Mr. B and Me (Adventures in Saudi Arabia and beyond!)

Touring in Egypt
Page 3
(March 2005)

Leaving the Nile Valley behind we joined a convoy of buses to head across the eastern desert toward the Red Sea coast and the town of HURGADA.	Rough, barren terrain dominates the eastern desert.	The town of Hurgada on the Red Sea Coast hosts many tourists, many of which are Eastern European.
View of the coastline	Library in Hurgada -- looks like a spaceship, huh?	Mr. B on the balcony rail of our hotel room overlooking one of the pools
The next morning we were on the move again. This time we boarded a ferry to cross the Red Sea to the Sinai Peninsula. Though we landed at Sharm el-Sheikh, a well-known tourist destination, we did not spend time there. Instead we boarded a bus and headed up the coast to Dahab.
Our hydrofoil ferry	On board the ferry	View of the Red Sea - approaching the Sinai Peninsula
The town of Dahab	Mr. B checks out the divers	Our tour leader, Donna, deciding what kind of fresh fish to have for lunch
Dahab beach	View across the Gulf of Aqaba - that's Saudia Arabia's west coast in the background
The highlight of our visit to the Sinai Peninsula, and perhaps even of the whole visit to Egypt, was the opportunity to climb Mt. Sinai (height 2285m). From Dahab we drove inland to the town of St. Katherine, nestled at the foot of Mt. Sinai (or the Mountain of Moses) and Mt. St. Katherine. We arose very early to begin our trek up the mountain in the dark. There was a full moon, though, and it was amazing to see how it cast the shadows of the mountains on the hillsides. Being forwarned and knowing my limitations, I opted to ride a camel up the mountain as far as possible - but that still left a good walk up the 750 steps to the summit. It is thought-provoking and awesome to think that this may be the mountain on which God came down to deliver the Ten Commandments to Moses!
The terrain of the Sinai Peninsula is quite rugged	On one ridge as I climbed I was able to see the dawn in one direction . . .	And the moon setting in the other direction
Sunrise from Mt. Sinai	Climbing toward the summit - some of the 750 steps	Mr. B and me on the summit of Mt. Sinai
The chapel on the summit	View heading back down	W.C. near the summit
At the base of Mt. Sinai, between it and Mt. St. Katherine (the highest mountain in Egypt), is the Monastery of St. Katherine. This is built on the site, and enclosing, what is said to be the Burning Bush through which God spoke to Moses.	View of the Monastery	Another view of the monastery
	Inside the monastery: the tree in the background of the left picture is said to be a descendant of the original Burning Bush; on the right is the Church of St. Katherine
From Mt. Sinai, after saying "goodbye" to four of our tour members who were going to spend some more time back in Dahab, we headed by bus back toward Cairo. We crossed the rest of the Sinai Peninsula to the Gulf of Suez then headed north. We crossed under the Suez Canal via the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel and even got to see a convoy of ships traversing the Suez Canal. After one more day in Cairo we had to say "goodbye" to one another and go our separate ways. This was hard to do -- after two weeks travelling together we were almost like family. It had been a great tour with a great group of people and a great tour leader. Thank you all!