Camel ride for $50US?

"Camel, camel, wrboad, wrboad", with an occasional correctly pronounced "wielblad" thrown into the mix being repeated over and over is not exactly what I associate with 2am. Add to that the fact that these shouts are coming from the Bedouins surrounding you as you try to climb a mountain in the pitch darkness.

Well, if there ever was self-imposed torture then this might qualify for it:

1. Don’t go to bed and on a last minute spur decision agree to be picked up at 11:10pm by a little minibus (i.e. a small cargo van) into which 15 people are squeezed, including their day packs.
2. Drive for just over 2 hours in this incredibly uncomfortable environment to be dropped off at the foot of a mountain just before 2am.
3. Follow a crowd of about 20 massive tour buses up a relatively narrow path that you’re not only sharing with the endless parade of people, but also an equally endless amount of camels which do not care where the step, whether it’d be rock or foot.
4. Hike up this path for anywhere between 1.5 hours to 2 hours and then commence an ascent of 750 steps to the summit.
5. Arrive at the summit at 4 am to already fine a crowd.
6. Perch yourself on a precarious rock, past all the normal platforms and ledges and overlooking a several hundred meter drop in order to have at least a decent view of the sunrise.
7. Remain perched on this cold rock in the chilly and windy mountain air for the next 1.5 hours awaiting the sun to rise.
8. Snap a few photos and then proceed to follow these 20+ busloads of people down 3750 steps to get to the base by around 7am.
9. Find yourself waiting in the rocky landscape for a further 2 hours awaiting the opening of the monastery doors.
10. At 9am find yourself sandwiched like a sardine as these 20+ busloads of people try to squeeze through a tine archway wide enough to fit one person so as to enter the equally small monastery.
11. Squeeze through the crowds to see what was “allegedly” the burning bush and what was “allegedly” the fountain from which Moses drank.
12. Return to the minibus (i.e.small cargo van) into which for the return journey only 14 people have to be squeezed.
13. Arrive back home 12 hours after your initial time of departure not having slept a wink.

Those 13 steps to a perfect receipt for self-imposed torture accurately surmise my most recent Mount Sinai excursion. However, it was not all bad. Truth be said, the self-imposed torture was well worth it. The view from up top was amazing as were some of the people we passed along the way.

Mount Sinai is believed to be the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. As such, it is an important pilgrimage location of sorts – at least for the hoards of tourists. It is 2285 meters high and the summit can indeed be reached by 3750 “steps of penitence”.
The Monastery of St. Catherine is located near the base of the mountain. The Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and claims to be the oldest working Christian monastery in the world. The monastery was built by order of Emperor Justinian I between 527 and 565, enclosing the Chapel of the Burning Bush at the site where Moses is supposed to have seen the burning bush. There is in fact a bush inside the monastery with which everyone insists on posing and this is “allegedly” the original burning bush.

In the end the highlight was the walk up to the summit in the middle of the night with all the stars as guides. Far away from any civilization (minus the several hundred flashlights), the night sky was breathtaking. Everything from the Milky Way to the Big and Little Dippers, Casiopea, Scorpio and Orion (plus all the other constellations which I can’t recognize) were all clearly visible. Secondly watching the sun rise from the peak as two tour groups alternated singing religious hyms, first in Polish and then in Arabic. Finally, descending the Steps of Penitence. I must say I love running down stairs/steps – regardless of how many there are, so long as there are no slow-pokes in front of me. However, my knees are now protesting the 45 minute descent.

Tomorrow it is off by ferry to Aqaba and from there to Petra. Next we will be trying to reenact Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade.