We had just crossed the Israeli-Egyptian border at the Sinai Peninsula with only our backpacks and were negotiating with a taxi driver as to how much he would charge to take us all the way to the ancient monastery of St. Catherine’s.
We had offered him $25 and he wanted $225 U.S. We refused to pay it so every 20 minutes or so, he would approach us and drop his price a little and each time we would refuse it.
The rock on which we sat faced the Bay of Aqaba, a large blue expanse of water with the mountains of Saudi Arabia rising above the sea on the other side.
Finally, after negotiating for four hours, we were fed up and proceeded south on the road to Nuweiba, hoping to catch a bus to St. Catherine’s.
We walked for one or two kilometres when a station wagon stopped alongside us and the driver asked if we wanted to come to St. Catherine’s with him for $25 U.S. We quickly agreed. A man and a woman sat in the middle seat, leaving us the back seat. The woman, seeing we were westerners, quickly covered her face.
So began another one of our adventures.
After driving for two hours through desert, the driver announced he would be stopping at a café because it was time for their daily prayer. We looked forward to perhaps being able to buy something to drink, having exhausted our supply of water.
What met our sight, was a small building with only two walls, covered with a roof. One of the walls had a few shelves with six or eight cans of vegetables. So much for our imagined purchases.
We watched while the driver and his passengers rolled out small prayer mats and proceeded to kneel on them.
Further down the road was a large Bedouin tent with a herd of sheep and goats wandering nearby. It was hard to see what they were eating as everything looked so dry and barren.
After wandering around, always with an eye toward our driver, he called us and we once more climbed into the back seat of the vehicle.
There was no air conditioning in the car but all the windows were open, allowing the wind to blow. The temperature was probably close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Four hours later we arrived in St. Catherine’s. The sun was already setting and we were glad to find a private room with a bathroom in the monastery.
We were shown a large room with two very long tables, flanked with backless benches and were told that a meal would be served within the hour. The most remarkable thing about this room was a huge poster, covering half of one wall depicting Maligne Lake and Spirit Island in Jasper National Park. Imagine our surprise at finding this picture in the middle of the Sinai desert.
There were approximately 40-50 guests gathered when several men served us with a delicious meal of lamb and veggies.
The next day we were given a tour of the 17 centuries old monastery. This included a room with countless numbers of human skulls which once belonged to monks living within these walls. We were told that these men looked forward to having their heads join the display of those having gone before them.
Growing through one of the ancient walls was a gnarled root of a bush about which we were told, it is the “burning bush” of the Bible which Moses encountered.
The following morning we rose early to have breakfast and then climb to the top of the 7,500 feet high mountain. It is called Mt. Moses and some think it is the mountain where Moses received the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them.
We chose the route that included 3,750 steps called “the steps of penitence.” It was the faster route to the top of the mountain.
While climbing, a number of young men jogged past us. We asked one of them why they were in a hurry and were told they were a group of Americans being sworn in as International Peacekeepers on top of Mount Moses.
After an arduous hot climb, we reached the top. The magnificent sweeping views made the effort worthwhile. Toward the east sparkled the huge expanse of water, the Bay of Aqaba. Rising out of the sea were the high mountains of Saudi Arabia. At all other sides we saw mountains in all hues and colors, barren rocks, without trees or shrubs.
The young men were now in uniform and we watched as they raised the American flag and listened to them taking their vows, renewing their commitment to their cause. It was a momentous occasion and we felt privileged being there just at that time.
There were many people on the top of that mountain and some of them had brought sleeping bags the previous day and spent the night there in order to experience the magnificent sunrise over the Saudi Arabian mountains.
Now it was time to make the long descent back to the monastery. The sun set and it became uncomfortably cold.
Soon the dark, velvety canopy was dotted with myriads of sparkling lights. The air, being dry and unpolluted, allowed the sky to shimmer and sparkle with stars like we had never seen before. The glory of it all was overwhelming. We were reminded of the words in Psalm 8: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
So ended another day in this incredible adventure.
(Christa Stegemann is a Saltair resident and frequent traveller/adventurer).