty of the mountain.













P.S. : Our spiritual director had traveled thrice to the Holy Land, never once did he make it to the summit of Mt. Sinai. Guess he would have to come back again to fulfill that goal!