Absolution on Mount Moses

It just so happened that this trip to Egypt was the first one after a long (about 10 years) break. I could go anywhere, but besides the fact that the temperature there was +25 Celsius and there was winter in Latvia, the scales tipped in the direction of Egypt for another reason. I got to know that in the mountains of Sinai there is the St. Catherine’s Monastery, which was built during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian (527-565 AD), and it is still operating without interruption to our time.

This is where the famous burning bush still grows. People have tried to plant and grow this burning bush in different parts of our planet, but it didn’t take root anywhere. According to a legend, in the fire of the bush God appeared to Moses as an angel and told about the purpose - to climb Mount Horeb, where he will be given the Tablets of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments. Since Biblical times the mountain has been named Moses. There is a belief: if a person ascends there in the early morning at dawn, with love and faith in his heart, then with the first rays of the rising sun he will receive a remission of all his earthly Sins.
Having learnt this, I, being a religious person, set off on a pilgrimage.

Upon arrival in Sharm El Sheikh, I immediately asked for this “tour.” Unfortunately it wasn’t in the lists of our tour guide, so I had to negotiate with a representative of a Russian tour operator “Pegas touristik”.

Reference
Mount Moses, or as monks call it “the sacred peak,” has a height of 2,285 meters above sea level. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at an altitude of 1800 meters. You go by bus till it and then by foot. There are two paths from the monastery to the top of the mountain.  The first is 3,750 steps cut into the cliffs by the monks. This road is shorter but more difficult. Another, easier way was paved by the Egyptian authorities in the XIX century, you can even ride astride, it stretches back and forth just over 8 miles. The climb takes approximately 2 - 3 hours. About a third of the way the slope is gentle, and then it gradually becomes steeper.

Money is needed everywhere
Even before the trip, my friends, who have visited Egypt already, warned me that usually there are strong winds and it is cold at night in the Sinai Mountains. Despite this, when climbing a mountain it is natural that a person sweats. On the top of the mountain the temperature is -5 C. After dawn, when you climb down, it becomes very hot. You should go in VERY comfortable shoes. You should take water, a spare T-shirt and more warm clothes, that is, except those that you will be wearing. Thanks to their advice, I went well-equipped in my way of a pilgrim. Thinking that money isn’t especially needed on the mountain, I took around 30 dollars just in case. I was so wrong! Dear tourists! Money is needed everywhere in Egypt, and the more the better.

So, at about 23:00 our bus arrived at the hotel to pick us up. The trip to the monastery took two or three hours (almost while asleep). The road is excellent, but there is nothing to see on the way. This is not a cruise on the Nile, with its minute by minute contemplation of the great river. In the bus the guide told us that when climbing the mountain we will have 7 stops. In each there is something like a cafe where you can drink hot tea or coffee with something. A glass of tea costs $ 5. I was glad that I took some money, and began to think about the ascent. I wanted to bring my thoughts in order and understand which questions should be answered in this holy place.

At the monastery of St. Catherine’s we were greeted by a priest and brought to a room lined with icons. We were told that all the icons are consecrated and you can make a wish on any icon. To make it come true you should show the icon to the rising sun. The cheapest icon cost 20 dollars. Here I became upset that I had so little money with me and I reluctantly abstained from buying. Especially since I did not know what awaits me on the way and possibly this money will be needed on another occasion.

After leaving the trading room of the monastery, we found that there are a lot of pilgrims like us: judging by the number of buses parked, by the most conservative estimate, more than 1000 people intended to climb.

What did Ahmed say?
The guide from “Pegas touristic” handed us over to an Arab guy aged about 18-20 named Ahmed. The group was given a beautiful name “Rose” to which we were obliged to respond. Parting words were: Ahmed is with you, everybody walks in “line-snake.” There is only one road there, so you cannot lose the way. On the same road there are also camels with riders, and you better not go on their side of the road, because it is difficult for camels too and they may bite. If somebody falls behind a group, the entire group should stop and wait for them.

After listening to briefings and getting flashlights, we hit the road. Ahmed said that we left too late so we should hurry up - otherwise all the good places on the mountain will be taken. “It is easy for him to say, he climbs there every day, so he can actually hurry up!” - I thought. However, our Russian group (who could understand those Russians!) immediately and unconditionally believed the words of Ahmed and ran faster than I could run even when I was in good shape approximately 30 years ago. I must say that the angle when going up the hill at the beginning was about 30 degrees. The first stop was planned after 2 kilometers. We raced these two kilometers in 20 minutes. I came to the camp with my heart ready to jump out of my chest, bathed in sweat and with a wild lack of oxygen in my lungs. Ahmed said: “3 minutes of rest and we move on.”

