St. Catherine (Egypt) – 09 Jan 2023
We began our journey to the Mountain of the Impossible, Mount Sinai, around 4 am in the morning. The Hard Rock Cafe in Sharm El Sheikh seemed deserted, with everyone still sleeping and very few people on the streets. It was quite strange compared to the bustling afternoon when tourists and sellers filled the city. After an hour of driving, the scenery transformed into sand and red hills, and we were able to witness the sunrise along the road.
On the slope of Sinai Mountain, we stopped near a security checkpoint where a couple of policemen questioned us about our purpose of visiting. Our guide, an Egyptian, explained our intentions and the policemen allowed us to proceed. Following that, we reached the camel station and embarked on our journey to the summit of Sinai. The scenery was breathtaking, although my camel, Abdul, was quite slow. I almost fell asleep, but luckily, I had brought some snacks and dates to ignore my morning hunger and sleepiness.
Near the summit, we were extremely hungry and in need of coffee. Luckily, there was a “Starbucks” Bedouin hut nearby that provided tea and refreshments. We didn’t expect a five-star facility, but the Bedouins provided us with five-star service. After a few minutes of relaxation, our Bedouin uncles accompanied us to the mountaintop. Sinai Mountain is a holy site not only for Christians but also for Muslims and Jews, although the area is mostly managed by the Bedouins and guarded by Egyptians. We began our climb, following the path where Moses received the Ten Commandments, but we had to stop after a hundred steps due to the presence of snow. Since we were unable to navigate the snow safely, we stopped to pray and contemplate the importance of Mount Sinai, where God appeared to Moses, spoke with him, and gave him the Ten Commandments before heading back to our vehicles.
I must say, the journey back was much more enjoyable than the ascent. The scenery was truly beautiful, with hills and lovely weather, and we were even followed by a cute cat. Apparently, Mount Sinai is known as a place to leave stray dogs and cats from Cairo and the surrounding areas. On our way back to our chartered car, we encountered a few Germans who were heading up to hike Mount Sinai. It was unfortunate that they also couldn’t reach the top like us.
We also passed Saint Catherine’s Monastery, which is only open for a few hours every morning. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet anyone who lives inside the monastery, although we were able to explore the terrace section of the monastery complex, which was also beautiful with its red walls.
Taba (Egypt) – Dead Sea, Jericho, Bethlehem (Israel) – 10 Jan 2023
We stopped in the middle of nowhere near Taba City. Interestingly, there is a Korean restaurant with a peculiar octopus sculpture in front of its door. Taba is where we are staying overnight tonight. My legs are starting to ache since I hiked Sinai the whole day. Fortunately, the hotel was nice, and its lobby faced a casino with big neon signs. What an interesting place to be just after ascending a holy mountain. I guess God begins to tempt us after coming back from Mount Sinai.
There is one advantage to staying in Taba, as the hotel is only a couple of hundred meters from the Egypt-Israel border. The Egyptian immigration process was painless since we were on a group tour, although some of us felt stressed out with all the questions from the Israeli immigration officers. After we all received a gate pass to Israel, which we had to keep during our journey, we crossed the border and took pictures of the Red Sea. Our guide, an almost 80-year-old Israeli-Hungarian grandpa, welcomed us with a loud voice, urging everyone to hurry up as we needed to continue our journey by bus to the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is a remarkable place to visit and is full of families enjoying the Coptic Christmas holiday. The feeling of floating and being in one of the lowest places on earth is something that I cannot describe in words. During that time, we also visited the Israeli shops at Qumran that sell beauty products made from Dead Sea minerals. Most of the salespeople are Palestinians who speak a bit of Indonesian, while the cashiers are Israelis with serious looks. I also found out that Indonesians are also well-known pilgrims, although I observe more Americans during my time in Israel.
After managing to see the Jordan River near the Dead Sea’s Kalia Beach, where we spent some relaxing time, we are moving to Jericho in the West Bank. Jericho is a city where Zacchaeus climbed an olive tree to see Jesus and where Jesus healed Bartimaeus, the blind man. It is an ancient Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Jordan Valley, where we also had our mass service at The Good Shepherd Church. Once the mass service was finished, we headed straight to our hotel in Bethlehem, also known as Bayt Laḥm (“House of Meat”) in Arabic or Bet Leḥem (“House of Bread”) in Hebrew. Bethlehem is the site of the Nativity of Jesus Christ. We stayed there for three nights to explore Jerusalem and its surroundings.
Diary of Holyland (II) first appeared on www.felicialasmana.com and was inspired by David Sedaris – Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002)
Felicia Lasmana 