Not going to even bother with the day in Cairo. Noise, smells, pollution, noise, haggling, noise and my shoulders making their way up to my ear lobes from stress! :-)
We managed to go the largest mosque and the Coptic area which were both interesting but in truth, my mind was firmly on the 7 hour trip the following day to Sinai and languishing in the hills and on the beaches of Egypt.
The next day, we dutifully left early in the morning.. I think we managed to get away by 8am. The drive was uneventful and was mainly filled with word games (our favourite was naming famous people in turn and the next name had to begin with the initial of the previous celebrity's surname...) At least it wasn't "I Spy"... that would have been limited to something beginning with 'S' for the entire 7 hours!!! We also spent time playing card games. The group favourite here was Kings and Arseholes. Don't ask!!!
A few smelly toilet breaks along the way and we managed to get to the Hotel for our lunch (around 1:30). That was all nice and civilized except for the rock that had found its way from the buffet's bowl of lentils onto my plate and into my mouth! My tooth is still reverberating as I recall the crunch. And what did I get in return for pointing out the Ayres Rock sitting on my plate to the head chef?? A free coffee thank you very much!
We had a bit of a rest after lunch and got ready to climb Mt Sinai. The usual way was the camel way. The other typical route was the Steps all the way to the top. Our guide having done the area often told us about the way of the 40 Martyrers which took you around the back of the mountain and wound its way up to the last 900 steps. Sure we all said. Let's be Intrepid travelers!
This area was where we first encountered the Bedouins. They were installed as guardians of the Monks and St Katherine the Monastery. Initially, in the beginning of Christianity, they were christian converts but slowly over the ages had become Muslim so it was kind of funny to have a Muslim Bedouin guide called Moses. He was shy, sweet and had a nice face with a wide smile. I developed a bit of crush which wasn't hard to do following a butt that had climbed the mountain around 3 times a week for the last 10 years! Am I going to hell???
The climb was tough and included an over-stay at a Bedouin village situated along the way (more tea; more shopping) so I ended up missing the actual sunset by a whisker but it was still lovely at the top. Peaceful, colourful, tranquil. Our "team" sat up there and drank in the achievement before Jo and I decided to head back down the stairs before night time fell. My torch was totally shite and I wanted to be down the most treacherous part before I had to rely on the useless equipment.
We got down around 9pm and helped along by a long, hot shower, pain killers and anti inflams, I slept like a baby till morning.
The next day was visiting the actual Monastery. Being Greek Orthodox and being named after that particular saint, I thought I'd be a shoo in to see the vaults, tombs and other secret things they have there. Ha, silly me! I joined the rest of the cattle being herded around the place. Straight into St Katherine's chapel and back out again in a blink of an eye. When I realised I was heading for the exit without any special treatment I hit the breaks causing a bit of a bank up behind me. I fought my way to the nearest Bedouin security officer dragging two fellow travellers with me (thanks for the back up Jo and Angela!) There I negotiated, chatted, became indignant, timid and finally insistent that I speak to one of the brothers of the monastery before I leave. You have to go out! But I'm Greek Orthodox!!! Hmmm... I could tell that he knew that was a problem. Three guards later (one crankier than the other two) I and my two friends were swept back against the tide to meet the Brother on the other side of the barricade.
I introduced myself and chatted about the place, my pilgrimage and the offerings I needed to leave at the church. To my delight, he took my icons and told me they would be placed in St Katherine's tomb. He also gave me 4 silver rings inscribed with St Katherine's name and some olive oil from the burners in the tomb. Right now, I will declare upfront that I am not a religious person, but I have to admit, I acted like a teenager meeting their pop-idol when I received these gifts from the Brother. I recall this now with much amusement. Think lapsed Catholic meeting Pope. My Greekness also got us into the Museum for free where Christian scriptures and icons from as far back as the 5th Century are kept. Apparently, this place is second only to the Vatican with regards to holding early Christian records and writings.
I left that place with a mix of serenity and excitement. I won't say I found religion but I experienced a great sense of history and reverence of the place.
The day just got better from there by meeting a lovely spruker whom we didn't argue with (must have still been experiencing a serenity glow from the monastery) and bought lots of nice stuff. He called us angelic (cynically, he may have just wanted a sale...) which I took as a reflection of the effect of my visit to Mt Sinai.
We soon after piled back into the bus and headed to the beach resort area on the Red Sea. Our beach huts were called Sawa camp and it was 2 more relaxing days of beach, water, eating, lounging with a late afternoon game of beach volleyball with fellow guests and backgammon. The resort is frequented by Israelis who's border is nearby and it became the norm that when the net went up, we all just automatically congregated to play an international game of volleyball. Hand slapping and goading soon took hold as high stakes and reputations were on the line. I thought Aussies were competitive but I wasn't a patch on the Israeli guy and his wife who were on my team. All in vain though. We kept losing very close games.
This was a perfect wind down from a hectic and hot trip to Egypt. The next day we went back to Cairo and whilst on the road, continued all our favourite travel games. We ended the trip with a group dinner, followed by a shared apple shisha and recalling our experiences.
Egypt was a different experience; full of highs and lows. Once the Government there installs a mute button on the population of sprukers and tourist vultures, I would gladly return to revisit my favourite experiences.
Cheers!
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