Blockchain Memory Project - My Trip To St.Catherine, Sinai - Photography & Great Lesson (Part One)!

Back in 2012, I was invited by a group of my friends to a Safari trip in Saint-Catherine Mountain. Saint Catherine is a small city located at the middle of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. The journey included visiting St Catherine monastery, the Monastery of Cosmas and Damianos, climbing Mt. Sinai (Gabal Musa), sand boarding, eating Bedouin Food, and meditation.

We started our trip at 4:00 am from Cairo. It took us almost 5 hours to arrive at St Catherine. Once we arrived our guide invited us to have tea at one of his Bedouin friends’ house. His friend was an old Bedouin man, who was the head of the tribe that had had inhibited the place for centuries.

At the house our female friends have been guided to the place which was dedicated to women as the tribal tradition emphasises on separation of men and women who are not immediate relatives. The sheikh (The tribe’s head) was a religious person who was managing the affairs of his tribe, the same role his father and grandfather had had before him.

We seated the ground in the visitor’s room with the Sheikh, his son and anther two members of the tribe. We chatted for almost an hour while we were drinking tea and coffee. I learnt as we chat that the tribe didn’t believe in modern medicine at all, the man told me they had a plant for every disease and there is no need for physicians or hospitals.

After dinking a good amount of tea and coffee, both mixed with Artemisia we headed to the hotel where we were going to stay for the whole trip.

The hotel consists of few simple rooms and separately built restaurant at the foot of the mountain, completely surrounded by mountains the place was astonishingly quiet and the air was still that sometimes when I was out I got the feeling that I am looking at a picture.

After having our launch at hotel we take a rest then headed to a nearby Bedouin restaurant where we had grilled chicken and steak.

Early in the morning of the next day, we headed to a place where there were sand dunes. Many hills with rocky sides and the other sides were covered with sand. For each descend on the dune we had to climb the rocky part. After climbing and descending many dunes we reached the final one which was the highest of them.

It took us few minutes to descend the dune then we sat down to take a rest while our guide went to find the Bedouin man who was supposed to collect us. The man was no where to be found. The guide started going here and there to find a way out for no avail. After a short call with the man the guide informed us that there had been a mistake and we are not where we are supposed to be and there is no way out but to climb back the sand dune we have just descended.

The night was falling and we only had our cell phones to illuminate our way up the dune. I thought I would never make it to the top, I rarely practice and I am already tired, but the other option was to spent the dark night in that arid spot.

It had been a rough ascend as with each step our feet were sinking deep in the sand. Many times I felt like giving up as I became short of breath and my leg muscles burning. It took us almost two hours to reach the top of the dune. Despite being completely exhausted I felt contented that I managed to make it and my body proved it can push way beyond its normal limits.

Due to our exhaustion and being late the scheduled ascending Moses Mountain was cancelled and we spent the night at the hotel relaxing for the next day.

To be continued………

** All photos were taken by me and my friends.