Egypt, Day 9: Mt. Sinai

You'll notice that Day 8 went unmentioned. Not much of note happened. We slept in for a change and then went to visit the Muhammad Ali mosque, which was nice to see. Then to the bazaar, which consisted of the same old crap and the same old hard sells.

Next up, a long bus ride to the Sinai. The road between Cairo and the Suez canal is heavily militarized, with a string of bases running the whole way. Lots of artillery, self-propelled artillery, a few tanks, and several air defence units. The trip was a constant string of checkpoints. At each checkpoint, our driver would hand over a newspaper. I guess not many people go out that way from Cairo, so it seems recent news from the city is appreciated. We crossed the Suez canal, but there weren't any good views of it.

In the late afternoon, we arrived at St. Catherine's monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai and began hiking to the top.

Camel vendors aside, it was a nice walk through the hills until the last part, which is 700 steep steps. But, I made it to the top just in time for the sunset. Then we rushed back down to get dinner, stopping to help a dutch couple who were attempting to make their way using only a glowstick. The time at the monastery was probably my favorite in Egypt. The people were honest, fair prices, no hassles, and good food. It was really quite pleasant.


Pics from the Sinai are here.