Mount Sinai (Mount Moses) & St. Catherine’s Monastery
| Price: | from 55$ for adults and children aged 12 and older |
from 30$ for children aged 2 to 11 inclusive |
This excursion isn’t just an exciting trip, it’s real self-overcoming and a completely new spiritual experience. It’s also a unique opportunity to see legendary biblical places with your own eyes. You will be able to see the well at which Moses met the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, and the Burning Bush at which Moses, who was shepherding a flock, was appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Holy land.
This tour is a fascinating combination of trekking Mount Sinai, also known as Mount Moses, watching the sunrise at the top of the mountain, visiting ancient St. Catherine’s Monastery built in the 6th century AD, and much more.
According to the Bible, Mount Sinai is the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Therefore, since ancient times, believers have been making pilgrimages to this holy mountain. It’s a centuries-old Christian tradition. In recent decades, dozens and hundreds of people, pilgrims and tourists, mostly coming from Sharm El Sheikh, trek the mountain every day.
When planning such a trip, it should be taken into account that only people with at least minimal physical fitness or a certain moral motivation, such as pilgrims, will be able to make such a hard 7-kilometer trek.
Camels can be rented along the entire route but the area which they can pass through ends about a kilometer before the end of the journey. Thus, the only way to reach the top is by trekking 750 stone steps by yourself.
Trekking there is really hard: the scent is slippery, almost completely covered with an ice crust and its slope is about 45-50°. However, at the summit hikers will be rewarded with warm blankets, hot tea and overwhelming emotions aroused by the sunrise of breathtaking beauty. According to legend, God forgives all the sins of those who managed to see the rising sun on the mountain peak. It’s a truly unforgettable experience and overwhelming emotions which touch both heart and soul and then kept alive as precious memories.
The tour starts at night, buses pick up tourists from Sharm El Sheikh hotels and make a chain, as all of them go in the same direction. During the journey, a guide tells passengers of the bus about the history of Egypt and this region. The final bus stop is a police security checkpoint. There travelers say ‘goodbye’ to creature comforts, pull themselves together and head to the final destination of the trip.
Do not forget to take with you a printed copy of your passport and warm clothes such as gloves and a hat. It’s not a problem if you don’t have them since gloves and hats are sold on site, but you should bear in mind that their prices are rather high.
A 7-kilometer trek begins in the dead of night, the first rest stop can be arranged only after two kilometers of the way. Then tourists will be able to have a cup of tea in little cafes situated after each next kilometer of the way. Going down the mount to the St. Catherine’s Monastery will not be easy either. Tourists will have to trek a slippery and dangerous trail of 750 stones again. Camels who can be used to continue the journey, wait for tourists only at the end of this part of the route.
During the way, tourists can see the bell symbolizing the place of Moses’ forty-day stay on the mountain. At the end of the path, tourists visit the St. Catherine’s Monastery. It was built in the 6th century AD and is one of the oldest in the world. Here you can see the well at which Moses met the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, and the Burning Bush at which Moses, who was shepherding a flock, was appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Holy land.
And that’s not all! Travelers will see the monks’ daily life and visit a museum with magnificent panel icons from the 6th to 13th centuries.
