Sunrise on Sinai

First off, if any of this doesn't make sense, it's because we're going on only about 3 hrs of sleep.....

Anyway, today was Sinai day. Last night we left our hotel at 11 pm and travelled 1 1/2 hrs. to Mt. Sinai to join the throngs of people who had all gathered to climb the 7 km to the top. Brian and I were incredulous about the number of people that were wearing sandles, shorts, slip on shoes, skirts, and even high heels. Definitely not suitable atire for a 2 1/2 hr. trek up a mountain.

We arrived at 2 am and started our climb up the mountain. It was one of my favourite things from this trip so far. It was almost magical walking up the mountain in the dark, with the moon and the stars shining so brightly. It was beautiful! The climb took us about 2 1/2 hrs. total. There are a few different ways to get up; either the 3000 steps of repentance which were carved out by a monk, the camel trail, or your own route I guess. We chose the camel trail which was the gentlest incline. It was neat to see many people traveling up with their flashlights lighting the way.

The temperature got much colder the higher we climbed and it was between 0-5 degrees at the top and the wind picked up. Despite my 10 layers of clothes and our sleeping bags I wasn't warm enough to get any sleep before the sun came up. But, it was just such a neat experience to climb up, knowing the history and background of the mountain. Moses recieved the ten commandments here, and it was a place that God revealed his glory. I read through Exodus today, and it just makes the story so much more alive for me! The thing I could hardly believe was the number of times Moses actually walked up and down the mountain. It's quite the hike! The height of the mountain is 2245 m.

Here's Brian recieving his own "commandments."


What an amazing opportunity to be able to do this!

It's hard to believe but our time in Egypt is coming to a close. We are here in Dahab for another day and a half before we head back to Cairo for our flight to Nairobi on Tuesday. Tomorrow we'll spend some more time lazing around the Red Sea catching up on our sleep again.