Mount Sinai & the Burning Bush

Today started early with a drive from Dahab to Mnt. Sinai. We met our guide and toured St. Catherine's monastery, a truely amazing place. It is home to the second biggest library of ancient text after the Vatican and has the oldest bible in the world! It was written in the 2 century! They also have the old icons in the world. They have them because during the 5 and 6th c. icons in Europe were destroyed (thought they were idolatry), but the monastery was cut off from Rome so they didn't. We saw the "burning bush" where God spoke to Moses and then headed up to Elijah's basin. It was a tough climb! Super steep and very hot. We had to stop every 10 - 15 min. to slow the heart rate. Once at the basin we had a Bedouin picnic! The meal was super and made from the olives and herbs found in the area. They had had 3 days of rain just before we came so the plants were out in full force. Before that they hadn't had rain for 10 years! I can't imagine living with no rain! They do have wells but, but were having to dig a lot deeper as they were drying out. Everyone was very happy and grateful for the rain. We had lunch with our Bedouin guide who told us many interesting thing about the region. Did you know that the Bedouin's cut out their uvula? They do this because they think it is the source of thirst and they pride themselves on not drinking very much. Unfortunately they have a lot of kidney problems! After a short easy hike around the camp to look at herbs we went the rest of the way to the summit. It was a great sunset on the top. Most people (1000 usually) come in the morning, so we were happy to have the spot almost to ourselves. We descended the mountain an easier way since it was dark, and had to avoid camels taking more people up to the top! Excellent day!

Jane