Dahab

At 1:30 PM Rob and I boarded our bus for Dahab. It was comfortable enough, although legroom was sparse. At sunset the bus stopped, as my visit came during Ramadan and all the other passengers were hungry and ready to break fast. Rob and I took the opportunity to stretch our legs while taking some pictures and smoking a sheesha. Back on the bus we napped and talked; we had plenty of time to do both as the bus ride ended up taking 8 ½ hours. When we arrived in Dahab we had little time to rest before rushing off to Mount Sinai. We arranged for a service taxi with some other travelers and merely had time to scarf down some falafel before leaving. The drive to Mt. Sinai took an hour and a half, much of which was due to the three army checkpoints where our passports had to be displayed.

We arrived at the base of Mount Sinai shortly after midnight. It was a cool, calm night and the sky was bright and clear. We passed Saint Katherine's Monastery (where the burning bush spoke to Moses) to begin our climb to the 2285-meter peak. We were harassed by scores of Bedouins trying to rent us camels for the climb, but otherwise the hike was peaceful and there were few other hikers. The moon was only a sliver in the sky, but the stars were bright enough to light the way for Rob and I without the aid of a flashlight. I was in awe. Never before had I seen the stars so bright above. We were treated to numerous shooting stars as well. We took our time in ascending the peak, arriving about four in the morning.

After reaching the top, Rob and I rented some wool blankets and found a spot to lie down and sleep before sunrise. It was cold and a thin layer of ice had coated the rocks all around us. We awoke to a brightening sky a couple hours later, and in the excitement I took too many pictures of the coming sun. It was amazing and beautiful to watch. The sun seemed to pop up almost instantly; you could watch it move above the horizon. As all of this was happening the colors were taking shape and changing the skyline. First green and purple, then to pink and orange as the sun appeared. After the sun was securely fixed in the sky we began the trek back down to the monastery. It was significantly warmer in the daylight, and the spectacular rugged scenery rivaled the stars from the night before.

Unfortunately the monastery was closed at the base of the mountain, so we simply took our service taxi back to Dahab. Once back Rob and I slept for a while before exploring the town. Dahab was void of the usual Israeli tourists due to the escalating violence with Palestine. This ended up being a good thing and a bad thing. Good because the town was not crowded, but bad because it made us glaringly easy targets for every salesman and shyster in town. "Come, look at menu!" "Nothing over ten pounds!" "Hello! Friend, hello!" We ate lunch at a restaurant on the shore before heading back to the room for another nap. I had planned on SCUBA diving in Dahab, but it was chilly and overcast. Instead I walked around town with Rob, talking and shopping for souvenirs.

Back to Cairo...