St. Katherine Monastery walls

St. Katherine Monastery walls
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

A church was initially built in the 6th century near the presumed site of the burning bush. Later a fortress was built to protect Sinai Christians. Later it was turned into a monastery.

St. Katherine Monastery

St. Katherine Monastery
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

We descended down the pilgrim's staircase to the monastery, which is pleasantly in the shade. I met a young student from Kyrgystan studying Political Science in Cairo. There are loads of Russians in Dahab and in Egypt.

Descending from the summit

Descending from the summit
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

It was an hour and a half later when the sun rose and the entire battalion of tourists descended the mountain (without the Ten Commandments).

The pilgrim trail far below

The pilgrim trail far below
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Layered rock around Sinai

Layered rock around Sinai
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

I was told by someone that Wadi Rum in Jordan looks pretty much like this place. I hope it's better than that, but then again, see the previous entry.

Sunrise

Sunrise
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Actually, not that magnificent, but I am learning that not everything on the tourist trail is what it's cracked up to be.

Tourist hordes awaiting the sun

Tourist hordes awaiting the sun
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The summit is around 2386 meters. It's an easy hike, if you don't mind the dusty trail, camel poo, and the last bit of stairclimbing.

Church at the summit

Church at the summit
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Having done so little in Dahab, I finally decided to check out the sunrise at Mt. Sinai. The minibus loaded with tourists sped away from Dahab at 2330 and arrived at the foot of Mt. Sinai around 0200. There were loads of tourists there offloading the deluxe coaches. Touts descended upon our minibus and demanded that we pay them 5 LE each for guide services, which was required. Well, it wasn't required, but we didn't know any better, and I didn't walk with a guide anyways. So goes another buck to baksheesh. I met a Russian kid on the hike up. We tore up the trail, trying to pass camels bearing tourists, eventually making it to the summit two hours later in (almost) solitude. There was a small church on the summit.

Camel cooling off

Camel cooling off
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

I went for a walk along the boardwalk until it became sand. In Assalah, the small village north of Dahab City, Egyptian kids were playing in the water, fishing, and snorkelling. A dude brought a few camels over to the water to cool them off. I was impressed that one of the camels eagerly sat down, but then lost its balance and almost rolled over, so it quickly got up and walked out of the water, a little freaked out.

Diving in Dahab

Well, I haven't done much this week in Dahab, which is just as well. I went diving a couple times and the visibility was excellent, but it was a bit colder than I expected, and there weren't as many fish as I had seen in SE Asia. I was told that if the visibility is very good, there will be fewer smaller fish. Overall, I am a bit underimpressed with the diving here compared to SE Asia, however the weather is perfect and the prices are great.

Beer on the beach

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Beer on the beach
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Adam's Bar near the lighthouse has 500 mL bottles of Stella beer for 5 LE -- less than $1.