A Bedouin guide is a requirement for the hike, but the camel is optional. We procured the services of the illustrious Ustez (that’s Arabic for Mr.) Ice because one member of our party was not sure about making the entire 15 kilometer trip on foot. We all took a 4-hour nap then met our guide, Salaa at 1:00 a.m. for the journey. He was outside the gates of the Bedouin Camp with Ice and someone in our group piped up, “Nina, your Uber has arrived!” We had a full moon so we did not need flashlights. We also had a friendly mutt following us. We named him Fire, to go with Ice, whom I nicknamed Vanilla Ice (because he is white) and then had that song pretty much stuck in my head for the whole hike. So, you know, there went any chance of this deal feeling all solemn and spiritual. So at this point I should mention that there is some dispute about whether or not this is the same Mt. Sinai Moses went up. It’s a bit tough to imagine a dude his age hiking this thing back when there was no trail, but then again, every mountain for miles looks to be about the same degree of difficulty, so who knows. The summit is about 7500 feet and I think we started at about 5200. Our guide once did the trek 7 times in one 24-hour period. Bedouins….mad respect. When Nina decided she’d had enough camel riding we began taking turns on Ice. I got the last leg up to the tea house and I must say it was very enjoyable. At one point Salaa draped Ice’s lead over his neck, gave him a pat and said, “Free camel!” I started to protest but clearly Ice knows his business. He was probably thinking, “Sister, I could hike this in my sleep. I mean, look at the trail. Where else are we going to go? We just follow the Twix wrappers.” Ice is an interesting dude. I don’t know a lot about camels, except that one hump is a dromedary and two is a Bactrian camel, and all of them spit. Ice is ten years old and will likely live to be 25. He is Salaa’s only camel and he is pretty chill (maybe how he got the name). He did as he was told the first time and with no need for much more than a pat and a “shhh-shhh” from Salaa, but he definitely had an opinion about things and was not afraid to make it known. Thankfully, he expressed himself vocally and not by hocking loogies at us. For that, I was grateful and he earned star billing as our new blog banner photo. Near the top the trail turns to a set of over 700 steep stairs. There at the tea house is where the camels have to park and the tourists buy coffee. We ascended the rest of the way in a caffeine-powered silence with approximately 40 other pilgrims from what seemed like nearly as many nations. Before you reach the top you pass two more little shops. We took guesses on what we would find there (Fanta Orange, pyramid souvenirs, and at least one Mohammed). We trooped on by, eager to make the top in time for the sun. The view was spectacular. Imagine a panorama of rugged, rusty mountains with the orb of the sun coming up orange through a thick low haze. There was a real crowd at the top but everyone was quiet. One man gently rang the bell that hangs in the stone arch of the church. The doors are locked and I got no information on its history, but it was a fitting edifice for such a mountain. We enjoyed the view for about 45 minutes before trekking back down, stopping for snacks at the little shops, and fetching Ice back at the lower tea house where he was munching on a Twix wrapper. The hike down took a couple of hours and we arrived at St. Catherine’s Monastery right as it opened. By then I was so pooped I did not take a single photo nor did I have the brain power to take in the history of the place. But it’s good, so I give you this link. And you can view the rest of our Mt. Sinai photos here. - Jenni
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |