Mount Sinai and the Red Sea

This weekend was a definite highlight of my time here and possibly one of the best of my life.

We set off for Egypt early Friday morning, taking the 4 hour bus ride to the border. A little bartering bought us a 200 pound round trip sherut to St. Catherine's monastery at the bottom of Mt. Sinai. Throughout the trip we read different excerpts from Moses' encounter with God. Although the 3 hour hike was not extremely difficult I thought of Moses in his old age climbing up and down the mountain 5 or 6 times in the Biblical narrative.

By the time we reached the top, the wind was already chilling. The beautiful sunset only made the temperatures worse. The few who live at the top of the mountain kept offering us mats and blankets, but we lied that we were just fine. We bundled up and sat as close to each other as we could without obviously cuddling to fight off the cold. One by one the stars came out 'til there were more stars than I have ever seen before. The sky was solid with images of Abraham's descendants. One local offered us a little cave to sleep in which we gladly accepted. It was just the right size for the four of us to keep warm out of the wind.

I awoke early in the morning to the buzz of the hundred or so tourists who had made the trek up the mountain for the sunrise. We scrambled out to a little jutting rock ledge and covered up with our sleeping bags to see the beauty of the sun rising over the mountain range. 4 warm cups of hot chocolate and we began our descent.

After a brief visit to the monastery, we took the sherut back to the border and walked to meet some friends in Eilat. There at the national park beach we snorkeled in what are some of the best snorkeling waters. The fish and coral reef were incredible. It felt like swimming in an exotic aquarium, chasing the brightly colored and uniquely shaped underwater creatures.

By the time night came, the sand under my sleeping bag on the Red Sea didn't seem all that hard. The only downside was the busy road just a few yards away with streetlights and the bar that insisted on blaring Arabic techno. Oh well, I was literally sleeping on the beach of the Red Sea!

Matt and I lingered at the beach after everyone else headed back to school. We got out our study guides and acted like we were working hard, though in this place it didn't feel like work at all. That evening we boarded the bus and headed back. I would say that the surreal vacation was over, but then again we were only heading back to Jerusalem.