A camel as a salvation
You could hear the continuous shouts of Bedouins “Camel! Camel!” everywhere and I realized that it is my salvation, or else I wouldn’t reach the peak alive. So I immediately said this to Ahmed and asked to hire me a camel, supporting this idea by the fact that because of me the whole group will be forced to slow down. The group looked at me accusingly.

When I got in the saddle, I, quite frankly, got scared. Firstly, I rose about 2 meters above the ground, and secondly, the camel goes along the very edge of the cliff, sways and bends his legs unexpectedly. You get the impression that at any moment he may stumble and fall into the abyss. Besides, looking around I didn’t see a cameleer. “Where is the cameleer?!” - I screamed with all my might. Some men who were going by foot told me in Russian that the camel goes to the mountain every day, so I shouldn’t worry, he knows the way and there is no need for a cameleer at all. After about half an hour, maybe an hour, I got a little accustomed to my desert ship, and even assessed the situation: I couldn’t see the people and the mountains in the dark, only the rays from their flashlights. The landscape was just fantastic: everything around is black, and an infinity of lights in the front and in the back.

The inattentiveness of the Japanese
I didn’t relax for a long time though - my camel and I walked into a crowd of Japanese tourists. The Japanese didn’t avoid the camel, they did not even notice him. I must say that after the third stop people do not realize what’s going on around, and there is only one thought in their heads: “You have to walk.” I could understand them, but it didn’t make things easier. I was afraid that my camel would bite some Japanese and I thought that it would be logical if the Japanese would cry of surprise, and the camel would get scared and slip into the abyss. Now I shouted just like the Bedouins, as loud as I could: “Camel! Camel!.”
As a result, at the 5th stop, I got off the camel with bending knees and a hoarse throat.

The last stop
Literally 5 minutes after my landing somewhere very near I heard the voice of Ahmed: “Rose, let’s go!.” Wow, they outran my camel! Luckily for Ahmed, I immediately joined the group and we went on.
We faced a way of 750 steps, laid in the steep cliffs, with different heights and widths. We couldn’t get bored and by the time we got to the 7th stop I was bathed in sweat again. Then I changed into a second T-shirt and pulled on all the warm clothes that I had in my backpack. My remaining dollars were enough for a cup of hot tea. I had no money left for a blanket, nor would I dare to take a blanket: they were far too messy and had a fetid smell.

About half an hour remained until dawn, and there was still a very steep slope with stone steps up to the very top of the mountain. Luckily, it took us only 5-10 minutes to climb up there. Having done that, I settled on the approaches to the top, not reaching it by about two meters, because people stood there shoulder to shoulder. Nevertheless, I got a good place - the skyline was in full view.

An ordinary miracle
Apparently the hard road and experienced emotions contributed to the fact that I almost discarded from reality, and that’s when I came to realize why I’m here and what I need to do next. Answers to the questions that plagued me for years, came as something of themselves. The solution, as it turned out, was lying on the surface.
As I woke up from these thoughts, I turned around - a lot of tired looks with the Hope ... Many people were praying. There was an incredible silence. Everybody shrank into their shells. Perhaps, they opened their souls, released all the hidden things, all the secrets and entrusted them to the rising luminary.

Finally, the long-awaited dawn. A majestic and reverent scene. Severe lifeless rocks, bright blue sky and the awakening, still red and even a bit moist sun. With its appearance came a thunder of applause, which did not stop for perhaps ten minutes. Thoughts were gone from the mind and the delight of this miracle remained. The eyes of people were happy and glowing with kindness. Everybody smiled, everybody was happy and there was something even more that united us, it was very similar to a feeling of kinship. I had never felt sensations like these before.

Only mountains can be better than mountains!
I went down from the mountain on my own. In the morning light it turned out that not only tourists participated in the ascent. There were a lot of people in cassocks and police to maintain order. I cannot say that the way back was much easier. Of course this path cannot be compared with the night ascent, but two and a half hours of climbing down an inclined plane in the heat with a backpack on the shoulders is not an easy task. However, the beauty of the Sinai Mountains compensated everything and even in excess. Russian poet and singer Vladimir Vysotsky was completely right, saying in one of his songs, that only the mountains can be better than mountains!