Sinai

We headed east on the Suez Desert Road to the Sinai peninsula.  Our destination was St. Catherine’s, the small town that is near the base of Mt. Sinai. As we traveled east the desert was constantly changing: mountains, lime stone formations, mineral deposits in rocks that create beautiful designs and colors.

We arrived in St. Catherine’s in the late afternoon and enjoyed the fading evening sun. We went to bed early in order to get up at 1:30 and head to the base of the mountain at 2 AM where we began the seven kilometer climb to the top of Mt. Sinai in order to be there by sunrise. It is another gorgeous setting. After  hiking back down the mountain we made  a short visit to the monastery which is also a lovely place (among other things there is an ancient library and in the center of the monastery is  THE bush that Moses saw when it was inflamed) . Later in the day we drove to Dahab on the Red Sea.

The students had a hard time leaving the beautiful blue green waters of the Gulf of Aqaba. About half of them went snorkeling and were really quite excited  by the coral formations and fish. All of us had a chance to feel the cool ocean breeze and to enjoy a few moments of quiet, relaxed time before heading back to the bustle of Cairo.